Thanks To Canon in Panama
Jan 12th, 2007 by Don Ray
Sometime around June of last year my Canon A85 got dropped on a tile floor in Panama City. I loved the A85. It was a great camera. It was small enough I could carry it in my pocket and it took very good photos for a point and shoot camera.
I had bought it in December of 2004 at PriceSmart in David. I took it to the Canon Service Center in Panama City the end of June or first of July. They said it would cost $100 to repair. I decided it was worth it since I couldn’t buy a replacement as good for $100.
A month went by and the second and the third and they still didn’t have the part that was needed. I decided if they didn’t have it in January, I needed to just get the camera and take it back to the US. Well, when I checked on the status, I was informed that the part was not available and since I had waited that long they were going to give me a new camera.
The camera I picked up on Wednesday is an A530. It is a little smaller than the A85, but has 1 megabyte more pixels than the A85 had. It cost me a $10 exchange fee. All in all I am happy with the replacement. I now have my Canon S2 backed up and a lot of times I may prefer to carry the new Canon because of the size.
For a camera that was out of warrantee, I think Canon did ok.
Don — Congratulations!
I never seem to have that kind of customer service anywhere I’ve lived.
Obviously, I was pleased.
I have a digital I got for Christmas but I don’t know that I have it mastered. I am going to Nova Scotia next week and will take it and try to get pictures of the ocean as I will be staying on the coast. Don, be glad you are in Panama. Bad weather from Dallas to Chicago. Most flights are shut down. We got ice and sleet today, another round for tomorrow and then another for Sunday. I hope we do not lose power like we did in 2005. I was out of power for 32 days and I believe here at Horace’s house they were off about 37 days. I think it may actually be warmer in Nova Scotia than than here next week. Glad you got your camera replaced.
Glenda
Hi Glenda. Thanks for the comment. make sure you take lots of photos. You may need to buy some extra memory for the trip. You will need some batteries also.
Hi Don,
First of all the best wishes for 2007. It has been a while since we posted anything. But I wanted to tell you Congratulations on your new camera. It is exactly what we have .. we bought it less than a year ago and it was about 230 euros at the time. You really got a nice deal for waiting. And a very nice little camara. Enjoy .. I hope to see soon some photos of the Boquete Fair.
Lots of greetings,
Mirethy
Hi Mirethy,
Thanks for leaving a comment. I think it is going to be a nice little camera. I just need to buy a larger memory chip. The 16 meg is just not large enough.
Hi Don. I had the same terrific experience with Canon when I was living in the South Pacific. My Canon died - so I sent it to the Service Center in Auckland NZ. Within 3 weeks (at a cost of $50 for shipping and a part), I had it back in my hands on Rarotonga and it worked perfectly! I now have a Canon Elph Powershot SD400 and love it and the smallness of it. Took some getting used to - but it goes everywhere (just be careful of the LCD screen) You are right: the 16 MEG is too small. That’s the first thing I did was go to higher memory and get a spare battery. Enjoy!
Wendy
Hi Wendy. Thanks for the comment. It is always good to have a small camera. Sometimes the larger ones are just to bug. I also need a better case for my large one. The Velcro has a hard time supporting the weight and it wants to fall off my belt.
I’m glad you mentioned the “CF card” or i was going to…canon is notorious for making you “THINK” you got a good deal, when I bought my canon the first i had to do TOO was upgrade the CF card, way too SMALL , I would NOT buy another canon, there are better choices like the Nikon.
Nikon is a different class of camera from the smaller hand held. Canon is a good brand. I have nothing but good things to say about the three I have owned. The S2 is outstanding.
Canon is the best, I can say.
And I warn everybody, who is taking Pentax Optio A 10 to the cold weather, it does not bear it!
My Pentax was finished in ten minutes in the bag, when I was walking -3 degrees Celsius ( 26,6 Fahrenheit)
They say to me, that it`s a moisture damage and
a garantee does not pay it. Camera was 5 months old.
Never Pentax in my life!!!
Have a nice time with your new Canon!
Sorry about your Pentax. Normally Pentax is a good brand also. I have always had good luck with Canon and I guess that is why I stick with them.
I can tell it is a lot colder in your area and I get to your photo site almost everyday even though I don’t always leave a comment.
Hi Don:
After reading your post about digital cameras, you planted a bug in my mind for buying myself one.
I’ve been reading about the Canon Power Shot A 620 and A 530 which you mentioned in your post. The price range for both cameras is $329-$220 (at Amazon) which is quite reasonable.
I understand memory is an issue; 16 MB seems to be at the low end.
Thank you for giving me to opportunity to seek another blog-related hobby.
Regards,
Omar.-
A digital camera is a lot of fun when you have a website. Watch the sales at Panafoto and you may find a good buy.
Before you blindly go out and buy a Canon check out the best site on the web for anything electronic…make sure you read the “USER REVIEWS” and not just the author of the article:
http://reviews.cnet.com/Digital_cameras/2001-6501_7-0.html?tag=promo.dc
Actually the two best review sites are:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/
and
http://www.dpreview.com/
Hello Don,
Thanks for coming by. I appreciate it. Since Patty has this new breast cancer I can’t seem to get around like before. I came this morning and read this post and enjoyed it and the comments.
I have had exceptional luck with Canon. I bought my first one a Canon 35mm film camera in 1954 in Yokohama, Japan and took hundreds of pictures with it. It was about the same time that Fuji and Kodak both came out with color film and we began to use that. We had to send it to Hawaii for processing. I still have some of the envelopes. They also brought out a fast black and white film — Tri-X which we tried to shoot at night using. Some of those photos can be seen on my Japanese website http://www.sendai-shi.com/
Then I had another Canon new and gave that to my daughter when they came out with digital cameras. I have had three of them but settled in on the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT. A beautiful camera that works with all my lens. All of the pictures I take with it are on my other website at http://www.oldmanlincoln.com/
I have friends in and out of the newspaper and magazine business who use Canon Cameras and digital ones at that. My son, a professional photographer in West Palm Beach, Florida uses Olympus but makes enough money he can buy and use anything. I guess he likes them.
Good post. Interesting.
Thanks for taking the time to drop by Abe. I know you are under stress and want you to know that Patty is in our thoughts and prayers.
[...] first camera is a Canon A85 and it does a great job in all conditions. It is easy for even a novice to use and with its small [...]
Wait a sec… Are you talking about FOTOSER? that’s where you took your camera?
The expirience with this people made me sell both my cameras (one Canon and one Olympus) and I’m never buying any product that’s serviced by them.
I waited 2 months to get my Olympus camera back (wich was under warranty).
I also waited 2 weeks to get a diagnostic on a Canon camera and never got it…
That is the company. They replaced my Canon with a newer model since they could not repair it. However my Canon S2 was going to cost to much to repair there.
This is Panama. For every good experience you can find matching bad experiences.
Don, you have to be some kind of exception to the rule!!!! This FOTOSER Panama got me thinking about selling ALL my CANON equipment and buying Nikon! They are the WORST service center I have ever found! They took my Canon SLR Digital Rebel, and where not willing to give it back to me! I had to threaten them with bringing the police. I hope Canon takes some actions soon. It’s unbelievable that Canon risks its brand name with this kind of unprofessionalism.
Hi Rene. Maybe I live under a lucky star. I can only give my experiences.
Thanks for sharing and Congratulations for such beautiful pictures, especially the ones from Boquete Flower Festival!
God bless you!
Don, I brought my Canon A540 with me from Canada, and it has been just awesome, that is, right up until today. We took some shots and a couple of videos, downloaded them, erased them from the camera, and now the camera is all locked up. We can’t do anything. We called the 1-800 number on our warranty and were informed that because we are in Panama, we’re SOL. Nice customer service! From your experience, do you have any suggestions. We paid a pretty penny for this camera and all the equipment with it, so tossing it makes no sense.
Thanks,
Gary
Hi Gary. Sorry about your problem. For service, Canon usually services where it is bought ( Canada, USA, Panama) You might take it to the place above in PC and let them check it. I have to admit that getting things serviced in Panama is not easy unless the item was bought in Panama.