Dear Mr Canon

general, photography :: posted on October 18th, 2008

A little over two years ago I bought a PowerShot A640 compact camera and it has been a very nice journey until now, when the plug in bit for the transfer cord – camera to computer – broke off inside the camera, rendering my camera completely useless. Of course, Mr Canon, you will say – send it in to be serviced – but the problem is that it will cost me $100 (about that with courier fee and initial inspection fee) just to find out how much it is going to cost for my little camera to be repaired. And so the dilemma begins, do I bow down to the trash material society and toss it in the bin? Or do I have it repaired at an altogether too expensive cost, considering that at $600 initially it has cost me $300 per year so far, if I have it repaired – guesstimating at least $200 for that – will it last me much longer anyway? Because they really aren’t built to last, are they Mr Canon? With all the little plastic bits and tiny dabs of solder holding the bits together – like the plug in thingy for the transfer cord.

What a disappointment, and no camera for documenting my art for my MFA, or my blog… sad day.

7 Responses to “Dear Mr Canon”

  1. Lyn Weir Says:
    October 18th, 2008 at 2:38 pm

    Hi Linden,
    Always a hard decision – I had a powershot canon but it just stopped working – same dilemma and ended up getting a SLR canon 300D – BEST THING I EVER DID!
    However, recently my son whilst playing chasings with the cat shot my 2 yr old canon scanner across the floor with a crash – NOT IMPRESSED I WAS!! Same dilemma do I spend the $80 to look at it and then find it is unfixable (quite likely apparently after 3 phone calls) or get a new one – ended with the latter. It is quicker and a bit better but really was not necessary. At least I also go a newer version of photoshop which is handy…I suppose…if I have to think about it positively and not too hard about spending the money…
    Hard decisions!

  2. Steven Clark Says:
    October 19th, 2008 at 2:41 am

    It’s because Canon, like most things lately, design for obsolescence. They want your camera to stop working after warranty runs out and then you buy another one. They’ve factored that in… which is aggravating to say the least. But you know that already.

    However, if you choose to put it in the garbage bin – and I can get my hands on a small soldering iron and some tiny tiny phillips head screwdrivers… well hopefully 2 bits of solder will pull it together. I’ll give it a go.

    Until then you can use the D90 sitting in my office as long as you don’t hang over bridges, leave it in ulocked rooms or sit on it by accident…

    What we need is one of those old super high resolution cameras on the tripod… does anyone know where we could buy one of those?

  3. linden Says:
    October 19th, 2008 at 3:24 am

    Hi Lyn,
    Sounds like you have the same challenges with the plastics of the household! Perhaps the Earth will put an end to all the decisions eventually! In the meantime though there is nothing to lose in trying to fix the thing at home. I’ve always gone with Nikon before this little camera, and it is a Nikon SLR that is on my wish list but I have several friends with the Canon SLR and they are all very happy with them. So I guess it is where you aim at in the market as much as anything.
    Happy scanning! My scanner is ancient! Better not talk about it though as it will probably choke if I do!

  4. linden Says:
    October 19th, 2008 at 3:27 am

    Hello Steven,
    Thanks very much for the offer of using your camera, but you know what I think about cameras – they are akin to a toothbrush – personal use only – I dread the day I put a mere mark upon the shiny black surface of your D90! I think we can have ago at fixing the compact to stretch it out a bit longer.

  5. Steven Clark Says:
    October 19th, 2008 at 3:51 am

    But dear, I’m your husband(esque) in the next room. :)

    How do you know I haven’t already used your toothbrush dear?

  6. linden Says:
    October 19th, 2008 at 3:54 am

    eeeeeeekkkkkk!!!!!

  7. Steven Clark Says:
    October 19th, 2008 at 4:55 am

    OK your toothbrush is safe (and you don’t share your food)… but you can use my camera until yours is fixed.

    Mr Canon, by the way we won’t be back with another $600. Make products to last, provide value. Be good to us.