lens exchange policy in Singapore

[artyboy]

i've read foreign photography forums and find that its common practice for people in the US/UK to "return" lens (which they find to be soft) to the shops/on-line retailers for an exchange. is this policy applicable in Singapore photo shops? am asking not so much to determine if this is allowed, but more to find out if such returned duds find their way back to the shop to be resold to an unsuspecting customer. i don't even know if Canon/Nikon Singapore even accept lens returns or recaliberations. anyone knows? thanks.

 

[vinwin]

I used to buy lens from CP. They are very ok for u to change your lens if u find it faulty. I did it a few times already.

 

[vinwin]

I just calibrated my new lens at Canon Service Center after exchainging the lens at CP as the other copy are all the same. They are willing to work with you to find out your problem.

 

[artyboy]

thanks guys, thats good to know. but if the shop choose to simply resell the item, that'll cause a vicious cycle of returned goods, doesn't it? becos we won't know if they will return it to the manufacturer (as faulty products) to be fixed by them. i think for faulty lenses its quite straitforward, but what abt "soft" copies? it seems to be a grey area becos its subjective to the buyer and seller's eyes. for lenses still under warranty, will the service centre do recaliberation at no cost?

 

[K3N]

I have had prior experience with Cathay before, if they accept the return, they return it to the manufacturer. If you wanna know how I know, you can PM me. Actually, I think their service is very good, very rare, its worth cultivating a long term relationship with them.

 

[scenar]

I've had a sigma lens calibrated by the svc centr under warranty. No probs, the tech was very helpful n friendly. :thumbsup: for sigma!

I guess this would apply to most other brands; if under warranty, focus calibration shouldnt be a prob @ all.

 

[artyboy]

thanks guys for yr inputs! good to know that shops send returned products bk to the manufacturer. its ok, no need to know what transpired behind the scenes, we being like-minded photographers sharing info here, im already very grateful. thanks guys! eagerly waiting for my 70-200 F/4L IS to arrive today....

 

[morningstar]

thanks guys for yr inputs! good to know that shops send returned products bk to the manufacturer. its ok, no need to know what transpired behind the scenes, we being like-minded photographers sharing info here, im already very grateful. thanks guys! eagerly waiting for my 70-200 F/4L IS to arrive today....

What happened to your 70-200f4? got focusing problem?

 

[artyboy]

What happened to your 70-200f4? got focusing problem?

no lah, its not even here yet. im overseas and my friend sent it to me. reason i posted here was becos i know of some Canon lens with very high return rates (soft copies) and am worried that i'd end up getting a returned lens (soft) which the shop chose to resell instead of returning to Canon. im in a tough position since im not there to test it upon purchase and doing an exchange would be difficult since im overseas.

 

[morningstar]

no lah, its not even here yet. im overseas and my friend sent it to me. reason i posted here was becos i know of some Canon lens with very high return rates (soft copies) and am worried that i'd end up getting a returned lens (soft) which the shop chose to resell instead of returning to Canon. im in a tough position since im not there to test it upon purchase and doing an exchange would be difficult since im overseas.

Oh really? That is new to me, is Canon QC so bad?

 

[artyboy]

unfortunately yes. don't know abt Singapore but its very 'common' in US/UK/Europe. i guess when it comes to precision optical instruments like lenses, most of the QC are randomly done at batch level in the factory. the fact that they are recaliberated by the manufacturer at no cost shows an admission on their part that QC is not 100% water-tight. scary huh? but if we think abt it, its to be expected. unlike electronics like Hifi/AV equipment/multimedia gadgets, lenses have moving parts which require precise alignment in gathering light. so the likelihood of some slipping thru QC is not surprising. the more scary part is that some consumers may not even know that the fault lies with the product, and accepts whatever shortcomings as their own lack of skill.

 

[morningstar]

unfortunately yes. don't know abt Singapore but its very 'common' in US/UK/Europe. i guess when it comes to precision optical instruments like lenses, most of the QC are randomly done at batch level in the factory. the fact that they are recaliberated by the manufacturer at no cost shows an admission on their part that QC is not 100% water-tight. scary huh? but if we think abt it, its to be expected. unlike electronics like Hifi/AV equipment/multimedia gadgets, lenses have moving parts which require precise alignment in gathering light. so the likelihood of some slipping thru QC is not surprising. the more scary part is that some consumers may not even know that the fault lies with the product, and accepts whatever shortcomings as their own lack of skill.

Well, they have a bigger market in those countries due to larger population so you'll get more people getting "lemon". I think the proportion of "unacceptable" copies should be quite constant anywhere. Here, we have a small market so probability of buying a "lemon" copy is significantly lower.

 

[artyboy]

yup i wld think so too. but its good to know that when our equipment do not perform as expected, there is an open avenue of bringing it in for recaliberation. juz got my 70-200 F/4L IS, damn this sucker is so sharp i actually had to dial DOWN my camera's built-in sharpening!!