Fuji warranty issue
 

My Fuji F30 developed a small smude-like area where the pixels are darker
than elsewhere. Shows up at all resolutions and focal lengths, so it's
likely on a lens element near the sensor (or perhaps on the sensor itself).
I'd had an F10 do the same thing, and it was repaired under warranty by a
local Fuji service center (they replaced the entire lens assembly).

This time around, I mailed it to the national Fuji repair center on the east
coast. Just got a note in the mail from them that they won't fix it under
warranty, because there's a small "dent" in the case. Huh-who-what? Whatever
they're noticing had nothing to do with the issue, yet they say it's a sign
that the camera has been abused and thus won't fix it under warranty. So I
called, the woman there said she can't do anything about it, but did reduce
the charge from $85 to $65. I approved the charge because, well, what else
can I do?

But what I'm realizing now is that there might be times you're better off
*not* using the national repair center for warranty repairs. Why? Because
the local authorized repair centers are going to get paid no matter what.
Either by you or the manufacturer (Fuji, in this case), so they probably
have no financial incentive to shift the burden to the customer if
something's not clear-cut warranty.

The only reason I went to the national service center this time was that it
took five weeks with the F10 at the authorized local repair center, and I
figured it would be faster at the national center. Time will tell if even
that's true!

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com