Dear colleagues:

Last week I purchased a Canon EOS 1Ds Mk II. I usually purchase my photo
equipment from BH Photo in NY and have come to rely on the equipment I
always receive from them since they maintain a huge inventory.

This week BH is closed for the Jewish holidays and I couldn't wait since I
needed to purchase the camera for an event this past weekend. On Friday I
purchased the camera at a large reseller in Los Angeles that shall remain
nameless for ethical reasons. I have no reason to doubt this reseller but
wanted to have some assurance that the equipment was new and not something
that had been opened before and handled by numerous customers.

I remember that a while back we had a discussion on this forum about a
feature available in many high-end pro cameras that allowed the owner to
have access through the menu of how many times the shutter had been
released.

I called Canon and was told that this feature is not offered for any of
Canon's cameras. I then asked the customer service agent to check the
camera's serial number to verify if the camera was indeed a new camera that
had let the company recently. The only piece of information the agent could
share with me was the fact that no call had been made to customer service on
that serial number, but this is hardly an indication of whether the camera
is new or not.

I am very happy with the camera and have no reason to doubt the reseller who
sold it to me. However, it is only natural for a customer to try to obtain
some form of guarantee or assurance when buying a product such as this. I
would expect Canon to provide better service and support to its customers
than that which I received over the phone. This type of support would be
reprehensible if one received it for an issue involving a point-and-shoot,
200 dollar camera. This is definitely not the way I would expect Canon to
stand behind me as a customer when I am buying from the company a camera
with accessories in the price range of a new car.

Another thing that concerned me was the statement made by the customer
service agent about being considered acceptable to have a certain number of
dead pixels on the sensor. I asked him what would be the best way for me to
verify if there were any dead pixels so I could exchange the camera for
another one if any were present. His claim was that Canon considers it to be
within the range of acceptability (meaning the camera will pass its quality
control inspection and reach the customer) if up to approximately 11 pixels
on the sensor are dead. This is not what I would like to hear from the
manufacturer after purchasing a camera as expensive as this one.

Any ideas ? What is your opinion on the dead pixel count ? Is this true and
the standard for the industry ?

Since the reseller had claimed that the camera was shipped to its store from
Canon's warehouse the day before I went to purchase it I also tried to
verify if it was indeed true. According to the reseller the camera came from
Canon's warehouse located in Lake Success, IL. I also asked the customer
service agent to verify this information but he informed me that he had no
means to verify if the camera had indeed left the warehouse on that
particular date. What kind of company is this that seems to have such poor
control over its own inventory and database ? I would expect a company such
as Canon to be able to track one of its products with the serial number and
tell where the camera was, the address it was shipped to and when.

I have contacted Canon's technical support department in the past and have
been quite disappointed. The "specialists" I spoke to were far from being
the true knowledgeable specialists I was hoping to reach. But the customer
service I've just received over the phone is insane.

Since I am discussing my new camera and Canon's service and support I will
try to avoid carrying the subject over to other areas but only wish to add
that it seems to happen to other companies as I just recently took a D70 I
own to Nikon's own service center for sensor cleaning and received one of
the worst services I have ever received for any product (with the possible
exception of Dell computers). What is going on with these companies ?
Whatever happened to good, quality support and service ?

Please forgive me for the longer post but I am "venting" here and wish to
get your feedback on how to make sure my camera is indeed a new one that
hasn't been played too much with.

Thank you in advance.

Best regards,

Dr. Joseph Chamberlain
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery