My first digital camera was a Sony Mavica FD-75 which was a gift from my mom when I gave birth to Chloe 4 and a half years ago. It was a VGA camera which was good for posting on websites and for sending thru email. However, print size was limited to 3R (3.5 x 5 inches) and storage was limited to a floppy diskette, which at first was okay but eventually, it became a problem because floppies aren't very reliable. They are easily affected by weather changes and there were times that my floppy drive couldn't read the diskette or the floppy couldn't be read by my camera's drive. And, you could only store about 24 pictures per diskette.
Three years after that, I have decided that I needed a higher pixel camera ... not too high ... just enough so that I can make beautiful 4x6 prints and decent 8x11s. And thus, my search for the perfect digital camera for family use ...
My search started by reading about digital cameras ... learning their terminologies ... what those high falluting terms meant and how it was equivalent and how it was different from film. Friends also gave tips and recommendations ... And so, the brands narrowed to CANON, SONY, NIKON and FUJI.
As I read on more about the different product reviews of each company, almost all had good things to say about their picture quality ... but, CANON, caught my eye the most.
Canon's models were a bit more expensive than the others and you would wonder why since the size of memories bundled are usually the same but the batteries that go with them when you buy them are usually the alkalines or the disposable types as compared to Sony, which packages their models with rechargeables. And so, I read on ... compared each teeny weenie detail and compared the two ...
Finally, I decided on Canon's powershot A75 (December 2004) ... This is their 3 megapixel camera which had good reviews and was well recommended for the beginner and for the enthusiast. It had been in the market for almost more than 2 years ... the features, like the flash range, autofocus speed, etc ... were all taken into consideration ... though not your pocket size camera, it was small enough for me. I liked the idea of having AA batteries to supply power to your camera because it was very economical and practical as well. I learned this because my first Sony digital camera ran on lithium batteries which were expensive and you can't buy them anywhere to get you through the day's shoot.
Unexpectedly, my A75 just gave me a distorted image on the LCD one day ... My mind was thinking ... Did I do something which might have affected the camera? What went wrong? Did I make a mistake by choosing this model? What was wrong? I read good reviews and the model was pretty well recommended ... This baby was barely a year old!!! Still under warranty, I told myself ... at least, that was a relief.
I called and asked some of my friends who also owned Canon digital cameras that belonged to the A series line if they experienced similar problems as mine. Fortunately, one of them told me about the CCD issue that was posted as a notice from Canon Marketing Philippines' website. And so, I called Canon Marketing Philippines' number ... they said that they were going to repair it free of charge ... I told them it was still under warranty. They said that because it was a CCD issue, that even if it was no longer under warranty, they would repair it.
It was already November 2005 when my camera broke down ... The following day, my husband, Mon, brought it to their service center in Makati. They said it was going to take 14 working days (not including Sat & Sun) minimum. Oh my God! It was going to be December before they were going to finish it?!? My mind was racing ... I thought, Christmas is just around the corner and I had no camera to use for the Chloe's school activities (the xmas party, the cantata, the reunions ...). After a week I called to follow-up, they said there wasn't any feedback from the tech dept. Another week went by and they said that they were expecting the CCD part to be shipped by 1st week of December. I said, once the CCD part arrives, how long will it take for you to install and align the lens? They said it was going to take 7 days max ... I said, okay but it would really be nice if they could lend me a service unit which I could use for the meantime. They said, they were going to loan units because it was Christmas season and they did understand the need ... And so, a few days after, Mon went back to Canon, Makati to pick up the loan unit.
It was a powershot A520 ... a 4 megapixel camera model that replaced the A75. It was smaller, lighter, with a 4x optical zoom lens (as compared to the 3x optical zoom in the A75) and had an additional feature which was a flash zoom. Though it was smaller, it had the same large lcd size as the A75. Though it was lighter, because it ran on 2 AA batteries (as compared to the 4 AAs of the A75), it seemed to be slower ... When taking pictures with flash, it takes about 15 seconds before you can start shooting again. That part, I didn't like ... But it did really well in terms of picture quality ... It was as excellent as the A75.
Come second week of December, I called again to follow-up ... this time, when they told me that the CCD part was going to arrive around 2nd or 3rd week of December ... I got really pissed off! I told them that what the ?!? You guys seem to be changing your statements everytime I call ... I told them to just give it to me straight ... It would be easier if they told me the truth. To just tell me if it was irrepairable. They said it was repairable and that there was just a long line of cameras to be repaired and the shipment they were expecting from Singapore was used up and they had to re-order for another batch of CCDs. Rest assured they told me that the CCD lens would be replaced by a new and upgraded version.
I said fine ... Christmas came and went by and still no feedback ... New year 2006 arrived and when I called they said installation was already ongoing. I was happy to hear the news ... Then last Monday, January 9, Canon gave us a call and told us that my A75 was ready for pick-up. Of course, I was so excited! I love that camera so much!
However, when I got it last Wednesday, January 11, I was so disappointed ... my zoom lens were not working ... the mode dial did not correspond to the mode they were supposed to be in ... the display button wasn't working too ... I couldn't reset the settings to default because the menu button wouldn't respond as well. I was furious!
It was decided that the following day, January 12, Mon and I would go back to Canon and have them replace my unit with a new one or just refund our money.
When we got there, I kept my cool and talked to them about what had happened when they returned the camera. I asked them if they could just replace the unit because I no longer want the unit if they were to tell me that they were going to repair it again. I said that they have already caused us too much trouble and have wasted our time and money. And, I no longer have good faith that the camera would last long since it has been opened by God knows how many persons/technicians. I told them that the reason why we brought it to them in the first place wasn't because of my mishandling but because they installed a defective CCD in the said model. And when they returned it, instead of returning it to its original state, it came back with more problems.
A Customer relations officer handled my situation. She listened to all that I said and without any qualms, she told me that she would try her best to negotiate what she could do. When she came back, she told me that there were no more A75 models. She said if it would be okay if they gave me the A520. I told them I would prefer an A series model but one which is powered with 4 AA batteries. I explained that although the A520 was a higher megapixel camera, a smaller and lighter one ... it took a long time to take pictures with flash. I told her about my experience with the said camera during the Christmas Cantata of my daughter and how through the entire presentation, that I was only able to take about 12 shots. She understood, gave me a smile and excused herself ...
Finally, when she came back, she gave me a close-up smile and grinned ... she said they were going to replace my unit with the A610 ... a powerful 5 megapixel camera, powered by 4 AA batteries, with 4x optical zoom, a rotating 2 inch lcd screen, lots of additional features and with the DIGIC II processor which meant faster autofocus.
I was happy and very satisfied with how it turned out. I gave them my camera together with its box, accessories, manuals and cds. And in return, they gave me a new boxed unit of the powershot A610.
In closing ... I just want everyone to know that if you had the same experience as I have with the CCD of Canon's digital cameras, please bring it to Canon Marketing Philippines in Makati. They will accomodate you well ...
signed,
just another satisfied customer of Canon's digital cameras ...
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