Regular readers will remember that I dropped our camera last month while in Australia. It wasn't much of a drop, and it was in it's padded case at the time, but it was messed up anyhow.
And when we returned to Ottawa, I packed it up and shipped it to the Nikon repair facility near Toronto. It cost $38 CAD ($29 USD) just for that.
Then, when they receive the camera, they are supposed to email you with an estimate asking for approval to repair. They had received the camera on Tuesday afternoon, but by lunchtime yesterday I still hadn't heard from them.
So I called, because I really didn't know how long I was supposed to wait. I got through right away, and the guy said that because of the day off last Monday, they were a little bit behind. They normally strive for three working days, and I should hear from them soon.
In the meantime, I went online to see what a new Nikon P900 was selling for.
They are currently $497 USD ($654 CAD) in the U.S.... Nikon P900 in U.S.
And $598 CAD ($454 USD) in Canada... Nikon P900 in Canada
However, when I looked yesterday afternoon, it was showing at $512 CAD ($389 USD), which is a fantastic price, and the cheapest I have ever seen it. Including taxes it came to $579 CAD.
Amazon pricing sometimes changes quickly, and you never know how long a great deal will last. Not knowing what the repair cost was going to be, I ordered a new one at that price!
Well sure enough, I got an email a couple of hours later.
Including the repair, shipping, and taxes, they wanted $344 CAD ($261 USD) to get my camera back to factory specs and return it to us.
I told them to go ahead.
I'm still thinking about this, and am not sure it was the right decision. So, I still have the option to cancel the Amazon order. But my thinking is that I love this camera, despite the fact that it seems to have been so easily damaged. And I hate being without it. So if I have a backup spare stashed away here in Ottawa, and purchased at a good price, it can just sit there until I need it in the future. Plus, I learned from our last camera that they are typically only good for about 4 years when they are used as much as we use them.
What do you think?
I am somewhat in the market for a new camera so that model will be checked out in detail. Thanks for the information.
ReplyDeleteKevin absolutely loves this model of camera and right now he is missing his camera so much!
DeleteI think you should cancel your Amazon order. Seems like a waste of money.
ReplyDeleteKevin tried to cancel the order yesterday but it was too late. He can refuse the order when it gets delivered though, although he still feels undecided about it. One, because we want to make sure that the repaired camera gets back to us in time, which we are pretty sure it will and two, because the the price quoted to us is only an estimate and it could possibly cost more once they get into actually fixing the camera as there could be more wrong with it that they didn't know about. Also, if it comes back and he finds that it doesn't work as well as it should then it would have to me sent back at their expense to fix it right, as they guarantee that it will repaired to factory specs. Anyways, we have a few days to think about that decision before the new camera is delivered.
DeleteTough choice either way. But whichever choice you make, I'm sure you'll find some way to make it a bargain! :cD
ReplyDeleteIt is a tough decision! I doubt Kevin can get a bargain either way, as it is going to cost us one way or another for a camera that isn't even a year old. :-(
DeleteI say I think your thinking is right keep the new one and the repaired one. Always good to have a good back up.
ReplyDeleteWell it is too late for us to cancel the new one and either way we look at it, we could possibly sell either one of the two camera's and come out even.
Deletecancel order. in 3 or 4 years there will be something better. my 2 cents
ReplyDeleteYes, you are correct but it is already too late to cancel the order, Kevin tried to yesterday. We will sort something out one way or another. Plus we want to make sure that the repaired camera gets back to us before we leave in mid October and we want to make sure that it is working the way it should be.
DeleteFlip a coin. Hahaha. Tough choice. But I always prefer to have a backup camera handy.
ReplyDeleteYep, it's a tough choice but it looks like the choice has been made for us because Kevin was too late to cancel the order.
DeleteI think as long as Nikon will back up their repair you should just go that route. As someone pointed out earlier, so much changes in terms of 3-4 years, that keeping a backup is risky.
ReplyDeleteYes, you are totally right!
DeleteFor $500 (or even $400) it didn't seem very durable. I'd cancel the Amazon order and buy a different brand if you drop it again.
ReplyDeleteKevin loves that camera and he hasn't found a different brand that is comparable to this Nikon camera and he doesn't want one with interchangeable lenses. We think that it was just a fluke, perhaps when it fell it just happened to hit a certain way because it had been dropped once or twice before without any issues.
DeleteOnce upon a time, I was "all in" when it came to Nikon. Didn't want to go Canon, as they had changed their lens set-up, meaning no old lens could go on any new camera. Anyway, what that means is, even though my older Nikon lenses didn't necessarily "talk" to any newer models, they would fit, and work. HOWEVER, I had (still have, but it's worn out) a Nikon D40. Within six months of ownership, it just quit. Black screen. Wouldn't work. Under warrantee , so I shipped it back to Canada (we were in the Netherlands at the time) and they fixed the problem, but wanted something like a hundred bucks to send it back to me! Thankfully, our daughter was coming over, so she brought it back with here on her trip. Only thing is, the sensor was always off after that, and I never truly was happy with the camera. I kept using it, until the lens completely wore out. Sometimes I'd have to unhook and reattach the lens to get it to talk to the camera. Very annoying.
ReplyDeleteI have both a Canon G16 and a Sony a6000. I won't go back to Nikon.
Our camera doesn't have interchangeable lens though, it is one fixed lens and Kevin really loves this camera because it is still not a real large camera and it is very versatile. He has looked at so many cameras and they just don't match up to this one with his wants and needs, at least in his opinion.
DeleteNeither one of the two cameras would meet his needs. The camera that we have has a lens that is 24-2000mm with a fixed lens, so he doesn't have to worry about carrying around umpteen lens with him, and it is still a reasonable size that he doesn't have to lug around a huge bag for it. And that is why he loves it so much. :-)
It's kind of like "part of doing business". You need a camera, it has a cost and you also have business loss. In this case, what is the latest upgrade that supercedes the camera you have, and what is the difference in price. Might be better just to go ahead and upgrade. Maybe you could sell the repaired camera for the repair price or a bit more plus shipping and break even.
ReplyDeleteKevin doesn't want to upgrade the camera, he just wants to get the exact same camera that we already have. He has already looked at the next level up and the camera is a fair bit bigger than the one we already have and he really doesn't want anything bigger. So it will be either just sticking with the repaired camera or keeping the new camera that he just ordered which is exactly the same one that we already have and yes, he could choose to sell either one of the cameras once we get the repaired one sent back. And you are right, it is the cost of doing business! :-)
DeleteI can't even imagine why every one thinks a camera like that should survive a drop. As the shock guy used to say at work when people would drop a part and want the g level analized,"the news was never good".
ReplyDeleteI guess we figured it wouldn't have been damaged because it was in it's padded case and it didn't fall very hard and it landed on Kevin's foot but before it did that, it grazed off of the corner of the kitchenette seat and I guess it was just the way it hit, that it was enough to jar the something inside of the camera. :-(
DeleteHopefully when we get it back it will be just like new.