Bang on the Built-in Mike to Test "Moron-proof" Warranty at DVinfo.net

Alain Lumina · September 18th, 2008, 10:02 PM

I sat the XH-A1 on the back seat of my car, and, brilliantly, it somersaulted onto the floor, perfectly targeting the tip of the built in mike as it landed on the floor for maximum leverage.

Such precision!

Of course, I did this on purpose ( just kidding ) to test the "Moron-Proof" warranty sold by one of the DVINFO sponsors.

The mike, wobbly, worked at first, but when I tried to tighten it by reinforcing the joint with tightly wrapped electrical tape, it seemed to sever the built-in mikes' connections, and the mikes, from then on, did not work.

I called the warranty company ( you've got to call the right number, there is a consumer number, and a special "pro/moron" number just for me.

Amazing! I told the truth, for a change--and they said " That's covered."

Huh?

They then got my address and sent a prepaid shipping label from a supposedly authorized repair outlet.

I shipped it and now I'm waiting to see if they can, and will, fix it.

Will report!

If they get it working again, I plan on trying to design a "Moron-Proofer" mike guard, the secret design will be out soon, because every bag I put the thing in is always pushing and targeting the damn built in mikes , which I think are great for getting ambiance in stereo.

Then when I take it out of the bag, I automatically try to destroy those protruding mikes.

Maybe the engineers that designed this can't conceive how I could be so brainless, but I'm too busy drooling over the actresses, and chiseling motel owners on prices to worry about their gorgeous, thousands of person-hours design.

Chris Light · September 18th, 2008, 11:32 PM

finally, a thread for me....hahaha. i've been carrying my A1 in a consumer backpack, albeit, a nice one. but my poor A1 sits in a vertical position in this thing wrapped in an ugly (but clean) bath towel. i am so worried about this system destroying the mic, but after 4 months of ownership, it has stayed in tact. which means, it'll break tomorrow. that's what i get for saying something :-)

chris

Alain Lumina · October 2nd, 2008, 01:16 PM

When we last left our hero, he was moldering on the Oregon coast, pining away for his XH-A1, on which he had busted the mics through brilliantly leaving it sitting on his car back seat.

(Cam from B&H, warranty was about $400 and supposedly covered "ADH" ( accidental damage from handling))

I called Sagemax, you have to call the right number - 866-231-9734, I think it's all right 'cause it relates to a product sold by a sponsor. They are a subsidiary of something else, there are weaker warranties at another number for consumer items.

Repair depot send a prepaid UPS label, I sent it, they got it, I called the repair depot about a week after they had gotten it.

They answered the phone, were helpful, but there was a disconnect- from their point of view this was a non-warranty issue because our Hero had broken the mics.

They did say that Moron Mic Problem (MMP) was common with this model, and that this camera , or this problem, ( IDK which) was factory repair center only ( Which I figured-- I mean taking apart an XH?! You might as well work on the lunar lander.)

They said they'd estimated it at about $265. They advised me to, and I did, call Sagemax again and explained. The Sagemaxphone rep did not know about any plan that covered ADH, but went to check with a supervisor.

After a wait, she came back and said it was indeed covered for ADH ( actually that's where I got the acronym from) and she asked me to hold again, called the repair depot, came back on the line told me it was all fine.

Of course, I'm over 40 and I know enough to call the repair depot myself and see if we're all on the same page. They said yes, the repair had been authorized for the stated amount, but that if it was more they had to get more authorization from sagemax. Also, they were going to send it to Canon Service, that would take about 12-15 days round trip from what they said.

THEN they had to send it from the repair depot to me, another 10 days UPS cross country. I didn't ask, but they probably would ship it a faster method if I asked, but i don't have a shoot right now.

So- It looks like Sagemax is for real, but weak on the operations streamlining. If you live on west coast and use their UPS ground here's an imagined repair sequence:

1) Call Sagemax. They verify your invoice info, call repair depot who send you a shipping label and box with peanuts.
Total time: 10 days

2) Ship cam to repair depot by UPS ground label cross country --10 days
Total time : 20 days

3) Repair depot looks at it, then sends out --round trip to Canon another 15 days
total time: 35 days

4) Repair depot ships back to you: 10 days
total time 45 days

Not acceptable for a professional. I think you might be able to speed things up if you pay for faster shipping.

Will Mahoney · October 2nd, 2008, 01:42 PM

What a well done review of one of the service providers here! I'm glad that it appears to be working out for you. Kudos.

Alain Lumina · October 15th, 2008, 11:30 PM

I'm still waiting, sending things through an intermediary repair depot to Canon seems kind of absurd, this repair would have cost $275 but happened _much_faster if I had dealt directly with Canon. The warranty cost about $400 for three years.

It appears it actually could take up to three to four months before I get this back, and this is with me calling up the depot, the warranty company-- they do not have an agenda to make it trouble free.

The repair depot didn't even know it was going to be covered by the warranty company, until I personally got after the warranty company to call the depot. -- but it was the warranty company that directed me to them to begin with. They claim warranty covers "accidental damage from handling", and so far I have been able to get them to promise to do that-- but instead of a real "no-fault" thing like I felt should be happening ("It breaks, we fix it") it's more like every claim has to go through their approval-- with about an hour of phone calls to get the approval.

It may be a selling point to have this when I sell the camera, as the warranty is transferable, and the deal may be good for the possible case where an owner completely destroys a camera by, say, dropping it out of a fast moving car or the like. Of course, after this claim I'd be wondering Are they really going to cough up 3k for anew camera, or weasel out of this?"

Will Mahoney · October 16th, 2008, 11:36 AM

Cripes, my man. Well...keep us posted and keep your chin up.

Alain Lumina · October 29th, 2008, 07:19 PM

OK, Radio Repair in Syracuse ( Who are the people that the B&H-sold warranty people told me to send it to) said they sent it back and it would arrive here Nov 3rd. That makes roughly 60 days from the time I sent it to the time I'll get it back.

She did say that I could have paid for express shipping ( The depot is in NY and I am in Oregon) if I wanted, as it was I paid nothing for shipping either way.

The clerk said the mike repair ( depressed downward, so the internal wiring and the rubber gasket failed) was $295, but, as I said, it will be covered by the extended warranty; which was about $400.

So I'll take a look at it when it gets back, see if it still works.
If so, I'd say the warranty is worth it from my POV, as it is still warranted against further genius-level handling, and the warranty is transferable if i sell it, without charge, so should help the resale value.

NEVER leave a pro cam sitting on the back seat of your car as you drive..! If I was going to be a slob, I would have been far better off to sit it on the floor in the first place, as then it would have had nowhere to fall to.

I was in a rush, I had lost track of my girlfriend where I was getting stock footage in San Francisco, and got sloppy.

Bob Hart · October 29th, 2008, 08:37 PM

I have been in the habit of carrying an assembled camera/35mm adaptor on the car seat but covered with a jacket to keep stray sunlight out of viewfinders and strapped in with the lap/sash seat belt.

An unrestrained camera in the back seat presents a severe injury risk to the front seat occupants in a head-on collision.

Alain Lumina · November 3rd, 2008, 03:30 PM

OK, I go it back with all accessories ( I just had a UV filter on for protection and included a battery.)

--The mike now works
--it was well packed and
--my cash outlay was zero
--they paid shipping both ways even though it was my fault and I was honest about that: (I told them exactly what happened-- it fell from the back seat of my car, onto the car floor and partially dislodged that mike assembly from rubber gasket)

The warranty that paid for this ( I bought from B&H in July 08)
was a little under $400. I asked the clerk from the intermediary repair shop ( who sent it to Canon) what the repair would have cost and she said $295.

The 'no-fault" warranty is transferable to a new owner for no charge, is good for over 2.5 years more ( 3 total) it seems to work perfectly and I'm taking offers as I want to change to something I can rent out more reliably. 2nd camera, anyone?

There is a little rubbed paint near the mike base, but no other signs of wear really.

September 18th, 2008, 10:02 PM	#1
Alain Lumina Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Fort Dick California ( Far North) Posts: 59	Bang on the Built-in Mike to Test "Moron-proof" Warranty I sat the XH-A1 on the back seat of my car, and, brilliantly, it somersaulted onto the floor, perfectly targeting the tip of the built in mike as it landed on the floor for maximum leverage. Such precision! Of course, I did this on purpose ( just kidding ) to test the "Moron-Proof" warranty sold by one of the DVINFO sponsors. The mike, wobbly, worked at first, but when I tried to tighten it by reinforcing the joint with tightly wrapped electrical tape, it seemed to sever the built-in mikes' connections, and the mikes, from then on, did not work. I called the warranty company ( you've got to call the right number, there is a consumer number, and a special "pro/moron" number just for me. Amazing! I told the truth, for a change--and they said " That's covered." Huh? They then got my address and sent a prepaid shipping label from a supposedly authorized repair outlet. I shipped it and now I'm waiting to see if they can, and will, fix it. Will report! If they get it working again, I plan on trying to design a "Moron-Proofer" mike guard, the secret design will be out soon, because every bag I put the thing in is always pushing and targeting the damn built in mikes , which I think are great for getting ambiance in stereo. Then when I take it out of the bag, I automatically try to destroy those protruding mikes. Maybe the engineers that designed this can't conceive how I could be so brainless, but I'm too busy drooling over the actresses, and chiseling motel owners on prices to worry about their gorgeous, thousands of person-hours design.

October 2nd, 2008, 01:16 PM	#3
Alain Lumina Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Fort Dick California ( Far North) Posts: 59	Warranty Drama Continues-- An Uptick for the "Hero" When we last left our hero, he was moldering on the Oregon coast, pining away for his XH-A1, on which he had busted the mics through brilliantly leaving it sitting on his car back seat. (Cam from B&H, warranty was about $400 and supposedly covered "ADH" ( accidental damage from handling)) I called Sagemax, you have to call the right number - 866-231-9734, I think it's all right 'cause it relates to a product sold by a sponsor. They are a subsidiary of something else, there are weaker warranties at another number for consumer items. Repair depot send a prepaid UPS label, I sent it, they got it, I called the repair depot about a week after they had gotten it. They answered the phone, were helpful, but there was a disconnect- from their point of view this was a non-warranty issue because our Hero had broken the mics. They did say that Moron Mic Problem (MMP) was common with this model, and that this camera , or this problem, ( IDK which) was factory repair center only ( Which I figured-- I mean taking apart an XH?! You might as well work on the lunar lander.) They said they'd estimated it at about $265. They advised me to, and I did, call Sagemax again and explained. The Sagemaxphone rep did not know about any plan that covered ADH, but went to check with a supervisor. After a wait, she came back and said it was indeed covered for ADH ( actually that's where I got the acronym from) and she asked me to hold again, called the repair depot, came back on the line told me it was all fine. Of course, I'm over 40 and I know enough to call the repair depot myself and see if we're all on the same page. They said yes, the repair had been authorized for the stated amount, but that if it was more they had to get more authorization from sagemax. Also, they were going to send it to Canon Service, that would take about 12-15 days round trip from what they said. THEN they had to send it from the repair depot to me, another 10 days UPS cross country. I didn't ask, but they probably would ship it a faster method if I asked, but i don't have a shoot right now. So- It looks like Sagemax is for real, but weak on the operations streamlining. If you live on west coast and use their UPS ground here's an imagined repair sequence: 1) Call Sagemax. They verify your invoice info, call repair depot who send you a shipping label and box with peanuts. Total time: 10 days 2) Ship cam to repair depot by UPS ground label cross country --10 days Total time : 20 days 3) Repair depot looks at it, then sends out --round trip to Canon another 15 days total time: 35 days 4) Repair depot ships back to you: 10 days total time 45 days Not acceptable for a professional. I think you might be able to speed things up if you pay for faster shipping.

October 2nd, 2008, 01:42 PM	#4
Will Mahoney Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 259	What a well done review of one of the service providers here! I'm glad that it appears to be working out for you. Kudos. __________________ http://exposureroom.com/members/WillMahoney.aspx/ www.youtube.com/truckaccessories

October 15th, 2008, 11:30 PM	#5
Alain Lumina Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Fort Dick California ( Far North) Posts: 59	Slow train I'm still waiting, sending things through an intermediary repair depot to Canon seems kind of absurd, this repair would have cost $275 but happened _much_faster if I had dealt directly with Canon. The warranty cost about $400 for three years. It appears it actually could take up to three to four months before I get this back, and this is with me calling up the depot, the warranty company-- they do not have an agenda to make it trouble free. The repair depot didn't even know it was going to be covered by the warranty company, until I personally got after the warranty company to call the depot. -- but it was the warranty company that directed me to them to begin with. They claim warranty covers "accidental damage from handling", and so far I have been able to get them to promise to do that-- but instead of a real "no-fault" thing like I felt should be happening ("It breaks, we fix it") it's more like every claim has to go through their approval-- with about an hour of phone calls to get the approval. It may be a selling point to have this when I sell the camera, as the warranty is transferable, and the deal may be good for the possible case where an owner completely destroys a camera by, say, dropping it out of a fast moving car or the like. Of course, after this claim I'd be wondering Are they really going to cough up 3k for anew camera, or weasel out of this?"

October 16th, 2008, 11:36 AM	#6
Will Mahoney Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 259	Cripes, my man. Well...keep us posted and keep your chin up. __________________ http://exposureroom.com/members/WillMahoney.aspx/ www.youtube.com/truckaccessories

September 18th, 2008, 11:32 PM	#2
Chris Light Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Fallbrook, CA Posts: 49	finally, a thread for me....hahaha. i've been carrying my A1 in a consumer backpack, albeit, a nice one. but my poor A1 sits in a vertical position in this thing wrapped in an ugly (but clean) bath towel. i am so worried about this system destroying the mic, but after 4 months of ownership, it has stayed in tact. which means, it'll break tomorrow. that's what i get for saying something :-) chris

October 29th, 2008, 07:19 PM	#7
Alain Lumina Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Fort Dick California ( Far North) Posts: 59	Slow train, plus digging tunnels from China OK, Radio Repair in Syracuse ( Who are the people that the B&H-sold warranty people told me to send it to) said they sent it back and it would arrive here Nov 3rd. That makes roughly 60 days from the time I sent it to the time I'll get it back. She did say that I could have paid for express shipping ( The depot is in NY and I am in Oregon) if I wanted, as it was I paid nothing for shipping either way. The clerk said the mike repair ( depressed downward, so the internal wiring and the rubber gasket failed) was $295, but, as I said, it will be covered by the extended warranty; which was about $400. So I'll take a look at it when it gets back, see if it still works. If so, I'd say the warranty is worth it from my POV, as it is still warranted against further genius-level handling, and the warranty is transferable if i sell it, without charge, so should help the resale value. NEVER leave a pro cam sitting on the back seat of your car as you drive..! If I was going to be a slob, I would have been far better off to sit it on the floor in the first place, as then it would have had nowhere to fall to. I was in a rush, I had lost track of my girlfriend where I was getting stock footage in San Francisco, and got sloppy.

October 29th, 2008, 08:37 PM	#8
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,477	I have been in the habit of carrying an assembled camera/35mm adaptor on the car seat but covered with a jacket to keep stray sunlight out of viewfinders and strapped in with the lap/sash seat belt. An unrestrained camera in the back seat presents a severe injury risk to the front seat occupants in a head-on collision.

November 3rd, 2008, 03:30 PM	#9
Alain Lumina Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Fort Dick California ( Far North) Posts: 59	Got it Back Sorted, No Charge. OK, I go it back with all accessories ( I just had a UV filter on for protection and included a battery.) --The mike now works --it was well packed and --my cash outlay was zero --they paid shipping both ways even though it was my fault and I was honest about that: (I told them exactly what happened-- it fell from the back seat of my car, onto the car floor and partially dislodged that mike assembly from rubber gasket) The warranty that paid for this ( I bought from B&H in July 08) was a little under $400. I asked the clerk from the intermediary repair shop ( who sent it to Canon) what the repair would have cost and she said $295. The 'no-fault" warranty is transferable to a new owner for no charge, is good for over 2.5 years more ( 3 total) it seems to work perfectly and I'm taking offers as I want to change to something I can rent out more reliably. 2nd camera, anyone? There is a little rubbed paint near the mike base, but no other signs of wear really.