Dead Pixel, is this acceptable?

[Matthew Nayman]

John...

First of all, Canon is a multi billion dollar company. Somehow I suspect that they would not sell faulty models as a lower price version (I know you are kidding but...)

Second... the zoom lens on the A1 is simply a slower and slightly noiser mechanism than you may be used to. You can speed up the zoom ring in your custom function menus, and the noise should be negligable.

As for hot/dead pixels. I had one at 1/24 of a second and 0db gain, but after a few weeks of back and forth with Canon, I got it fixed, and no problems since.

The Canon XHA1 is really the best camera I have ever owned, and I wouldn't regret any decision so soon. Learn the camera, give it time, and most of all, (in the words of Douglas Adams) DON'T PANIC

[John Brinks]

The crazy thing is, the zoom is slower and noiser than my first a1, i am not comparing it to a different model, and quite honestly that would not bother me if there were no dead pixels, but there are actually more than my first a1!

As for Canon selling faulty models as lower cost options... well you be the judge, I have never heard of any of the competitors having this many problems! I mean receiving two models with dead pixels is incredible... I feel sorry for the retailers who have to deal with these problems at great cost to themselves.

But the camera is awesome, the image quality and controls are amazing... if they could just make a fully functional unit.

On a side note, Amazon.com sent me an email saying that the problems with this model are more widespread then they thought, and that if they sent me another unit they could not guarantee it would be fully functional!

I think i will give the A1 one more try... three strikes and your out!

[Bill Pryor]

You mentioned Amazon...what dealer are you buying from there? They don't sell cameras, they hook up with other dealers, don't they? I have seen one big retailer (not involving cameras, but another product) actually repackaged a defective item, put it back on the shelf for another customer to buy. I know, I was the sucker. I took it back when it didn't work, and also I noticed that it very obviously had been used. I was really surprised when the customer service person said, "Oh yeah, that happens all the time. I'll get you another one."

[John Brinks]

No, it is sold directly by Amazon, no third parties here. There are only a few companies i would trust with an order this expensive!

Sorry about your experience, basically avoid any company in Crooklyn, and if the price is lower than B&H. than it is probably too good to be true!

It's funny, upon receiving my first A1 i was delighted to see it was made in Japan... I guess they cant make things like they used too!

But i really do like the cam, even if price were no object, i still think it is the best thing around... the price just sweetens the deal!

[Chris Hurd]

Instances like this are why I always recommend dealing *only* with our trusted site sponsors; real people such as Christine at ZGC, Brian at Zotz, Scott Cantrell of TTW, Jim Martin at Birns, etc. It's the level of costumer service they provide that can't be beat when dealing with a faceless entity such as Amazon. For those who wonder why our sponsors are the only dealers we discuss here, this is an excellent example of that reason. I wouldn't trust a $4000 purchase with anybody else but the dealers who support this site.

[Bill Pryor]

Just out of curiosity, I went to Amazon and found the XH A1. While they sell it, and you pay them, they are not a dealer. In the listing I found, they said the camera would be shipped from a dealer. I had never heard of that dealer. All Amazon does is find good prices from dealers they have relationships with, take your order and have the camera shipped from that dealer. So, you're buying from dealers nobody around here has any experience with. I'm not saying they're necessarily unethical dealers because I've never heard of them, but you take chances. A person could buy a defective camera, send it back, and instead of the camera getting sent to a Canon service center for repair, it could very well get repackaged and sold to somebody else. This happens.

I did see that the dealer has a bunch of stars and high percentage rating. But who does this rating? I have seen one site recently where Broadway Photo has a top 5-star rating! It's easy to scam the rating places.

Chris is always promoting the dealers who advertise on here, and it's been proven over and over again that they are good, reputable dealers. I'm not pimping for the advertisers on here, but I am definitely not a believer in going after the cheapestpriceontheweb.com places. I use B&H as my good, middle-of-the-road discount price company. If anybody is more than about 5% lower or higher than B&H, I don't deal with them, and I never order anything from an on line dealer who is simply a broker.

I'm not trying to knock the original poster here, not at all. I'm just throwing out my opinion about the risk you take when going for the lowest price above all else. This site is the only place on the web whose advertisers I've found I can trust 100%. This is borne out by my own experiences with purchases from B&H and Zotz, and as well by prompt and informed respones to my questions form a couple of the other sponsors.

[John Brinks]

I did not want this to become a discussion about the dealer, oh well... yes, it is definitely worth it to buy from a small store with personalized service, like the ones on dvinfo, there prices are usually not any more than the competing stores, and even if they are it is worth it.

But i actually did order from amazon directly, and it was not any cheaper than anywhere else... it is now out of stock and has reverted to third party sellers, however it was not that way when i ordered. I gathered from the email that they sent me, that it has been pulled out of stock because of reliability issues... which leads me to my concern if i will ever be able to get a unit without dead pixels!

Also, the fact the the zoom sound and speed, is not consistent with the two models i have received, leads me to believe that quality control is not consistent at the factory!

I just wanted to know if anyone else had found dead pixels... and how they dealt with it.

[Lou Bruno]

There are no overall pixel problems with the camera like some past cameras sold by other companies. I can assure you of this from my personal experience.

[Bill Pryor]

I don't think there are generic reliability issues. Look at all the people on this site alone who have purchased them and have no problems at all. That's why I question where the camera came from.

[John Brinks]

I don't know... there seem to be an awful lot of posts here and on dvxuser about problems with the xha1! Although that could just be due to the fact that the xha1 is probably selling a lot more than than the competitors... and the fact that anyone who buys an a1 is very well informed and used to using the forums.

At this point i am almost thinking of walking in to a brick and mortar store, and asking them to open up all of the a1's until a non-faulty unit is found...LOL

But you do have to think about the fact that Canon sells two models above the a1 that cost two and three times as much (g1, h1)... both of which use identical imaging systems... so it is not inconceivable that faulty units are relegated to the more affordable a1 moniker. I mean Intel and AMD have been doing it for years... if a processor has a few bad sectors, they sell them as celeron and duron units instead of Pentium or Athlon... just a thought

Especially since it seems that it is not normal to have to refocus after zooming... which i have had to do with both my a1's!

[Khoi Pham]

I have 3 A1 and don't have a problem with any of them, sure I have a few dead pixels at 4th and 8th of a second shutter speed but that is to be expected, I hardly shoot anything at that speed anyway unless for effects, I don't think there is a quality problem with these camera at all.

[Dan Wilder]

John,
Your evidence is largely circumstantial. I haven't noticed a higher volume of postings with A1 problems than any other newly introduced camera. If so I would not have ordered one myself.

As for the Intel-AMD point, how wise would it be for Canon to purposely ship defective units at a lower price point? With a lower margin, a high return rate would kill them financially. I would guess that the lower price point of the A1 comes from improved manufacturing efficiencies (much like with CPU chips) and a desire to attract more of the prosumer market. The H1 and G1 have a higher markup because their special features are targeted at the pro market. In the DSLR market, Canon has shown that it's not afraid to sell increasingly capable cameras at lower price points.

That being said, I can understand your disappointment with your A1 experience so far. I'm hoping my experience will be better when I receive my unit next week. BTW, this will be my first piece of Canon gear so I'm far from being a Canon apologist.

-Dan

[John Brinks]

Khoi,

But the dead pixels on my a1's are visible at any shutter speed and gain settings.

Heres a question, i am curious, how many of the people who were kind enough to post their experiences with functional a1's, got them when they first came out. Perhaps there is just a particularly bad batch going around right now.

[Khoi Pham]

Originally Posted by John Brinks

Khoi,

But the dead pixels on my a1's are visible at any shutter speed and gain settings.

Heres a question, i am curious, how many of the people who were kind enough to post their experiences with functional a1's, got them when they first came out. Perhaps there is just a particularly bad batch going around right now.

Ahh, I must have missed that, you've got the bad ones alright, I hope you get a good one soon.