Sigma repair!!! :(

Hi all,

After my Sigma 800mm got blown over while out taking seabird pics, the result was one broken 800mm lens. I recently got in touch with them and was horrified to find out the length of repair for it will be at least 8+ weeks as it has to go back to Japan. I couldn't believe that such a big company like Sigma don't have repair centres throughout the world. To say I'm disappointed with Sigma is an understatement!

I think I will be very reluctant to buy anymore Sigma equipment even though they represent very good value for money when compared to the big guns of Nikon and Canon.

Anyway! here is a few pics done with broken lens. I will sadly miss it over the next few months.











Sue @ http://www.suesbirdphotos.co.uk

Sue,

One cannot have the price that one gets with Sigma lenses and expect the same service that companies 100x bigger give and who also charge considerably more.

Warranty issues are handled very promptly. Sigma replaced my defective SD-10 body ASAP. I couldn't be happier.

As for damages caused by negligence, my only suggestion would be greater care. I too have goofed - lost a camera body and lens, once. That won't happen again. I even leave the strap around my neck as I put my SD-10 on the tripod and make certain that it is secure. I've seen and heard too many horror stories about "secured" cameras that got totalled.

Hope it doesn't take that long - for my sake and yours. I really enjoyed viewing your images. Thanks for posting them.

CJ

XYZXYZXYZ said:

Hi all,

After my Sigma 800mm got blown over while out taking seabird pics,
the result was one broken 800mm lens. I recently got in touch with
them and was horrified to find out the length of repair for it will
be at least 8+ weeks as it has to go back to Japan. I couldn't
believe that such a big company like Sigma don't have repair
centres throughout the world. To say I'm disappointed with Sigma is
an understatement!

I think I will be very reluctant to buy anymore Sigma equipment
even though they represent very good value for money when compared
to the big guns of Nikon and Canon.

Anyway! here is a few pics done with broken lens. I will sadly miss
it over the next few months.











Sue @ http://www.suesbirdphotos.co.uk

Click to expand...

--
http://www.pbase.com/cjmax/galleries

If you work with your hands, head and your heart, you are an artist. Louis Nizer

Thanks for the good advice CJ, I think I will super glue the lens and camera to my hands on it's return

Sue @ http://www.suesbirdphotos.co.uk

XYZXYZXYZ said:

Hi all,

After my Sigma 800mm got blown over while out taking seabird pics,
the result was one broken 800mm lens. I recently got in touch with
them and was horrified to find out the length of repair for it will
be at least 8+ weeks as it has to go back to Japan.

Click to expand...

XYZXYZXYZ said:

I couldn't
believe that such a big company like Sigma don't have repair
centres throughout the world. To say I'm disappointed with Sigma is
an understatement!

Click to expand...

What makes you think Sigma is a big company?....Compared to the likes of Canon and Nikon its a very tiny company that cannot afford to spend out on a large repair networks outside Japan.

XYZXYZXYZ said:

I think I will be very reluctant to buy anymore Sigma equipment
even though they represent very good value for money when compared
to the big guns of Nikon and Canon.

Click to expand...

If I had spent very hard earned money on a wonderfull Sigma 800mm prime lens the first thing I would ensure is that does'nt get blown over!

......A decent Tripod like a Manfrotto 055 pro with the legs spread wide would have helped prevent your mishap IMO.

XYZXYZXYZ said:

Anyway! here is a few pics done with broken lens. I will sadly miss
it over the next few months.

Click to expand...

I like the Sparrow and that red headed bird(?) but I could'nt help but wonder why they did not look very sharp considering how good the 800mm is,.....Then saw it was used on a Fuji,...Oh well, as laurence would say, TLWHWALBWADSBI! (Or words to that effect!)

Regards

DSG
--
http://sigmasd10.fotopic.net/

I sure won't jump on the "too bad for you" band wagon. I agree with you 100% that the amount of time for this repair is excessive. I waited more like 3.5 MONTHS on 2 occasions for Sigma repairs (total of 7 months) because so and so was on vacation or what ever the excuse each time was. If you are truly done in 8 weeks count it as fast! (some stuff didn't even get fixed after all this time grrrrr)

I now have a Canon 20D and DReb to use if I am without my SD9. If it wasn't for the slow turn around by Sigma, I would just have gone for a SD10 instead of the 20D. Like it or not that is one of the deciding factors for me at the time. Sigma may be a good deal, but just plan to buy 2 of everything so you can have a spare.

STUFF happens to even the most careful of people! Sigma COULD offer to ship next day air, or have you send directly to Japan instead of to Sigma USA first, then wait for Katsu to get back from vacation, ( I guess he is staying in Japan now anyways) so he can send it to Japan.

Some of my Sigma lenses are proving to produce better images for me than some of my Canon L lenses, and my SD9 still has the best color and detail (in the right conditions) so even as mad as I am at the repair time over at Sigma, I really couldn't stop using or buying Sigma products...

DaSigmaGuy said:

XYZXYZXYZ said:

Hi all,

After my Sigma 800mm got blown over while out taking seabird pics,
the result was one broken 800mm lens. I recently got in touch with
them and was horrified to find out the length of repair for it will
be at least 8+ weeks as it has to go back to Japan.

Click to expand...

DaSonyGuy said:

I couldn't
believe that such a big company like Sigma don't have repair
centres throughout the world. To say I'm disappointed with Sigma is
an understatement!

Click to expand...

What makes you think Sigma is a big company?....Compared to the
likes of Canon and Nikon its a very tiny company that cannot afford
to spend out on a large repair networks outside Japan.

DaSonyGuy said:

I think I will be very reluctant to buy anymore Sigma equipment
even though they represent very good value for money when compared
to the big guns of Nikon and Canon.

Click to expand...

If I had spent very hard earned money on a wonderfull Sigma 800mm
prime lens the first thing I would ensure is that does'nt get blown
over!

Click to expand...

It was a gift

DaSonyGuy said:

......A decent Tripod like a Manfrotto 055 pro with the legs spread
wide would have helped prevent your mishap IMO.

Click to expand...

I've got a gitzo 1548, it was just my mistake for leaving the equipment for the split second it took to take the back pack off

DaSonyGuy said:

DaSonyGuy said:

Anyway! here is a few pics done with broken lens. I will sadly miss
it over the next few months.

Click to expand...

I like the Sparrow and that red headed bird(?) but I could'nt help
but wonder why they did not look very sharp considering how good
the 800mm is,.....Then saw it was used on a Fuji,...Oh well, as
laurence would say, TLWHWALBWADSBI! (Or words to that effect!)

Click to expand...

The images are sharp! just heavily compressed and quickly edited for web purpose!

DaSonyGuy said:

Regards

DSG
--
http://sigmasd10.fotopic.net/

Click to expand...

XYZXYZXYZ said:

Hi all,

After my Sigma 800mm got blown over while out taking seabird pics,
the result was one broken 800mm lens. I recently got in touch with
them and was horrified to find out the length of repair for it will
be at least 8+ weeks as it has to go back to Japan. I couldn't
believe that such a big company like Sigma don't have repair
centres throughout the world. To say I'm disappointed with Sigma is
an understatement!

Click to expand...

Well, these are lenses that sell a few hundred per month, at best. You can't really expect them to equip all their repair centres around the world (and they do have multiple) with the tooling and spare parts for being able to repair these lenses. Doing that has its cost, and that would reflect in the selling price of the lens. And when Sigma has to charge as much for a lens as Nikon or Canon, no one would buy it.

This being said, sending stuff back and forth to Japan should not add more than 2 weeks to a repair schedule. Still leaves 6 weeks for the repair in Japan. I can see two reasons for this long period:

• the resources (human and tooling) needed to repair the lens are scarse, and there is a (long) work queue
• some parts needed to fix the lens might have to be produced on special order (I don't believe the 800mm is still in production - replaced by the 300-800 zoom)

I hope for you that the repair works out OK, and in a reasonable amount of time.

JanR

XYZXYZXYZ said:

Sue @ http://www.suesbirdphotos.co.uk

Click to expand...

Has anybody checked on the turnaround time of a similar repair from Nikon or Canon?

When I sent my SD9 in to have the FP mode activated i was without it for less than a week and Sigma paid the shipping both ways!
td

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1027&message=10684483

If you are bothered by the repair time just don't damage things often.

Anyway it was obvious that this will be a not be an easy repair, so the technicians of the Sigma Dependencies very likely can't do it and it has to go back to Japan. I doubt that Canon or Nikon repair much quicker.
--
http://www.pbase.com/dgross (work in progress)
http://www.pbase.com/sigmasd9/dominic_gross_sd10

To shed the light in this situation...looked like it is a recurring things...sometimes it is easy to blame someone else for your own negligent...I guess I am jealous since I originally wanted this lens but it was out of production and have to settle for the 300-800.
cheers,
c

Dominic Groß said:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1027&message=10684483

If you are bothered by the repair time just don't damage things often.

Anyway it was obvious that this will be a not be an easy repair, so
the technicians of the Sigma Dependencies very likely can't do it
and it has to go back to Japan. I doubt that Canon or Nikon repair
much quicker.
--
http://www.pbase.com/dgross (work in progress)
http://www.pbase.com/sigmasd9/dominic_gross_sd10

Click to expand...

Tucsondave.2 said:

Has anybody checked on the turnaround time of a similar repair from
Nikon or Canon?
When I sent my SD9 in to have the FP mode activated i was without
it for less than a week and Sigma paid the shipping both ways!
td

Click to expand...

FP mode?

XYZXYZXYZ said:

Hi all,

After my Sigma 800mm got blown over while out taking seabird pics,
the result was one broken 800mm lens. I recently got in touch with
them and was horrified to find out the length of repair for it will
be at least 8+ weeks as it has to go back to Japan. I couldn't
believe that such a big company like Sigma don't have repair
centres throughout the world. To say I'm disappointed with Sigma is
an understatement!

I think I will be very reluctant to buy anymore Sigma equipment
even though they represent very good value for money when compared
to the big guns of Nikon and Canon.

Anyway! here is a few pics done with broken lens. I will sadly miss
it over the next few months.











Sue @ http://www.suesbirdphotos.co.uk

Click to expand...

Great pictures Sue. Was this Sigma USA? I dropprd my 70-200 f2.8 about 4 feet on to a concrete wall/side walk(it bounced twice, but still razor sharp) back in April and jammed the lens mount. I send it back to Sigma USA for a COMPLETE check up and repair and had it back in 5 business days. It works great, good as new. Maybe it's because it's a special lens, that's why it has to go back to Japan??
Have fun
Roger J.

RobbieKnobbie said:

Tucsondave.2 said:

Has anybody checked on the turnaround time of a similar repair from
Nikon or Canon?
When I sent my SD9 in to have the FP mode activated i was without
it for less than a week and Sigma paid the shipping both ways!
td

Click to expand...

FP mode?

Click to expand...

FP mode on the EF 500 DG super flash did not work on some SD9 cameras unless activated by Sigma. Allows flash sync up to 1/6000"
td

Your lens sounds like an uncommon, complex repair that most Sigma repair centers can't do in the field (discontinued, low production lens, probably no parts kept in stock). From my experience Sigma is much faster with more common repairs.

Last year (at the height of the Christmas/New Year holidays) Sigma USA turned around a problem with a new SD10 body in about 2 weeks (they ended up replacing it). Recently, they fixed a 50mm Macro EX that had stopped autofocusing (broken gear) in about a week!

So while I sympathize with you over how long that repair is going to take, its probably not too far out of line with what a "normal" turn is, considering that it has to go back to Japan. And at least you have the comfort of knowing that original factory technicians are going to be doing it. And as others have already pointed out, its likely that a bigger company like Nikon or Canon would probably take as long for a repair of similar magnitude.

Nice pictures, by the way...

-Arthur

XYZXYZXYZ said:

Hi all,

After my Sigma 800mm got blown over while out taking seabird pics,
the result was one broken 800mm lens. I recently got in touch with
them and was horrified to find out the length of repair for it will
be at least 8+ weeks as it has to go back to Japan. I couldn't
believe that such a big company like Sigma don't have repair
centres throughout the world. To say I'm disappointed with Sigma is
an understatement!

I think I will be very reluctant to buy anymore Sigma equipment
even though they represent very good value for money when compared
to the big guns of Nikon and Canon.

Anyway! here is a few pics done with broken lens. I will sadly miss
it over the next few months.

Sue @ http://www.suesbirdphotos.co.uk

Click to expand...