Frankie101
New member
I’m hoping someone from Canon reads this message.
A strange thing happened to my friend. She bought a brand new DSLR Canon 1000D at Fotofile MBK in Bangkok last month. 4 days later, during a trip to Cambodia, the camera suddenly died. Symptoms: printer light flashes and the camera won't turn on. She returns the camera to the shop as soon as she gets back in Bangkok, 10 days later. The Fotofile shop staff explains that exchanges are only accepted within 7 days of purchase. Since it's already too late for an exchange (and also because she doesn't stand her ground), she is invited to send her brand new camera for repair at the Canon Customer Center, located next door.
The Canon Customer Center gladly accepted the camera and sent it off for repair at the Canon Service Center in downtown Bangkok, promising to fix the camera within 2-3 weeks. A few days days later, the Canon Repair Center informs us the camera is broken because there was humidity / water** inside!!!! The warranty does not (of course) cover damage caused by water and she will have to pay for the repairs. This new camera purchase is turning like a nightmare.
For the 10 days she had the camera, my friend did not take it anywhere near water.
So we go to Canon Service Center in downtown Bangkok and talk to Mr. Sarayuth. He explained us that somehow humidity / water got inside the camera. He even said that sweating or rain could have infiltrated the camera! I've owned a total of 6 Canon cameras in many extreme conditions including rain, but I’ve never experienced that kind of problem.
So I asked to see the camera as well as the damaged component. Mr. Sarayuth showed me the damaged PCBA (Printed Circuit Board Assembly) - see picture below - that sits around the battery area. As you can see, there's a tiny area around the chip (black square) that is damaged / corroded.
If there was a condensation problem, I'd think the whole PCBA would be contaminated with corrosion, not only an area around the chip. The same goes for water. If water leaked into the camera, the liquid would spread inside the whole camera and corrode the whole PCBA. Am I making any sense?
One theory: I'm thinking this defect is a result of a slow corrosive substance that was dropped onto the PCBA during the manufacturing process. The camera passed all tests before leaving factory, was found 1 week later on the shelves of a photo shop, then sold 1 week later. At that point the camera was still working, but not for much longer because the corrosive action of the substance was almost completed.
The saddest part is that Mr. Sarayuth from Canon wants us to pay for the repair! About 3000 bahts or 100US$. At some point, he even suggested a "discount". I'm very patient with Thai people, but this non-sense is stretching my patience to its limits. This is a new camera that broke after 4 days, most likely due to a manufacturing problem.
I'm a QA manufacturing engineer myself, but I'm not specialized in PCBA. Do we have a QA Engineer specialized in PCBA reading this forum? I'd love to hear your expert opinion on this matter.
Thanks for your help and comments.
A strange thing happened to my friend. She bought a brand new DSLR Canon 1000D at Fotofile MBK in Bangkok last month. 4 days later, during a trip to Cambodia, the camera suddenly died. Symptoms: printer light flashes and the camera won't turn on. She returns the camera to the shop as soon as she gets back in Bangkok, 10 days later. The Fotofile shop staff explains that exchanges are only accepted within 7 days of purchase. Since it's already too late for an exchange (and also because she doesn't stand her ground), she is invited to send her brand new camera for repair at the Canon Customer Center, located next door.
The Canon Customer Center gladly accepted the camera and sent it off for repair at the Canon Service Center in downtown Bangkok, promising to fix the camera within 2-3 weeks. A few days days later, the Canon Repair Center informs us the camera is broken because there was humidity / water** inside!!!! The warranty does not (of course) cover damage caused by water and she will have to pay for the repairs. This new camera purchase is turning like a nightmare.
For the 10 days she had the camera, my friend did not take it anywhere near water.
So we go to Canon Service Center in downtown Bangkok and talk to Mr. Sarayuth. He explained us that somehow humidity / water got inside the camera. He even said that sweating or rain could have infiltrated the camera! I've owned a total of 6 Canon cameras in many extreme conditions including rain, but I’ve never experienced that kind of problem.
So I asked to see the camera as well as the damaged component. Mr. Sarayuth showed me the damaged PCBA (Printed Circuit Board Assembly) - see picture below - that sits around the battery area. As you can see, there's a tiny area around the chip (black square) that is damaged / corroded.
If there was a condensation problem, I'd think the whole PCBA would be contaminated with corrosion, not only an area around the chip. The same goes for water. If water leaked into the camera, the liquid would spread inside the whole camera and corrode the whole PCBA. Am I making any sense?
One theory: I'm thinking this defect is a result of a slow corrosive substance that was dropped onto the PCBA during the manufacturing process. The camera passed all tests before leaving factory, was found 1 week later on the shelves of a photo shop, then sold 1 week later. At that point the camera was still working, but not for much longer because the corrosive action of the substance was almost completed.
The saddest part is that Mr. Sarayuth from Canon wants us to pay for the repair! About 3000 bahts or 100US$. At some point, he even suggested a "discount". I'm very patient with Thai people, but this non-sense is stretching my patience to its limits. This is a new camera that broke after 4 days, most likely due to a manufacturing problem.
I'm a QA manufacturing engineer myself, but I'm not specialized in PCBA. Do we have a QA Engineer specialized in PCBA reading this forum? I'd love to hear your expert opinion on this matter.
Thanks for your help and comments.
