CPS will change in near future…

Distinctly Average wrote:

I feel you may be cutting off your nose despite your face. I k ow many are miffed at the CPS changes, even though many probably have never used it. Thing is, will the grass be greener elsewhere? I have yet to see any brand do differently or provide a better service, other than Hassleblad, Red and other silly priced brands. Leica are getting close in their level of pricing despite the lack of options available, but it appears they don’t have a brilliant reputation for service at least here in my country.

Personally, I would switch brands for features or lenses that I want. If my current brand didn’t have available decent macro lenses then I would switch to a brand that did for instance. To switch simply because of a quite minor change to a once free service seems a bit daft to me. If ai was a professional, a working tog then the fees seem reasonable. It would be a tax loss anyway which is great, and ai would still be getting the money back in servicing. As a hobbyist it is different. I am not abusing my toys anywhere near as much. As long as turn around times are good on those rare occasions ai need a repair I am happy.

As for data collection, every company photographic or otherwise does that these days. Unless you are an off grid hermit you have no real chance of avoiding that.

The name was always Canon Professional Services, so we amateurs who joined were basically freeloading. I've just had my broken lens hood replaced under the scheme, for a little under half the price of a second-hand lens, but at least the lens has been serviced and it's a known quantity and the repair was quick, efficient and slightly cheaper than the likely cost given by an independent repairer. Canon include a servicing allowance equivalent to the annual subscription and provide VAT invoices, so it's a legitimate business expense claimable against tax. It's just no longer a service for amateurs, they provide Canon Club for that, which is nowhere near as exciting.