Generally, they've been excellent. The times I've had trouble with them have generally been when a camera/lens is either brand new (released under 2 months, so parts/expertise are still hard to come-by) or over a decade old (parts are again hard to come by). Those difficulties can greatly increase the time it takes them to get parts in stock. Otherwise it's on the way back to me within the week. If it isn't an emergency repair, I always try to make sure I have three weeks that I won't be using the equipment just to have the cushion.
My D4s had an electrical connection fault that required four trips back to fix, but that is the only camera that i've had that needed more than a single trip. That was a very odd problem, so I can understand that it eventually ended up taking a trans-pacific trip to fix.
As to their warranty service, they've been extremely good at repairing covered products. They do try to get out of it sometimes, but any company would (if it's really impact damage, then yes, that's something the user is responsible for). If there's one thing that's annoying about the entire repair process, it's that they always say "receipt not provided" even if you tape a copy of the receipt to the lens. It always requires a call and emailing them a second copy.
Also, since they have changed their lens warranty period, you've had to call them on legacy lenses that are still under 5 year warranty. With the current submission site there's no way to remind them that their previous commitment still stands when the lens is over a year old.
As for recalls without an immediate problem for my camera, I'll let them ride for awhile before sending it in. I assume that the first month they'll be swamped and have parts in short supply. Even if it's a recall on a different camera body, i'll still try not to send anything in during the initial time because they'll be stressed and overworked.
I must admit that I used to live around 2 hours from Melville and would drop-off my equipment when there was a problem. I really miss that, because there is more of a disconnect now that i'm dealing with online/phone support.
My D4s had an electrical connection fault that required four trips back to fix, but that is the only camera that i've had that needed more than a single trip. That was a very odd problem, so I can understand that it eventually ended up taking a trans-pacific trip to fix.
As to their warranty service, they've been extremely good at repairing covered products. They do try to get out of it sometimes, but any company would (if it's really impact damage, then yes, that's something the user is responsible for). If there's one thing that's annoying about the entire repair process, it's that they always say "receipt not provided" even if you tape a copy of the receipt to the lens. It always requires a call and emailing them a second copy.
Also, since they have changed their lens warranty period, you've had to call them on legacy lenses that are still under 5 year warranty. With the current submission site there's no way to remind them that their previous commitment still stands when the lens is over a year old.
As for recalls without an immediate problem for my camera, I'll let them ride for awhile before sending it in. I assume that the first month they'll be swamped and have parts in short supply. Even if it's a recall on a different camera body, i'll still try not to send anything in during the initial time because they'll be stressed and overworked.
I must admit that I used to live around 2 hours from Melville and would drop-off my equipment when there was a problem. I really miss that, because there is more of a disconnect now that i'm dealing with online/phone support.
