Digital Home Thoughts: Digital Camera Disasters: Will Yours Get Fixed?

"Two major digital camera problems, a lens issue with Canon cameras and an image sensor defect found in many different companies' models, continue to plague owners but have drawn entirely different company responses. The long-standing "E18" controversy is in the forefront again. Users with Canon point-and-shoots, including the A and SD product lines, have long complained of the problem. Canon has not reported any defect with the cameras and typically doesn't pay to repair affected cameras that are out of warranty. In stark contrast, a host of companies acknowledge a defective image sensor in various camera models and offer free out-of-warranty repairs. Canon, Fujifilm, Konica Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Ricoh, and Sony all have issued service advisories about faulty CCDs in older cameras, camcorders, and camera-enabled PDAs that result in drastically smeared or blurred pictures."

If you get hit with the dreaded E18 error, and turning the camera off and on again doesn't take care of it, Canon suggests contacting the store where you bought the unit, taking it to the nearest service center, or calling Canon's tech support at 800/828-4040. On the other hand, if you get the heat/humidity related error, apparently you can get it fixed right away. Interesting to see how, while both are seemingly serious and relatively common problem, are getting very different responses. I wonder why Canon isn't just taking care of its customers, there really is something to be said about customer retention.