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canyonwalkerTwo months ago I dropped and broke one of the nice lenses I have for my camera. It happened when I was hiking the Beehive in Acadia National Park. On a steep trail that involved climbing rungs blasted into the bedrock like this...
![The trail up the face of the Beehive gets tougher with iron rungs to climb. Acadia National Park [Jun 2021]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/734152/734152_original.jpg "The trail up the face of the Beehive gets tougher with iron rungs to climb. Acadia National Park [Jun 2021]")
...So I could get to spots like this to enjoy the vista...
![It's a traffic jam ascending the Beehive but the views make the waiting not suck. Acadia National Park [Jun 2021]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/733870/733870_original.jpg "It's a traffic jam ascending the Beehive but the views make the waiting not suck. Acadia National Park [Jun 2021]")
...The lens popped out of my pack. It dropped about 2m to the ground.
Good news 2: It was just the lens that fell, not a camera.
Good news 3: I brushed the dirt off the lens and attached it to my camera, and it worked!
Bad news: After 30 minutes it stopped working.
Bad news 2: A week or so later I checked on the cost to replace this lens. It's more expensive than I expected— new ones sell for $1,000!
For nearly two months after that I did nothing about my broken lens. I didn't act on replacing it. As good as the new model lens is, I really don't want to spend $1,000 on this.
Alas, I put off acting on that for a few weeks. I knew that the repair shop took cameras, but it wasn't clear from their website if they also fixed lenses. I left the site opened in a browser tab, meaning to call their toll-free number to check. That tab sat there for days before I made the call. Finally I called this morning.
For all my inexplicable procrastinating up to this point, I got myself in gear and acted swiftly today. I confirmed the shop repairs lenses, confirmed the process, printed a repair form, packed my lens in a box for shipping, and dropped it off at the post office during my lunch break.
I estimate I'll have a repaired lens back in my hands in 5 weeks if all goes well. That includes 2 weeks for shipping it across the country and back, a week for diagnosis, and 2 weeks for the actual repairs.
What if all does not go well? Well, one alternative the phone agent explained is that if Fujifilm determines my lens can't be repaired cost effectively they may offer to sell me a refurbished lens. I'd definitely be interested in that— assuming it's well less than the $1,000 retail price of the newer model lens. Unfortunately the rep couldn't give me a cost estimate on refurbished gear. He said it depends on availability.
Well, the lens is in the mail now. I should hear back from the repair shop with a cost estimate in about 2 weeks.
UPDATE: The repair bill is $323.
...So I could get to spots like this to enjoy the vista...
...The lens popped out of my pack. It dropped about 2m to the ground.
Good News, Bad News
A Good news: It dropped only 2 meters, landing on a ledge right below me. If it had rolled off that ledge it would've dropped another 100 meters and I never would have seen it again.Good news 2: It was just the lens that fell, not a camera.
Good news 3: I brushed the dirt off the lens and attached it to my camera, and it worked!
Bad news: After 30 minutes it stopped working.
Bad news 2: A week or so later I checked on the cost to replace this lens. It's more expensive than I expected— new ones sell for $1,000!
For nearly two months after that I did nothing about my broken lens. I didn't act on replacing it. As good as the new model lens is, I really don't want to spend $1,000 on this.
We can fix it. We have the technology.
A few weeks ago it occurred to me that repairing it is an option. The manufacturer, Fujifilm, has a repair center. I sent a broken camera to them years ago, and they fixed it just fine. It cost somewhere in the range of $250 - 300. If I could repair this lens for, say, $300, instead of replace it for nearly $1,100 (a grand plus tax) that'd be great!Alas, I put off acting on that for a few weeks. I knew that the repair shop took cameras, but it wasn't clear from their website if they also fixed lenses. I left the site opened in a browser tab, meaning to call their toll-free number to check. That tab sat there for days before I made the call. Finally I called this morning.
For all my inexplicable procrastinating up to this point, I got myself in gear and acted swiftly today. I confirmed the shop repairs lenses, confirmed the process, printed a repair form, packed my lens in a box for shipping, and dropped it off at the post office during my lunch break.
I estimate I'll have a repaired lens back in my hands in 5 weeks if all goes well. That includes 2 weeks for shipping it across the country and back, a week for diagnosis, and 2 weeks for the actual repairs.
What if all does not go well? Well, one alternative the phone agent explained is that if Fujifilm determines my lens can't be repaired cost effectively they may offer to sell me a refurbished lens. I'd definitely be interested in that— assuming it's well less than the $1,000 retail price of the newer model lens. Unfortunately the rep couldn't give me a cost estimate on refurbished gear. He said it depends on availability.
Well, the lens is in the mail now. I should hear back from the repair shop with a cost estimate in about 2 weeks.
UPDATE: The repair bill is $323.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-19 02:42 am (UTC)