# CPS Platinum Membership Gift



## jedinite (Mar 25, 2015)

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone could share what gift is being provided with Platinum Memberships this year (2015). 

I am currently a Silver member and almost qualified for a Platinum membership, so I am debating getting my next piece of glass early and then upgrading to Platinum for the gift. I spoke to customer service and they were unable to divulge what was given this year but he did tell me that in the past it has been a ThinkTank Bag or a ThinkTank laptop sleeve.

Also, perhaps future forum members can post their gifts here for future reference. 

Cheers!


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## takesome1 (Mar 26, 2015)

I joined 5 years ago as a Gold member, I only kept it two years. I have over 100 points, and I don't think it is worth it. If I were a pro with multiple employees using multiple bodies and lenses it might be. 

I think at the time it was $500 for the Platinum and $100 for the gold.
I received a CPS strap, the pin, a white fiber cloth and the best was a Canons EF Lens Work book.
The book was cool.

For the $300 it cost you can buy all those things and have several hundred left.


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## slclick (Mar 26, 2015)

Is it a gift when you pay for it?


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## takesome1 (Mar 26, 2015)

slclick said:


> Is it a gift when you pay for it?



Just like Christmas when my kids buy me a gift.
You know who actually paid for it.


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## curtisnull (Mar 26, 2015)

I have been a Platinum member for several years. Every year when i renewed (at $500) I would get all of the gifts, lens caps, strap, pin, and blah blah blah. I renewed this year with the new program at $300. After a month I still hadn't received anything from them. I called and was told that the gifts are now only for NEW members and not for renewal members. Kind of sucks.


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## Freddie (Mar 26, 2015)

Think TankArtificial Intelligence 15 V3.0 bag with CPS and Canon embroidered on it. That, along with the usual lens caps, camera straps, etc. Sadly, no Canon EF Lens Book, just the soft cover Canon product book.


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## KeithBreazeal (Mar 26, 2015)

I am staying with the Gold. Got some goodies when I joined and a few later. Service is only a few days which is really impressive. You can rent gear if you are up against the clock and probably save in the long run.
I broke my 10-22mm into several pieces and sent it in expecting about $400. Got the lens back in 4 days and it looked brand new. The repair bill was only $59! I called and found out they replaced all but the front element!
Just got my 100-400L back for lock ring repair. Initial quote was $214. They found the main problem was the inner barrel zoom assymbly and replaced all the inner working. No charge for parts and they stuck with the $214. I mentioned the dust on the inner lens group but the charge for internal cleaning was way too much. When the lens came back, there was no dust and it looked factory clean inside. That's crazy! I bought that lens many years ago, so it was a bit out of warranty.


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## mackguyver (Mar 26, 2015)

curtisnull said:


> I have been a Platinum member for several years. Every year when i renewed (at $500) I would get all of the gifts, lens caps, strap, pin, and blah blah blah. I renewed this year with the new program at $300. After a month I still hadn't received anything from them. I called and was told that the gifts are now only for NEW members and not for renewal members. Kind of sucks.


I got the Gold welcome pack when I joined several years ago, but it was one time only. The renewals have only been the folder with ID card, labels and forms.

The $100 has been very worthwhile for the repair discounts alone as I have saved several hundred dollars on parts, labor, and return shipping. The gear evaluation has also saved me a lot of money in terms of rental costs, and even more from not making mistakes in terms of buying expensive gear.


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## awinphoto (Mar 26, 2015)

It is the thinktank laptop bag with CPS on it. We were gold members and when we enquired about upgrading to platinum, they said we would get the goodies minus what we already got from the gold membership. We let our gold membership expire for a few months, re-enrolled in platinum and got everything in the welcome package.


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## pdirestajr (Mar 26, 2015)

KeithBreazeal said:


> I am staying with the Gold. Got some goodies when I joined and a few later. Service is only a few days which is really impressive. You can rent gear if you are up against the clock and probably save in the long run.
> I broke my 10-22mm into several pieces and sent it in expecting about $400. Got the lens back in 4 days and it looked brand new. The repair bill was only $59! I called and found out they replaced all but the front element!
> Just got my 100-400L back for lock ring repair. Initial quote was $214. They found the main problem was the inner barrel zoom assymbly and replaced all the inner working. No charge for parts and they stuck with the $214. I mentioned the dust on the inner lens group but the charge for internal cleaning was way too much. When the lens came back, there was no dust and it looked factory clean inside. That's crazy! I bought that lens many years ago, so it was a bit out of warranty.



This is a perfect example of one of the many OTHER REASONS of why some photographers choose to shoot with Canon over other brands, and not geek out over minor things like sensor test scores.


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## jedinite (Mar 28, 2015)

Thank you everyone for your reply. I guess the larger ThinkTank Bag ($250 value) has thus been retired as a gift for Platinum membership, as most of what I could find for the last year or so online has been pointing to the ThinkTank Laptop Bag. 

So when I called CPS to inquire, they would not tell me what the gift was. However, this is what I did find out:

"Welcome" Gifts are only for new members, but you are considered qualified for welcome gifts as you upgrade between levels. You will not receive addition gifts upon membership renewal. CPS Straps and Lens caps are given for gold and platinum membership subscriptions and are considered welcome gifts. He hinted that they may offer a CPS online site for purchasing accessories in the future, because many members inquire about how they can obtain more straps or caps - I get it, it's a status thing.

_Chose wisely young Padawan._ If you qualify for gold today and upgrade your silver membership to gold, and a few months down the line you qualify for platinum and you upgrade then, you will not get any pro-rated price, you will have to purchase full price upgrade. Also applies if you are qualified for Platinum and decided to initially only purchase gold but then decided you wanted to upgrade to the higher membership. It's disappointing they don't allow you to simply pay the difference when renewing to a higher level within your membership timeframe, but if you wait until your renewal and upgrade then, it's all good. The CPS Rep mentioned that there might be an exception if you bought gold and decided after a few days or a couple weeks to upgrade to platinum, but that would be the exception not the normal practice. He recommended getting the membership you really need/want at the time of purchase. 

The cost of body maintenance alone is $140 per incident. For the price of gold membership ($100) it's worth owning it even if you only service one piece of gear a year. 

Gold membership is $100 and includes 5 service maintenance incidents for body or lens. Turn around time is 3 days (upon receipt). It also includes 20% discount on repair service. Equipment evaluation is available, but a 2-week prior window is required at a minimum. Loaner equipment is available upon receipt of an item that is sent in, e.g. if you require a loaner, they will only send it to you once they have received your gear.

Platinum comes with free shipping both ways; has a 2 day turn around time (upon receipt), a 30% discount on service repairs, maintenance for 10 incidents, priority on evaluation equipment (no lead time and you get priority over lower level members). Loaner equipment is available once a maintenance incident is initiated, e.g. when you schedule your gear to be maintained or repaired, they will send you a loan even before receiving your gear.

The Think Tank Artificial Intelligence 15 V3.0 bag is worth approximately $55 on Amazon, so not nearly the value of the previous Think Tank welcome gift, but at $300 for a Platinum membership now vs $500, we can assume that extra $200 paid for the full DSLR bag on the old Platinum plan. 

Thanks everyone again for 2015 Platinum gift feedback, hopefully when I'm ready to upgrade to Platinum, Canon will be able to offer a more substantial gift. I hope members of this forum will continue to post new welcome gifts or tips about CPS memberships here.


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## slclick (Mar 28, 2015)

It's like insurance, we all groan about paying it when all's well but when something happens you are happy as hell you're a CPS member. I experienced two unexpected Gold level services this past year and am very thankful I spent the $100.


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## jedinite (Mar 31, 2015)

takesome1 said:


> slclick said:
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> 
> > Is it a gift when you pay for it?
> ...



Yes I get it, but at $300 vs $500 a few years ago, if Canon is giving out a ThinkTank Camera bag worth approximately $250 then it makes sense for me to get a Platinum membership today (as I am search of a new bag to carry all my lenses and bodies) as it means really I get a bag and a membership for $50. But seeing as the membership price has gone down and so has the gift value, what it really equates to for me is $250 for a membership and $50 for gift I don't exactly need. That also being said, if the Platinum membership remained at $500 and i got a $250 bag, I'd likely wouldn't upgrade to platinum at this point in time as I could very easily go out and get the bag I want spending up to my max budget of $350 and upgrading to gold for $100 and still pocketing $50. I was just seeing what the consensus was for the "gift", to help with decision.


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## East Wind Photography (Mar 31, 2015)

slclick said:


> It's like insurance, we all groan about paying it when all's well but when something happens you are happy as hell you're a CPS member. I experienced two unexpected Gold level services this past year and am very thankful I spent the $100.



Also because you are a cps member even warranty service is honored under the fast turn around. Had my 7d2 repaired under warranty and got it back in less than a week.

I have rarely used the free cleanings but my gear is aging now and likely time to be cleaned.


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## takesome1 (Mar 31, 2015)

East Wind Photography said:


> slclick said:
> 
> 
> > It's like insurance, we all groan about paying it when all's well but when something happens you are happy as hell you're a CPS member. I experienced two unexpected Gold level services this past year and am very thankful I spent the $100.
> ...



I waited to see how you faired sending your 7D II back. I sent mine in last week and have confirmation it is on the way back. It will be turned around in less than a week. I haven't renewed my CPS membership in three or four years so I am not a member now. But turned in less than a week with no membership.

Hopefully the AF bugs will be gone when it comes back.


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## East Wind Photography (Mar 31, 2015)

takesome1 said:


> East Wind Photography said:
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> > slclick said:
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Let us know what they did to repair your camera. Mine got a new mirror box and AF sensor plus a full factory calibration and test. I suppose normal warranty issues are repaired based on work load. Still, less than one week turnaround for non CPS is very good. Which repair center did you use?


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## takesome1 (Mar 31, 2015)

It went to California. Not sure what they did yet, the only report I see says being repaired or shipped.


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## mackguyver (Mar 31, 2015)

takesome1 said:


> It went to California. Not sure what they did yet, the only report I see says being repaired or shipped.


I just got two repairs back last week - one was extremely detailed online and in the paperwork that came back with several sentences detailing all of the work. The other said nothing online and came back saying something like, "Inspected. Found damage consistent with a drop. Repaired, cleaned, and checked." I guess it depends on the tech...


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## takesome1 (Mar 31, 2015)

mackguyver said:


> takesome1 said:
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> 
> > It went to California. Not sure what they did yet, the only report I see says being repaired or shipped.
> ...



Probably so, a few years ago I dropped my 16-35mm II and sent it in as a CPS member. Only response I received was the question how do you want to pay. Of course I really didn't need a report on that one.


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## kang159 (Apr 1, 2015)

So no news on this year's CPS gift?
Is it still the ThinkTank laptop sleeve?


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## takesome1 (Apr 1, 2015)

East Wind Photography said:


> takesome1 said:
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Returned today and it says;

"Your product has been examined and it was found that the af assembly was out of position causing the auto focus to operate improperly from time to time. Electrical adjustments were carried out on the af assembly."

Now as long as the dent on the box caused by FedEx didn't knock it out of alignment again, hopefully it perform better.


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## East Wind Photography (Apr 2, 2015)

takesome1 said:


> East Wind Photography said:
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> > takesome1 said:
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Cool well they did something and tested it and it passed their tests. Let us know how it works for you now. My original AFMA adjustments were close but all seemed to be about 2+ off from where I originally set them.


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## takesome1 (Apr 3, 2015)

East Wind Photography said:


> takesome1 said:
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Previous settings were +4 to +6 on the 500mm.
Today they were +2 to +4, so the settings changed.
Using the AF consitancy test for Focal I ran it three times and it was around 96-98% each time. 
The test before I sent it back was usually 92% or less.
The test still randomly looses 1 out of the 10 shots. Same as before.
So some improvement according to Focal.

I found a few turkeys to shoot tonight. Bad position, to far away and didn't get any great keepers. All the hunting photogs fault.
So I didn't get a good setting to really test real life action shots yet.
So the verdict is still out for real world shots. 
This weekend I am going back and will be in the blind. Hopefully I will get a good opportunity. The Toms have been fighting but I haven't been closer than 100 yards when it was happening.


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## East Wind Photography (Apr 3, 2015)

Losing 1 out of 10 is pretty good for servo AF. I usually find motion blur now more of a problem but it can be dealt with a number of ways.

Unfortunately focal cannot test for af consistency in servo mode. Before the repair, one shot AF consistency was fairly good but in servo mode it missed the mark 80% of the time.


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## luciddreamz (Aug 29, 2015)

For anyone still wondering, it does look to be the Think Tank Artificial Intelligence 15 V3.0 bag with CPS embroidered on it. See the image below found on the product page: http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/ai-15v3.aspx.


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