# Lost a 5DIII. Deciding how to replace. Big Value = Bad Idea?



## tatsu (Apr 26, 2013)

This past week my house was robbed and I lost my 5DMkIII along with the 24-70MkII that was attached to it. Strangely not the Ona bag that it was in with another couple lenses in it. But no complaining there. 

Anyways... my homeowners insurance is going to cover it. Thank god. Now I'm left with some decisions. 

I'd like to replace my 5D with another one. And obviously the price at Big Value is pretty good. But I've seen conflicting information in the forums about whether it matters warranty-wise whether they're a Canon Authorized dealer. 

So I'm looking on some input on: Is buying from Big Value a bad idea? I'd like to have the warranty, but am not sure that's worth $450, if there really is no warranty. It definitely says Canon USA Warranty on the ebay listing. 

Secondly, if I can't take advantage of that, I might look at getting a 6D, which wasn't out when I purchased my 5D. I know this issue has been beat to death, but it would help me if someone could sum up the main points for me. What I think I'm hearing is same still quality, slightly slower autofocus, worse video. But if anyone has any real life examples with both, that would help me out a lot. 

Thanks for your help on either of these questions!


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## Chosenbydestiny (Apr 26, 2013)

*Re: House was robbed. Took my 5DIII. Big Value = Bad Idea?*

Sorry for your loss. If you think you'll never shoot action seriously at all the 6D isn't bad. But there are far more advantages to the 5D mark III than just AF which is already huge by itself. Example is dual card slots and the way controls are set up... IQ is about the same in terms of ISO performance with the 6D being a touch better, but I like the colors from the 5D mark III a little better. But If its worth it to you and know you'll save a a lot of money then a 6D is actually not a bad camera and I appreciate mine for what it can do.


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## robbymack (Apr 26, 2013)

*Re: House was robbed. Took my 5DIII. Big Value = Bad Idea?*

There is a lot of misinformation out there about warrentees and non authorized sellers. It really boils down to this. If you want full canon USA warrentee with no hassles buy from an authorized reseller (and keep your receipt) i.e. amazon, adorama, bH ET al. The difference when buying from a non authorized seller is simply that canon can refuse to warrantee it. That's not to say they will, but you leave it in their hands and they are entirely within their rights to do so. So the warrantee then falls to the reseller, in your case big value. If they will service and repair it for the 12 months from purchase like canon then you don't lose much just who you are dealing with. As always caveat emptor


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## jdramirez (Apr 26, 2013)

*Re: House was robbed. Took my 5DIII. Big Value = Bad Idea?*

when I read the title I jumped to the conclusion that you were connecting the robbery to your purchase at big value. Like they sold your address and information and criminals then targeted you. Obviously that isn't what you were saying, but it may warrant a revision.


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## MARKOE PHOTOE (Apr 26, 2013)

*Re: House was robbed. Took my 5DIII. Big Value = Bad Idea?*

Sorry for your loss even though your insurance company will replace it. I just wanted to add that there is a website, I think its called STOLEN CAMERA FINDER, that can search for your camera if the thief posts images publicly with the stolen camera. They apparently track this down through the metadata encoded in the images, so I'm told. Its worth a look IMO.

Secondly, you can purchase insurance to cover your camera gear through several different insurance carriers like Farmers even if you don't have a home or auto policy with them, they will write you a policy and its much cheaper than replacement warranties.

Wish you luck!


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## chrisdeckard (Apr 26, 2013)

*Re: House was robbed. Took my 5DIII. Big Value = Bad Idea?*

Most home owners policies will reimburse you for what you spend replacing the equipment. So I would buy from a reputable dealer where you know you will have a warranty. You aren't "saving any money" because insurance will want to see your receipt from the purchase. I went through this with a diamond ring a year ago. If you pick out something that's half the price to replace it with, then that's all they are paying you, not the full price of what you originally paid.

So go ahead and pay full price from somewhere you trust. Same for the lens.

-Chris


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## Rienzphotoz (Apr 26, 2013)

*Re: House was robbed. Took my 5DIII. Big Value = Bad Idea?*

Sorry for your loss ... my 24-70 L II was stolen a few months ago, so I can somewhat understand what it feels like. BTW, have you considered a refurbished 5D MK III? that will save you some good money.


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## John (Apr 26, 2013)

*Re: House was robbed. Took my 5DIII. Big Value = Bad Idea?*

i've never owned either a 5D or a 6D so i can't address which might be the smarter buying choice for you. i've always owned 1D's. i had a problem with my 1D-X recently that required a repair by canon's repair center. the cost of the repair was over $300 and canon did it all for "free" since it was covered under the 1-year warranty. i had to send in my sales slip as proof of purchase with the camera to take advantage of the warranty.

i would definitely want a warranty with a new camera.


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## wtf100 (Apr 26, 2013)

*Re: House was robbed. Took my 5DIII. Big Value = Bad Idea?*

If a company is not an authorized reseller, where do they get their product?


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## jdramirez (Apr 26, 2013)

*Re: House was robbed. Took my 5DIII. Big Value = Bad Idea?*



wtf100 said:


> If a company is not an authorized reseller, where do they get their product?


 they are like me. they buy a kit at a great price, split the lens and the body and sell both for a small profit on each. I've been doing thatforyears. usually with the 18-135 lens though.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Apr 26, 2013)

*Re: House was robbed. Took my 5DIII. Big Value = Bad Idea?*

Spend $140 extra and get it from PMI Digital, a authorized reseller.

http://www.canonpricewatch.com/product/03868/Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-III-price.html


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## tatsu (Apr 26, 2013)

Anyone know if DigitalRev is an authorized reseller? Their prices seem pretty good. 
http://www.digitalrev.com/product/canon-eos-5d-mark-iii/MTAwMDQwNQ_A_A


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Apr 26, 2013)

tatsu said:


> Anyone know if DigitalRev is an authorized reseller? Their prices seem pretty good.
> http://www.digitalrev.com/product/canon-eos-5d-mark-iii/MTAwMDQwNQ_A_A


Yes they are, and you will get a warranty that's good in Hong Kong and UK, so if you don't mind shipping it for service, that's fine.

You want a Authorized USA Reseller, Canon USA is a separate company and honors their own warranties.


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## jabbott (Apr 26, 2013)

tatsu said:


> Anyone know if DigitalRev is an authorized reseller? Their prices seem pretty good.
> http://www.digitalrev.com/product/canon-eos-5d-mark-iii/MTAwMDQwNQ_A_A


I would not purchase from DigitalRev, especially after this fiasco... 
http://fstoppers.com/digitalrev-allegedly-selling-used-cameras-as-new-and-are-yet-to-issue-a-response


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## Wildfire (Apr 26, 2013)

jabbott said:


> tatsu said:
> 
> 
> > Anyone know if DigitalRev is an authorized reseller? Their prices seem pretty good.
> ...


DigitalRev offers their own 1 year warranty on all their Canon products, so in the event that you purchase a defective Canon camera and Canon refuses to service it under warranty, DigitalRev will cover the cost of repair or replacement. I forgot where I read this but it's somewhere on the DigitalRev site and I believe it to be true.

What happened in that story above was a DigitalRev employee took one of the DRTV 5D3s and shipped it as new in order to improve his performance rating (they were out of stock and he would have had to cancel the order otherwise, negatively affecting his rating).

That was an isolated incident and DigitalRev has taken appropriate action against the employee and compensated the blogger who wrote the story. Additionally, they hired an internal auditor just to ensure that something like this would never happen again.

The whole incident showed that despite the bad employee, DigitalRev was really on top of their customer service. I would definitely buy from them!


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## jabbott (Apr 27, 2013)

Wildfire said:


> DigitalRev offers their own 1 year warranty on all their Canon products, so in the event that you purchase a defective Canon camera and Canon refuses to service it under warranty, DigitalRev will cover the cost of repair or replacement. I forgot where I read this but it's somewhere on the DigitalRev site and I believe it to be true.
> 
> What happened in that story above was a DigitalRev employee took one of the DRTV 5D3s and shipped it as new in order to improve his performance rating (they were out of stock and he would have had to cancel the order otherwise, negatively affecting his rating).
> 
> ...


It still doesn't change my opinion... there are many other reputable dealers out there who have never had this kind of problem. If DigitalRev was careless enough to allow this to happen, what else are they doing that is suspect? Bottom line, why take a gamble on such an expensive purchase? That's my $0.02 anyway...


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Apr 27, 2013)

jabbott said:


> there are many other reputable dealers out there who have never had this kind of problem.
> 
> Can you name even one??


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## tatsu (Apr 27, 2013)

I think I've decided to go with a 6D. I mainly used centerpoint AF anyways, so my understanding is that if that's the case, I'm not losing out on any AF performance. Please correct me if I'm mistaken. Also the youtube video of Chuck Westfall showing off the wi-fi app sealed the deal for me. 

Given the lower price, I might just go with BigValue and not worry about the warranty as much. If it was the 5DIII, I'd probably care more since the ratio of repair cost to replacement value would be higher. Not sure if that logic makes sense, but it saves another $250 over Amazon, which seems like at least one paid warranty repair.


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## zim (Apr 27, 2013)

Wildfire said:


> DigitalRev offers their own 1 year warranty on all their Canon products, so in the event that you purchase a defective Canon camera and Canon refuses to service it under warranty, DigitalRev will cover the cost of repair or replacement. I forgot where I read this but it's somewhere on the DigitalRev site and I believe it to be true.
> 
> What happened in that story above was a DigitalRev employee took one of the DRTV 5D3s and shipped it as new in order to improve his performance rating (they were out of stock and he would have had to cancel the order otherwise, negatively affecting his rating).
> 
> ...



good post


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## PilotJoe (Apr 27, 2013)

A few months ago i purchases my 24-70 2.8L II and when it showed up it would now zoom. The zoom ring would move most of the way but it wasnt actually zooming. 

Called Big Value sent it back that day and had my new lens 4 days later. So they seem pretty good to me. 
Tho this doesnt talk much about their repair service.


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## Deals Wiz (Apr 27, 2013)

tatsu said:


> I think I've decided to go with a 6D. I mainly used centerpoint AF anyways, so my understanding is that if that's the case, I'm not losing out on any AF performance. Please correct me if I'm mistaken. Also the youtube video of Chuck Westfall showing off the wi-fi app sealed the deal for me.
> 
> Given the lower price, I might just go with BigValue and not worry about the warranty as much. If it was the 5DIII, I'd probably care more since the ratio of repair cost to replacement value would be higher. Not sure if that logic makes sense, but it saves another $250 over Amazon, which seems like at least one paid warranty repair.



Try "The Imaging World" they are an authorized dealer for the 6D and only $10 more than BigValue.


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## jabbott (Apr 27, 2013)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> jabbott said:
> 
> 
> > there are many other reputable dealers out there who have never had this kind of problem.
> ...


I can't prove a negative. That said, I don't recall ever seeing news articles about other dealers (B&H, Adorama, Beach Camera, Amazon, etc.) who had an employee caught selling a used camera as new. Not only was DigitalRev selling a used camera as new, it was used in the rain by their reviewer. He also put his hand down his pants down while handling the camera. That is disgusting in my opinion. You are free to shop there all you want... however I will not.


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## Rienzphotoz (Apr 28, 2013)

jabbott said:


> You are free to shop there all you want... however I will not.


thank you for giving us your permission : ... I did buy two products from Ditigtalrev and I received brand new perfect products without any problem ... their warranty also includes them paying for any repairs in my country should something go wrong or they will pay for shipping charges to send the product back to Hongkong. 


jabbott said:


> however I will not.


OK :


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## jabbott (Apr 28, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> thank you for giving us your permission :


I was referring to Mt. Spokane... relax people! ;D


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## RLPhoto (Apr 28, 2013)

I bought my 5D3 for 2499$ from BVI. It took 2 weeks to ship, but patience paid off as it was brand new in the box.


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## RGF (Apr 28, 2013)

Is the difference is price worth the risk to warranty, etc. I have never had a camera sent in for warranty repair, but that does not mean it does not happen.

Will you kick yourself if you get caught up in warranty wars?


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## RLPhoto (Apr 28, 2013)

RGF said:


> Is the difference is price worth the risk to warranty, etc. I have never had a camera sent in for warranty repair, but that does not mean it does not happen.
> 
> Will you kick yourself if you get caught up in warranty wars?



Not really. At that price, I could stab the sensor and still get a CPS repair cheaper than buying "officially". Plus I'm sure I could get canon to back their product over the phone, as I've done before. 

I love canon services, they're second to none.


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## DB DIGITAL MEDIA (Apr 28, 2013)

Slightly off topic but related, has anyone dealt with Get It Digital? They're eBay store claims canon USA warranty...


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Apr 28, 2013)

DB DIGITAL MEDIA said:


> Slightly off topic but related, has anyone dealt with Get It Digital? They're eBay store claims canon USA warranty...


I see they have it in stock again, so that's a option if they are a authorized seller.

Having a Canon USA Warranty card in the box does not mean they are a authorized reseller. 

Sometimes companies list items on ebay under a different name than their official company name, so its best to ask them if they are authorized, and why they are not on the Canon reseller list.

http://www.usa.canon.com/app/pdf/dealer/CanonAuthorizedDealers.pdf

They are NOT on Canon's list, and do not have the "Authorized Canon Dealer" Logo.


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## jdramirez (Apr 28, 2013)

It can be argued though that you can buy a body at ebay and then get a square trade warranty and after all is said and done, you are still paying less than if you had bought if from an authorized dealer, and you are getting more years of coverage.


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## MARKOE PHOTOE (Apr 29, 2013)

Wildfire said:


> jabbott said:
> 
> 
> > tatsu said:
> ...



In my experience with DigitalRev when I bought my RX100, you have to pay a tariff when the item arrives in the US. As it turned out, I got a good price from DR but with the added tariff it didn't save me anything. I would buy from a US dealer if you live in the US.


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## tatsu (Apr 29, 2013)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> DB DIGITAL MEDIA said:
> 
> 
> > Slightly off topic but related, has anyone dealt with Get It Digital? They're eBay store claims canon USA warranty...
> ...



Thanks to everyone for their help. I ended up buying a 6D through PMI Digital, who is an authorized dealer on that list. I also paid the $30 to get the body-only version instead of the broken kit just to make things simpler. And still saved myself ~$200.


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## Rienzphotoz (May 3, 2013)

tatsu said:


> Thanks to everyone for their help. I ended up buying a 6D through PMI Digital, who is an authorized dealer on that list. I also paid the $30 to get the body-only version instead of the broken kit just to make things simpler. And still saved myself ~$200.


Congratulations!


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