I am honestly still not clear as to what the "service" is going to do for me. If I am on a job and the thing breaks, waiting for a backup to arrive from the dealer is obviously not an option. (I dust off my Canon and use that...)
So what am I gaining? Clearly I can pack up the back and ship it to Phase/Leaf myself if it breaks (without dealer involvement), right? When my Canon breaks, I put it in a box and send it to Canon on Monday, and I have it back by that Friday, fixed. From my perspective, where is the $4000 advantage with the back dealer vs. ebay? This is a serious question, by the way.
I know you are asking in a serious way so I will give you a serious answer.
I would say less than 10% of the calls I get for support/service end up with a digital back being sent in for repair. Digital backs break of course; anything can. But the vast vast majority of the time the issue that caused the call was a software update, a software setting, a bad firewire cable, a depleted battery, a firmware incompatibility, a missing accessory, a bad software activation or installation, a camera setting, misunderstood operating expectations, computer hardware, or other non-digital back issue. Very often these are calls from experienced digital techs or photographers who are familiar with their backs and are not new to digital and may even be active forum members. Most of these issues I know the answer to before the person has even finished explaining their problem.
In other words most of the time (90%) you're on a job and your camera "breaks" the solution is not a loaner.
A great example is if you plug in your canon to two computers and it doesn't connect to Capture One or Canon's tethering utility you may think it's broken. Chances are probably 10-to-1 that the Canon is fine and you just haven't heard about the Type8Camera file which needs to be deleted from the OS prior to connecting a Canon to a computer for the first time. When you do it all yourself and send it in for service and get it back a week later and the problem is still there you will have lost shipping, rental fees for your replacement (which would not have worked because the problem was with the OS), and a week of time, and probably a lot of hair. Or if you had me (or to their credit many of the other dealers on this site, and off of it) as a dealer it would have taken two minutes on the phone. I only give this as one example. Obviously since this problem has been around for many months most people know about this specific one. But I knew about the problem right away because I'm in direct contact with the Head of Tech Support for Capture One. Also, because I do support for a support-oriented dealer I received several of these calls in one day and therefore knew for sure that the problem coincided with the OSX update. I had my users up and running again right away.
In fact now that I think about it 10% may be too high.
This is one of the reasons why most of the support for MFD goes through the dealer network. When a customer calls I generally already know their name, what they shoot, what things they likely have checked and what things they have not checked. I may even know what backup equipment they have and based on prior experience what they will have on hand to troubleshoot with.
So yes, you can send your back into Phase/Leaf yourself, but that will be the least of your concerns. Especially since it sounds like you don't have a large amount of prior experience in medium format digital. Having a partner who has helped (and continues to support) hundreds of people just like you do what you're about to do for the first time has a very high inherit value.
Then on top of support throw in training. What's the rule of thumb for minimum shutter speed shooting to prevent camera shake? Did you answer 1/focal-length (e.g. 1/60th for a 50mm lens)? If so then you're in for a lot of blurry medium format images. The rule of thumb in medium format digital is at least double that and we recommend testing yourself to see what you can achieve at various stances. Again, that is one specific example, but when you buy from a support-oriented dealer you receive from them the accumulated knowledge and experience of hundreds of people who have made mistakes; you'll be using your gear to the best of it's ability much faster than going it on your own. And while the forums are a great place to read and learn, there is a lot of poorly informed guidance on the forums. In addition to general hardware training our company, at least, offers one-on-one or group training for Capture One (depending on the need of the customer) as part of packages on a regular basis. Taking our classes will save you literally days of stumbling around the software trying to get used to it. "O I'll just use Photoshop or Lightroom" you say? Exactly, go ahead; it's compatible, but you won't be getting the most out of your very expensive camera system.
I could go on and on and on (and have on several threads).
Of course, I work for a dealer; so I'm openly biased. Please consult with others who have made similar switches. Ask our customers if they think they have gotten their money's worth. That's the proof. You'll probably find a small handful who are not happy (no company has 100% satisfaction), but you will find hundreds more who are very happy they went through a dealer.
Doug Peterson, Head of Technical Services
Capture Integration, Phase One & Canon Dealer |
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