Every Cloud Has A Silver (or Gold) Lining
You may remember this post that I wrote a few days ago about the horrible disaster that befell my Canon 5D mkii and 70-200mm lens. I do have a small update on that. The lens is recoverable. Canon is charging me for labor and cleaning, and restoring it to "factory new" which is pretty great news. Turning the zoom/focus rings was like listening to nails on a chalkboard.
Sadly, my 5D has not been granted the second life that was given to my lens. Canon claimed that "Proper repair would require replacement of most electronic components. Deemed beyond economic repair." So...that's pretty sad news. It's going to be a little bit before I'm able to raise the funds to get a new one, so for now I'm down to one body for any future shoots. The good news is that I've got a few sessions booked in the next few weeks, and should be on my way to a new (lightly used) 5D mkii.
The one good bit of news to come out of this whole situation, however, is my gold level membership in Canon Professional Services, and all the benefits it confers. There are quite a few benefits being in that level of membership, not the least of which is the 30% off repairs and cleanings and the free, overnight return shipping (saving me a fortune on the lens repair! Some of the other benefits are all of the cool stuff that they send you as part of your "welcome" package. I got a new lens butt cap, a new body cap (which would have fit great on my now-defunct 5D, a CPS padded strap, and the coolest item of all?
A hardcover book detailing the history, present and future of Canon, all of its products and even the breakdown of some of their more technical equipment. It's a great coffee table book, and a really cool addition to the package.
The CPS membership paid for itself in the first repair, saving me more than the cost of the membership, so I'm pleased with that. You also get 2 coupons for free cleaning and repairs, which will come in handy.
In addition to the help from Canon (and disappointing news), BlackRapid was nice enough to reach out to me, after hearing my frustration, and offer to replace the strap that was attached to the camera at the time of the incident, and been really helpful through the whole process. Now all I have to do is convince them to ship this poor photographer a replacement 5D!
Just kidding.