3 yr vs 1 yr Manufacturer's Warranty

[adam_r2]

<p>Hi this is my first post</p>

<p>I'm about to study photography and I am interested in wedding photography.</p>

<p>I will be buying a Canon 5D mark III to start learning on, and I'm wondering if the standard 1 year manufacturer's warranty will suffice or will I need the 3 year cover?</p>

<p>I will also be insuring the camera and equipment with my home and contents insurance. </p>

<p>... Not sure if it takes 1 year to find all the usual faults in Canon cameras.</p>

<p>Does anyone have any advice?</p>

<p>Cheers</p>

<p>Adam</p>

[matttonkin]

<p>In my personal experience if there is going to be a manufacturers defect they usually present themselves in the first year, and if they don't most of the fixes are less expensive than the warranty costs to extend it. So I personally don't go for extended warranties, makes you wish Canon had warranties like Tamron does.</p>

[JosvanEekelen]

<p>Hi Adam, welcome at photo.net.<br>

Most electronics fail in the first period (weeks/months) so I think the extra 2 years warranty are not worth buying, unless it is dirt cheap.<br>

BTW, in Europe the legal warranty period for such equipment is 2 years so if you live in the EU there is no reason to buy 3 years cover. (Please tell this to Apple, they still refuse to mention 2 yr warranty, depite legal ruling).</p>

[don_pugh]

<p>In general, it doesn't make sense to buy extended warranties on things you can afford to replace. Extended warranties tend to be wildly overpriced relative to the average failure rate and cost of repairs. Places like Best Buy make more money selling the extended warranty on electronics than they do selling the electronics, which is why a lot of the salespeople sell them so hard. Their extended warranties are marked up multiples of what a fair price would be.</p>

<p>Let's say the camera has a 10% chance of breaking down from the end of year 1 to the end of year 3 and the average repair would be $500. In that case, ignoring the time value of money, the extended warranty would be worth $50. Maybe the potential pain of replacing a $3000 item on your budget would make it worth a little more. I don't know what the actual numbers are, but you could plug in your own numbers and decide if it's worth it.</p>

[tudor_apmadoc]

<p>I agree, 1 year is sufficient. </p>

<p>I've had a 5D, 5D MII, and now a 5D MIII. On the Powershot side, I've had a G9, G11, and now a G1X. I've never had any issues that required a repair, not a single one.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Also in accord. These things nowadays tend to go early or keep working for a long time.</p>

<p>It's a matter of <em>your</em> budget too, and how much risk you are willing to personally assume.</p>

[hjoseph7]

<p>I agree with all of the above but sometimes if you let your equipment sit too long, or rarely use it, then things can happen after that oe year.</p>

[adam_r2]

<p>Thanks everyone for your quick replies.</p>

<p>I guess the extra 10% for the warranty isn't worth it, especially when I it comes time to buy the second camera for weddings.</p>

<p>Cheers</p>

[david_henderson]

<p>The very fact that suppliers make a profit on these insurance policies tells you that on average they are worth less than you pay for them. Your question really translates as "will I be one of the unlucky ones?" and no-one can answer that. </p>

[don_pugh]

<p>10% of the price of the camera to cover only the 2nd and 3rd year when the manufacturer's lemons will mostly turn up in year 1 under the original warranty? Yikes, that would suggest a 20% defect rate and an average repair cost of $1500 (half the original value of the camera) or 40% defective with an average repair cost of $750. That's probably 3-4 times what it's worth.</p>

[william-porter]

<p>I agree with all those who've suggested that the extended warranty is usually not worth buying. But I want to comment on your opening sentence:</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>I'm about to study photography and I am interested in wedding photography.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Sounds like you're being thoughtful about some important business matters (protecting your gear). But I would urge you not to put the cart before the horse. You're <em>"about to study photography"</em> and you're already planning your business specialty? If that's the case, I'd urge you <em>not</em> to go into wedding photography. Instead, start researching what areas of photography are profitable and not so horrendously competitive. </p>

<p>And if you're just getting started, don't narrow you're interests now — broaden them. I have a young niece, very bright girl, who thinks she wants to be a neurosurgeon. She's still in college and doing well. But she's a <em>long way</em> from having to make a decision about what she does her medical residency in! My daughter is about to graduate from medical school and will spend the next four years delivering babies. When she started college she had no clue that she'd end up here.</p>

<p>There are a thousand ways to work as a photographer. Consider some of the others while you study.</p>

<p>Good luck,</p>

<p>Will</p>

 

 

[colin carron]

<p>The failure rate for most machinery follows what is called a 'bathtub curve'. The shape of the curve is high at the beginning, falls steeply to a low value throughout the normal life of the equipment , then climbs steeply again when the equipment is old. Hence the name bathtub curve.</p>

<p>It is this shape because there is a relatively high rate of failure due to manufacturing faults which show up quite quickly. Failure rates quickly drop to a relatively low value for the normal life of the kit but begin to rise when age-related faults start appearing. The one year manufacturers guarantee covers the start of the bathtub curve as is only fair. The manufacturer is taking responsibility for manufacturing problems.</p>

<p>So unless there are special circumstances extended warranties are rarely worth getting.</p>

[gduffy]

<p>Adam,<br>

Like most here I don’t normally pick up manufacturers extended warranties either. Just doesn’t seem worth it to me. I budget for repairs and upgrades and that usually takes care of things.<br>

As far as your choice for wedding photography I would say that it depends. William appears to be a professional wedding/portrait photographer so I am not debating his statement about the competitiveness and profitability of wedding photography. I would only point out that that I suspect it must depend upon the region of the country you reside in. William appears to be from a metro area which likely has many choices for clients. For example the demand for wedding photography in my area seems to exceed the supply. I did weddings for years and never had a problem picking up work. In fact I likely had to turn down more than I picked up. I would qualify I am not talking about “high end” 10K plus per wedding types of clients but more the middle of the road stuff. Also, I still had the day job. If you are a pro and this is your only income, you likely need to stay with the higher priced clients which is more competitive to be sure. I am not saying to price yourself short, but in the beginning pursuing the mid-priced weddings may be a consideration to get you established, and then go after the high end market. You could also supplement your income with portrait work etc. Bottom line, once you know what your passion is, pursue it with a good business plan.<br>

Best of luck to you.</p>

[devon_mccarroll]

A few thoughts...If you're just starting out, unless you have a massive budget, I would suggest a less expensive body, and start investing

in good glass. You can learn with a consumer level camera, but good lenses are an investment that will stay with you for the long haul,

and can greatly affect the quality of your images, assuming good photographic skills.

Also, if you do start doing any work while you're in school once you've learned the technical skills that you need to know, be aware that

insurance companies generally will not cover your gear under your homeowner policy if you start using it for business.

And my experience with extended warranties on anything, whether it be cameras, appliances, cars, etc. is that when you need a repair,

they almost always have about a thousand loopholes and what you need repaired is often not covered. I run from them now!

[model mayhem gallery]

<p>Yea, espeacially when so many of the things which will happen to your camera like someone spilling a drink on it or dropping it, will not be covered by the warranty anyway.</p>

[ed_avis2]

<p>If you sell the camera after two and a half years, it may fetch more if you can say it's still under warranty.</p>