camera protection plans

[amolkhedgikar]

people !
I have been trying to get some feedback on the protection plans available. some dealers are wel known eg. N.E.W. .some stores like ritz camera and circuit city have better looking but expensive protection plans for products purchased from them.
one store claims to have an international protection plan(42nd street). I do need an international coverage plan but dont know how reliable they are.
Anyone has experience or thoughts on the protection plans and the dealers?
Please help

Thanks

[mwfanelli]

people !
I have been trying to get some feedback on the protection plans available. some dealers are wel known eg. N.E.W. .some stores like ritz camera and circuit city have better looking but expensive protection plans for products purchased from them.
one store claims to have an international protection plan(42nd street). I do need an international coverage plan but dont know how reliable they are.
Anyone has experience or thoughts on the protection plans and the dealers?
Please help

Thanks

These deals are cash cows for the dealers. Consumer Reports recently investigated this and found that the cost of most repairs out-of-warranty cost less than the insurance coverage.

Unless you are really paranoid, skip the extended warranty option.

[amolkhedgikar]

Thanks Michael, that was a quick reply.
My work is in extreme conditions. work with gators in a very narrow and small boat(I am a herpetologist). And I happen to be the guy who is great friends with trouble :blush2: . All the unwanted adventures find me in a crowd
This camera (canon 400d) is a big investment for me. Just want to play it safe from the beginning this time.circuitcity and ritz camera provide accidental physical damage cover too.but are too expensive.and I travel a lot internationally esp to India and Africa and stay there for long periods.
would you still suggest the same?

[Ronnoco]

Thanks Michael, that was a quick reply.
My work is in extreme conditions. work with gators in a very narrow and small boat(I am a herpetologist). And I happen to be the guy who is great friends with trouble :blush2: . All the unwanted adventures find me in a crowd
This camera (canon 400d) is a big investment for me. Just want to play it safe from the beginning this time.circuitcity and ritz camera provide accidental physical damage cover too.but are too expensive.and I travel a lot internationally esp to India and Africa and stay there for long periods.
would you still suggest the same?

Have you considered checking out the cost of adding a separate rider to your house or appartment insurance policy to cover all risk camera equipment replacement?

Ronnoco

[amolkhedgikar]

Ronnocco
can I do it even if if I dont own the house? Please tell me more how to go about it. can the camera be covered substancially through this?

[mwfanelli]

Have you considered checking out the cost of adding a separate rider to your house or appartment insurance policy to cover all risk camera equipment replacement?

Ronnoco

True, I forgot this option! Many years ago, State Farm insured about $10,000 worth of camera equipment for about $100 a year. As long as your primary job is not a photographer (you sound like a biologist), the coverage is pretty cheap. I had auto insurance with them but not homeowners.

[Ronnoco]

True, I forgot this option! Many years ago, State Farm insured about $10,000 worth of camera equipment for about $100 a year. As long as your primary job is not a photographer (you sound like a biologist), the coverage is pretty cheap. I had auto insurance with them but not homeowners.

Oops! Forgot about that "minor" Insurance detail. I haven't tried "biologist" yet, but I was once offered a position as chaplain at an excellent rate of pay, much to my surprise. I was somewhat tempted by the sheer challenge but good sense got the better of me and I politely refused due to total lack of "experience" in that domain. I did however get into other interesting careers. I have currently been told that I would make an excellent rehabillitation physiotherapist or neural psychiatrist by those in the field.

Ronnoco

[amolkhedgikar]

Michael,
yes I am a wildlife biologist actually a herpetologist and my speciality is the animal on Ronnoco's profile shot. unfortunately I dont yet own a house in the US but getting the camera covered through that is a unique thought and I am already thinking on that line. Thank you.
Ronnoco,
you seem to lead an explorer's life too
That is an interesting list of jobs you mentioned.
I'd like to know the story behind your profile shot; you dont get those in Canada, do you?

[dave sz]

I will most likely be getting an extended warranty plan from Mack camera for my k100d. Until about 3 months ago I was an owner of a second hand Minolta 7i that I bought with a 5yr mack warranty. I bought the camera in 2002 for $500. The CCD crapped out and since sony took over Minolta and had no CCD to replace the old one with, they bought the camera back from me. I ended up getting $410 after 3 years of using the camera. I was happy that I had the extended warranty...

[amolkhedgikar]

Dave,
I also inqured about manufacturer's extended warranty but came across none for the rebel xti. Do you know any reputed stores/online dealers who provide that? Please let me know I have been searching for that.
Thank you

[Ronnoco]

Michael,
I'd like to know the story behind your profile shot; you dont get those in Canada, do you?

I was heading up a river in northwest Mexico, can't remember the name of it at the moment. The river got very narrow and the overhead vegetation got extremely thick. It opened up in this section where there were some smaller gators and this one. It was very aggressive and chomped on some metal trying to get to me, causing the bleeding in its mouth. I took the photo while heading backward to a nice deep bow metal boat.

Ronnoco

[amolkhedgikar]

Quite an adventure ! What were you doing there ?
It is what I do every day.
How far was it? What lens did you use? What other equipment?
It is not a gator though looks like it is the RARE American crocodile which is rare in America.

Amol

[Ronnoco]

Quite an adventure ! What were you doing there ?
It is what I do every day.
How far was it? What lens did you use? What other equipment?
It is not a gator though looks like it is the RARE American crocodile which is rare in America.

Amol

A typical crazy working holiday. I woke up in the middle of the night hearing water in my room on the third floor of a hotel. I swung my feet out of bed and went SPLASH! My room was flooded from an all night heavy rain and a tilted outside/inside corridor which directed water into the room.

I added the photo to my user gallery, so you can take a closer look at it there. And yes, it is definitely an American crocodile. :blush2: You are right. The terms gators and crocs are not interchangeable.

I used a Minolta XD11 with an f2.8 135 mm lens from about a little less than 8 feet away.
No time for a tripod. Film was Kodachrome 64 slide film, scanned with an older scanner (I need a new one!)

Ronnoco

[amolkhedgikar]

Good job given the conditions. Yes the blood is very evident in the your gallary. good job there too. You do go places.
Nice to meet you here.
see you later
Amol

[dave sz]

Dave,
I also inqured about manufacturer's extended warranty but came across none for the rebel xti. Do you know any reputed stores/online dealers who provide that? Please let me know I have been searching for that.
Thank you

http://mackcam.com/ sells their warranty on ebay. I think for $60 or so you can have a 3 or 5yr warranty. Not sure exactly how it works but I'd figure they ask you to send in the camera to make sure it works perfectly, then they decide if they'll insure it or not...

[amolkhedgikar]

Thank you Dave ,
they also have international coverage.Which is very good for people like me.

[livin4lax09]

having worked at best buy, i recommend one of the plans. but only one, the most expensive one. So here's the deal. The most expensive plan is like 180 for 4 years for an xti. But this covers accidental damage. It covers anything except being broken in two pieces and completely submerged under water. So you buy an xti. you buy the 4 year accidental plan. In 3.5 years, when all the new models come out, and the same features are on a 900 dollar camera as they are on a 3,000 camera in 2006, you drop your xti, make sure the most expensive thing is damaged and that they can't replace it, then bring it back in. The warranty says they will repair it, or if they can't, they will replace, or replace with comparable. they give you the price you paid towards a new camera. There you go. You just paid 180 dollars for a brand new DSLR.

But I never said this.

[livin4lax09]

True, I forgot this option! Many years ago, State Farm insured about $10,000 worth of camera equipment for about $100 a year. As long as your primary job is not a photographer (you sound like a biologist), the coverage is pretty cheap. I had auto insurance with them but not homeowners.

but unfortunately they will not cover you if you are in college. If you're living on campus, they don't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

[amolkhedgikar]

Hey, I am finally outta there(the college); the fun part is over. so I think they should cover me.
But I found Mack's warranty pretty reasonable. They seem to cover most of my stunts with the camera even internationally.

[amolkhedgikar]

believe me buddy I have been thinking of such ideas for a long time. my wife(not me) is too honest to let me do it. but it is so nice to hear from like minded people :thumbsup: