Camera Back!

Well, my Canon is back from Precision Camera. I spent a bit of time testing the repairs, and the camera seems to work OK. The shutter snaps, the dirt in the viewfinder is gone, the sensor remains undamaged. I'll be curious to see how many more images I'll get out of this beastie before it dies.

I have to hand it to UPS, it arrived when UPS said it would. I've previously enumerated my gripes with Precision Camera, so I won't belabor them here, but they could learn something from UPS. Though the repairs were satisfactory, they failed to live up to their hype. Next time I'll ship my camera directly to Canon.

© 2010 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

Precision Camera Update: Shipped

Precision Camera's website now says they've shipped my camera (UPS ground, thank you very little). UPS says they've simply received "billing information".

So... last month Precision Camera takes an extra two days to acknowledge receiving my camera, but now they mark it "shipped" before UPS picks it up. Is this management's method to reduce turn-around times without actually making any performance improvements?

The adventure isn't over. I still have to receive and test the camera. Hopefully I'm just one post away from wrapping this up. So far I'm almost entirely unimpressed.

I still haven't heard back from Myles.

© 2010 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

Precision Camera Reply #3

Not Recommended

Precision Camera still has my camera. They boasted a big parts inventory (they had to order parts for a routine repair). They boasted fast turn-around times (they've had my camera for over a month). They boasted online updates (it took them days to acknowledge they even received my camera - it was the Post Office that provided the true receipt date).

In lieu of timely updates, I sent Myles an update request.  He, after all, was savvy enough to give me a detailed update a few weeks ago.  I think his response speaks volumes about my overall experience:

Good Morning Robert,

     Thank you for your email. I have placed an inquiry for an estimated time of repair. I will have a response in approximately 24-48 hours, please contact us back at that time for an update. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

Please feel free to contact us with any further questions or concerns.

Thank you,

Myles Raphael
Technical Support Specialist
Precision Camera and Video Repair
Phone: 1-800-665-6515
Fax: 860-749-6878
www.precisioncamera.com

In keeping with the tradition established by Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, I'm prepared to say that the myths hyped on Precision Camera's website are now officially busted.

© 2010 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

Precision Camera Update: Back in Repair

I noticed the Precision Camera website status for my Canon repair has changed from "on hold" to "in repair." Based on previous communications, this means the camera will need 3-5 more days for repair and about a week to ship... Precision Camera's website declaring a large inventory of spare parts and timely repairs notwithstanding.

All and all this is about double the boasted time. I don't yet know if they're going to fiddle with the price, nor have I yet assessed the repair's quality. I only call these into doubt because of the disconnect between Precision Camera's marketing and Precision Camera's performance.

© 2010 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

Precision Camera Reply #2

I received another communication from Precision Camera. I don't recall sending them a follow-up to their original, nearly useless reply, so they're probably reading this blog. That's OK so long as the job gets done.

The e-mail came from Myles, and I sent him a thank-you note in return. Engineers named "Scotty" or "Myles" are OK in my book, but I'm a big Star Trek fan.  ...but not big enough to dress up in costume.

I learned that yes, the problem was with the shutter assembly. Myles also found a problem with the P Fuse caused by my marveling overlong at the constantly clicking shutter. The P Fuse serves the shutter mechanism's motor drive (he didn't tell me that, I had to look it up). While I understand the logic, I don't understand why the shutter kept clicking if I'd damaged the P Fuse, but I'll just assume that he's replacing the P Fuse as a precaution, and that's OK with me.

He also noted my fresnel was scratched and dirty (yeah, and when you hit 45, I bet yours will be, too). I knew this already, but I didn't care as it doesn't affect the image. Myles stated he is replacing the fresnel, too.  So long as it doesn't cost extra, I'm OK with that. Fixed, the camera is worth about $200, and that is what the repair is costing me (so far as I know, and not counting lost business).

Myles provided some other useful bits of information, too. For one, his e-mail included a warning about the damage a failed shutter assembly can cause the sensor if the camera isn't turned off immediately. At least I dodged that one.

More reassuringly, he noted that this type of repair is standard. Yay! He didn't explain why, if it's standard, they didn't have the parts on hand. ...not that an explanation would speed up repairs any.

I've been reading an online forum about Precision Camera (dated 2006) and came to the conclusion that they're pretty good - unless you own a Sony. However, that's more Sony's fault because Sony has been making some really crappy electronics for just over a decade. As one colleague described Sony - "they're hit or miss. If you get one that works, you're golden."

Myles didn't mention when the parts were due. That's OK, though. It leaves me with something to fuss about until I get my camera back.

© 2010 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

Precision Camera Reply #1

Today I received a reply from Precision Camera to my e-mail query regarding when I can expect my Canon back. The answer wasn't very precise. The parts should arrive in a week or two, and the repair may take another week after that. Thus goeth my September.

I found the reply itself more curious. First, they took overnight to reply. That's what it took the last time I sent them a question. This possible coincidence makes me wonder if their e-mail support group isn't located somewhere on the other side of the planet. That's not a bad idea, really. Unlike telephone support, I suspect most people can read English even if it's typed with an accent.

The real cause for my concern, however, is that at no point did the e-mail actually acknowledge the specifics of my repair job. In short, the reply looked very much like a form letter. Sure, form letters can be informative, but they aren't confidence inspiring, and right now, that's what I lack.

Given how little information the e-mail contained, they could have just as easily included this information with my camera's repair status. So, in addition to: "Repair is on hold, waiting for parts," they could have appended the useful detail: "expect a two week delay" and maybe even a "we're sorry for the inconvenience," too. At least then I wouldn't have bothered them with an e-mail.

I'd hoped the e-mail I received would have included information about what was wrong with my camera and assurance the could fix it for the price specified and that they typically don't run out of parts. As it is, at least "Monica" or Swati or whoever pushed the button to generate a standard response had the decency to include a nice, generic apology.

© 2010 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

Precision Camera Update: Pending Parts

I picked Precision Camera to repair my Canon because they boasted fast turn-around times (time is money) and a large inventory of parts (and a few other reasons I hope won't also become significant in the near future). Oh for the days when I had a real cannon and didn't care if it worked or not.

So the process flowchart on Precision Camera's customer status page now displays a bright red STOP sign and the words: "Repair is on hold, waiting for parts."

And no, I haven't a clue what parts. I assumed my shutter release assembly malfunctioned. Shutter release assemblies malfunction all the time (on Canon cameras), so you'd think they'd have the parts in bulk. Besides, the video of a malfunctioning Canon camera I saw on YouTube made the same clickety sounds, and it had a malfunctioning shutter release assembly, too.

So here I sit not knowing what is wrong with my camera or how long it will take to fix, and I can only hope the repair won't cost more than I'd hoped. I'd rather know now. If I do need to buy a new camera, I'd rather do it sooner than later so I can shoot some more weddings and start making up for the loss.

Oh well. The Missus reports that several people commented favorably on the photos she took to work to decorate her (Borg) cube where she continues to resist assimilation. One colleague apparently mistook them for calendar photos.

I think I'm going to teach myself matting and framing.

© 2010 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

Photo Processing

Precision Camera finally confirmed my camera arrived, and it's now in "repair status."  Please don't send me any more nightmare stories about Precision Camera.  It's not helping.

So now I'm ameliorating some of my photography withdrawal symptoms with a bit of photo printing. Typically I just edit photos and burn them to disk for clients. I have very little of my own work on display around the house. I do have two boxes of old frames I haven't unpacked since we moved five years ago.

Coincidentally, I ordered self-adhesive backing boards a few weeks ago, so now's my chance to put my hands on some prints.  Backing boards provide a nice firm surface on which to affix images.  This prevents them from curling or sliding around inside of picture frames. An old camera hand taught me how to apply the prints one day years ago when I looked over his shoulder while pretending to browse lens filters.

I use Walgreen's for printing because I can upload full resolution photos and securely share them for free. The prints I have to pay for, but the price is reasonable. Though Walgreen's claims they don't adjust the photographs if you click the little radio button for that option, they do anyway. And no, it's not my monitor. My monitor is calibrated by hand for photography, and the only pictures that turn out badly are exactly the photos you'd expect to turn out badly if the printer automatically adjusted the images.

So I picked out some pictures Walgreen's couldn't possibly screw up, and ordered 8x10 prints. They only took an hour, and they turned out well. I mounted them on backing board and affixed strip magnets to the back so The Missus could take them to work on Monday.  For now, they're stuck to the 'fridge like so much kindergarten artwork.

© 2010 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

The Wait Begins

My busted camera hit the mail on Monday for shipping to Precision Camera. I even sprang the extra buck for a tracking number. The USPS confirmed delivery on Wednesday. Precision Camera's website, however, doesn't know it has arrived yet.

At least I have the USPS' word on it. I'm going to sleep with that little slip of paper under my pillow and see if I wake up feeling better in the morning.

© 2010 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

Camera Repair

As noted in my last post, my Canon 20D went wonky on Saturday. It's still wonky. I prefer this, as things that go on-again off-again wonky really bother me. I like dependability, even in failure.

Like any cheap bastard techno-geek, I started pricing new cameras to find the best bargain for a new or lightly used camera. What I want is a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. If I get it, I'll need a new wide-angle lens, too.

It didn't take long before I found myself reading various technical forums to see if I could repair the 20D myself. I had some hopes for this approach since I fixed my flash last year with a $15 part.

In this case, the parts I needed ran around $40. I even found a couple of videos illustrating the project. In one of the videos, the techno-guy even got the camera to work again. Everyone else advised sending the camera to a repair shop. Back to Google I went.

In the end, I selected Precision Camera. I especially liked that they were Canon authorized (not that my camera was in warranty), had a large inventory of parts on hand, boasted quick turn around times, offered a flat rate, and would provide my camera's status online. I only wished they were local so I could pester them in person every day. I couldn't find a local shop that wouldn't just send it out anyway. The last time I sent a camera part out for repair like that, I never saw my lens again.

So my battle scarred Canon is now wrapped up, labeled, and ready to ship in the morning.  I'm already feeling naked without it.  Maybe I can use my weekends to edit some of the 100k photos I've shot over the last five years.

© 2010 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

I'd Like a New Camera

In a fit of industriousness, I've taken to photographing weddings as an assistant. It's been a learning experience. Today I learned I want a new camera. But that's the end of the story.

The story starts with the lead photographer showing up with a malfunctioning camera and no back-up. Rule one for professional wedding photographers: always bring a backup camera, your assistant's camera is not your backup camera.

Since I'm a poor assistant (pun intended), I don't have a backup camera to loan her, so we shared mine. This worked through most of the wedding, though I have no doubt the bride wondered why she paid for two photographers with just one camera between them. I wondered, too.

This particular story ends right before the cake cutting, bouquet toss, and the daddy/daughter & mother/son dances. Specifically, the story ends when my shutter release mechanism goes wonky and won't stop clicking. This typically happens when a Canon reaches the end of its serviceable life. I haven't counted shutter clicks, but I'd guess it's right around 100k. Given how far and wide this camera has traveled, I'm not disappointed - except, of course by the timing. I don't think I'm going to get paid for this gig.

© 2010 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

Full System Restore

This is a follow up to last week's note about the Avi Ben Stella hoax/keyword attack.

In spite of three layers of firewalls, a couple of anti-virus software packages, and an alarm that something was trying to get "in" - one of the "Avi Ben Stella" websites did manage to infect my computer.

Fortunately, I do nightly backups and clone my hard drive periodically. Rather than "clean" my system of some bug that my anti-virus software missed the first time, I just wiped out the drive and was back in business in a few minutes.

How?

Step 1: Removed infected drive. My new computer case makes this easy. This took about two minutes because I have a messy desk.

Step 2: Installed spare drive with the most recent clean image. This takes about two minutes because I keep the drive in a fire-proof box, and I stopped by the 'fridge for a soda first.

Now my computer looks just as it did a couple of weeks ago.

Step 3: Installed whatever system updates my software vendors pushed down since I created the backup image. The key updates to get are operating system and anti-virus software. I guess I don't have to do this right away, but why wait? It doesn't hurt that I keep a software update log, but that's way too geeky for most people.

Now my computer is up to date, but my working files are a couple of weeks old.

Step 4: Reload from last night's backup my current working files. I'm now back in business. Later, I'll go back and restore all my files from backup while taking care not to overwrite today's work. I'll let that run overnight because it takes a couple of hours. I have a lot of files.

Total time - <10 minutes.
Total cost - $0.

Preparing for the incident cost me $150 for a spare 1.5 TB drive, $50 for an internal hard drive docking bay, and $50 for imaging and backup software. The docking bay isn't entirely necessary, but it's very convenient because it lets me use hard drives as if they were floppy disks. Remember those?

I also use a spare 500 GB drive salvaged from a failed external Western Digital USB back-up device. I don't count this last item as an expense because I consider Western Digital drives to be worthless anyway. I bought one external 1TB USB Western Digital drive. It failed, I replaced it, and the replacement failed - as did its replacement. Mean-time-between failures: about 12 months. At least Western Digital has great customer service. I use their hardware for paperweights now.

With $200 of back-up hardware, one might ask why not just get a backup computer instead.

I have one.

I set it up for my kids. They don't get hand-me-downs. If my hardware fries, as it has in the past, I want something on which I can run big data jobs. It also serves as the family's digital video recorder and multi-media center. An underpowered box with a creaky old operating system won't do. My kids have the fastest box on the block - next to mine.

I don't believe in using technical failure as an excuse for blown deadlines. I also have three uninterrputed power supplies and a backup generator. No, I'm not a fan of our utility company, either.

Last step: I'll go ahead and wipe the buggy hard drive and load a fresh image on it. That'll take a couple of minutes of my time, but I'll need to let it run overnight. My computer definitely works harder than I do.

© 2009 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

Avi Ben Stella - Social Engineering at its "Best"

There’s an "Avi Ben Stella" message going around about a kid in a coma. It's obviously a hoax, but it is more than that. It is a social engineering attack aimed at those who Google suspected hoaxes for more information.

How does this attack sucker the cautious? The "Avi Ben Stella" name is unique, so people who Google it will find the "right" web page - a page loaded with malware which will try to auto-download and infect their computer.

Best bet? As with all other messages of this nature, don't "pass it on". But in this case, don't even Google it.

And yes, I found this out the hard way. I first checked Snopes which listed it as “undetermined”. However, this is a new form of attack, and it's a new message, so I then searched Google in depth. I soon I hit a few of the earliest web pages with this key term. When I did, my firewall went into a frenzy, and I had to close the infected web page via the Task Manager.

So now we have it: a social engineering attack that takes advantage of “safe” behavior – Googling before posting or forwarding "to everyone you know". Those who want to play it safe should forego Googling and stick to trusted sites (like Snopes) and search within those sites for more information. It's not as broad a search, but it's safer.

As far as social engineering goes, it's pretty clever. It’s like infecting condoms with aids before they are used - only those who exercise due care are vulnerable.

Incidentally, this "keyword" approach to steering people to a specific web page has been used for years on auction and dating websites to help customers bypass the site's fee system.

© 2009 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

Old Cahokia Courthouse Reopened

 

The Old Cahokia Courthouse reopened for the first time today since last December when former governor Rod Blagojevich closed numerous state historic sites.

The French originally built the structure as a home in 1740. The building became a courthouse in 1790. The city of Saint Louis disassembled the building and moved it to the site of the 1901 World's Fair for exhibition. The building again moved in 1906 to Chicago for a few decades. The building returned to its original foundation in the late 1930s as part of a Works Projects Administration (WPA) project.

© 2009 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

Phoenix Recycling Expands

Longacre Park Recycling is gone, but Phoenix Recycling & Shredding, Inc. has branched out and taken its place at the same location. Phoenix Recycling is a non-profit organization which provides employment for persons with developmental disabilities or traumatic brain injuries.  

Separate recycling as follows:

• Plastics - milk jugs
• Plastics - #1
• Plastics - #2
• Plastics - #3 through #9
• Office paper
• Cardboard
• Cans - tin (clean)
• Cans - aluminum
• Glass - clear
• Glass - brown
• Glass - green

Operating hours:

• 8:00 - 1:00 Monday - Friday
  
• 8:00 - 2:00 Saturday
  
• Closed Sunday
  

© 2009 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

Moye Kids Finish Marathon

Moye Elementary School, O'Fallon, Illinois, conducted its third annual "Read and Run Marathon" on Saturday, April 18, 2009.  During the year, students read 26 books and exercised the equivolent of a 25 mile run.  On this day, the students completed the 26th mile by running a course around the school's neighborhood.  Over 120 children participated in this event designed to promote healthy choices.  

 

© 2009 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

Carriel Jr. High School's New Administrators

Congratulations go to Carriel Jr. High School's first administrators.  

Principle - Doug Wood, Ed.D., principal, Fulton Jr. High

Asst. Principle - Kelly West, asst. principle, Moye Elementary

Kelly West, vehicle virtuoso

© 2009 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

School Dropoff Statistics

A photo survey of drivers dropping off children at a local elementary school produced interesting results.  The survey took place on a sunny Monday morning during the 15 minutes prior to the school's start.

Vehicles

• 9 pick-up trucks
  
• 34 vans
  
• 34 cars
  
• 41 SUVs

Drivers

• 2 drivers using cell phones
  
• 3 drivers with beverages
  
• 2 drivers with children on their laps

© 2009 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

St. Baldrick's Fund Raiser

Miles Quintal gets a buzz from his barber in O'Fallon’s Blazier Field dugout. His father reports “I’m surprised. Miles spends a lot of time on his hair.” Funds raised go to help kids with cancer.

 

© 2009 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

Maryville First Baptist Church

Very windy day.  Needed high shutter speeds just to stop motion on my zoom lens.  Need a better zoom lens.  Experimented with HDR software, Photomatix - interesting.

 

© 2009 - Robert Lawton, all rights reserved

Uploaded and published in Wikipedia on the day of the shooting.