Canon 7D died on first day of vacation

[Trina]

Last year I bought a refurbished 7D right after Thanksgiving.... I have loved it and used it quite a lot. We went to the Oregon coast for a much needed vacation. First day out disaster struck. My 7D just quit....The only signs of life were a dead battery icon blinking on the top panel. I changed ALL batteries nothing changed. Fortunately, I had my Rebel with me because DH is showing some interest in photography. So most of my trip was shot with my Rebel.

When I got home I was half sick when I called Canon, because when I bought the camera @ a special price on the day after Thanksgiving... It had a 90 day warranty. What I found out was that Canon now offers 1 year warranties on the refurbs and my camera is covered..... I was SO happy. I sent it to them and Friday received confirmation that they had received it.... I can hardly wait to get it back. It was hard going back to the rebel for a few reasons.. and now I am thinking I might want to get a second 7D to back up....

[rpcrowe]

I have a second 7D. I almost always shoot with a pair pf cameras however, like you and your Rebel; I usually shot with two different generations of camera until I found the 7D and liked that camera so much that I purchased a second 7D. At my advanced age, I think that these two cameras will last me for the rest of my life.

I did not know however, that Canon had extended the warranty on refurbished units. Is there a charge for this extension?

However, whether you shoot with two cameras of the same generation or carry a couple of generations different cameras, your problem on vacation illustrates how important a second camera can be on a trip. When I was shooting with the 30D and 40D cameras, I fell on a slope in Alaska, breaking the 40D. My 30D saved the trip photographically for me...

[CP140]

Having your prime camera die on you the first day out really stinks, but at least you had a backup.

The more I read others posts the more I realize the wisdom of carrying a second camera when on vacation. I managed to drop my K-30 onto a concrete sidewalk (during this summer's trip to Germany) when my back pack opened up unexpectedly... ok... I admit it...I didn't do up the zips properly. The camera/lens survived, albeit with a few scuffs here and there, but at the time mid way through the trip I was thankful I'd brought along a second camera.

My little Panasonic waterproof P+S not withstanding, I've been carrying a Panasonic FZ200 as a "backup" to my K-30. I'm not sure what I'll do next time around (late October...New York) now that I've picked up a second K-30 body on "clearance."

Please let us know what the problem with your camera was... it's always interesting to hear what went wrong.

[Trina]

Richard, when buying a refurbished camera from Canon the warranties were 90 days originally.... but Canon has changed that now to be 1 year... no extra cost... that was the only thing that bothered me about buying a refurbished camera, I figured it should have at least a year warranty and now they do... I would not think twice about buying another refurbished camera and probably will as soon as the pocketbook allows....

Martin, I am glad your camera survived its wild ride... that is something that always worries me... I will post again when I find out what happened...:>

[Shadowman]

Lucky you.

[Trina]

John I was VERY lucky because when I bought my 7D, the day after Thanksgiving last year.. they were still advertising 90 days... it was shortly after that they changed... When I called in and he told me that the camera was covered I did shed a happy tear, because I truly did not know how I would afford to fix it if it cost much over $100. Its been one of those kinds of summers.... :>