You might remember a few months ago, I was having fun with a fish-eye lens I had picked up second-hand from a local photography forum. From the day I got it, it was a little sticky in its focusing ring, but within a few weeks the focusing ring was getting so jammed that I couldn’t get it unstuck.
I brought it in to a local camera repair shop, but they couldn’t guarantee they could fix it, nor could they guarantee they’d be able to get it back together again in working order once they pulled it apart because they didn’t know what the problem was. They quoted me $300 on a “maybe” and I shrugged and said, “Forget it. It works well enough most of the time and I can work the focusing ring loose when it gets jammed.” He cautioned me that the torque I was using to twist the focusing ring could damage my camera where the lens mounts over time, and I walked away thinking I’d basically peed the money I’d spent on the lens down the drain.
It’s a Sigma fish-eye, so my last-ditch attempt was to call Sigma and see what they had to say. They would look at it for $25, and apply that fee to whatever the repair cost was. For $25 plus the cost to ship the lens off to Mississauga, I figured what the hell. I told them it was a second-hand lens and I didn’t know the nature of the damage, and hoped for the best.
The best, as it turns out, was way better than I could have hoped for. Within two weeks, the lens was shipped back to me in working order — and completely free of charge. Even though I did not have any paperwork and was not the original owner of the lens and had no idea of the nature of the damage, they covered the repair under warranty AND waived the $25 fee AND shipped it back to me free of charge.
How’s THAT for amazing customer service? Yay Sigma!
To celebrate, I took my new/old lens for a walk on a sunny summer afternoon.
That’s the best thing about a new toy – revisiting old favourite places and giving them a new twist. 🙂 Thanks Sigma, for the awesome customer service. I am highly impressed.
