Tuesday 3 September 2013

Paddling to Nikon

How many times can you expect a big company to honour the warranty? 1, 2, 3 it has been 4 times already!!! I have a new camera every 2 or 3 months and this time I got the newer model!
The only problem is that the warranty lapses after 1 year... or they renewed it with each new camera they sent me? Because every time my Nikon AW100 leaked I had a brand new Nikon AW100 sent to me free of charge within 2 weeks.

Before I moved I was collecting all the boxes from all the AW100 I got. 4 boxes, the first I lost, the others were replaced. However I threw all but one away when we changed house. I have started the collection again now, only this time one box is for the old AW100 and the other for the brand new AW110.

The funny thing is that I know of other paddlers having the same old AW100 with no leaks for a long time... Is it bad luck or bad user? In my defence I can say that I use it in the surf on the kayak's deck 2 or 3 times a week and they don't... well that average has dropped a lot lately with the winter and my 'could be better health'.

I have been taking the camera to Nikon's office my self and then they used to send me a new one. Last week I took the drowned camera to them. A longish drive and when I got there the office was closed and a sign said they had moved to a new address closer to my home. The new office is 200 meters from the Parramata river. My place is 400 meters from the same river.
When the other day I got an email saying the replacement was ready to pick up I decided to paddle over the 7km instead of driving around 12km each way. Not my cup of tea for a paddle on flat water but still 'a day in the water is better than a day not in the water'. It was a placid paddle with very nice 'winter' temperature of around 23 degrees and sunny :-) Now I am thinking of getting a K1 to take advantage of those kind of paddles more often with less hassle (lighter kayak than a sea kayak, more core exercise and less gear to carry). I just need to find a cheap one to convince my wife to let me get it. Do you know of one in Sydney?

2 comments:

  1. I don't believe in cameras that are waterproof (exception Nikonos) but only water resistant for use in the rain. In salt water, in a sea kayak? no such thing.
    After several Olympuses and a few Panasonics that were replaced under warranty (several times) I no longer use a "waterproof" camera without a housing. Of course people will say that theirs has lasted forever.... if kept securely below deck and rarely seen "action"

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    1. If they advertise it as waterproof and it doesn't hold the water out, they can always try to avoid replacing it. In the end if they said user error or abuse you would have to suck it up. I am happy they kept the warranty and replaced it. I know of users of Panasonic that were left with no camera after it drowned.
      Re housing, if is not the GoPro or the sort that have limited capabilities as cameras (no visor, no zoom, etc) they get too bulky to carry on the kayak decks. Unless you found a way and want to share it with all of us.

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