I hear a few canon staff browse the forum and it is a VERY busy one. Lay out all the symptoms etc of the problem and see what people say... you never know...
Collect all the info and post the whole story here http://photography-on-the.net/forum/
Not sure about in Switzerland, however in the UK if you paid by credit card or a visa debit card then they are jointly and severely liable for purchases that cost a minimum of £100 gbp ( this applies even if you only paid a percentage on the card). Therefore if a retailer was being awkward you ask the card issuer to do a chargeback of the purchase price. In effect what normally happens is that they contact the retailer and sort the problem out for you.
I bought an electric fly zapper from Interdiscount last year - special offer at CHF 5, and they even gave me a guarantee on that.
(It isn't especially good at the job, but I've easily have 5 Francs of entertainment out of it. )
There was me thinking all would be well but I was sorry to read that it didn't work out that way.
I'm guessing this is fixable but I don't know if you have the tools and the nerve to fix this yourself. You can see the process on the following link and I guess the mechanism will be similar for the G9. If it happened to my G9 then I would attempt the fix myself but then I have taken cameras apart to mend them before. Mechanical cameras, that is. You have got to document everything and make diagrams of every step and even label the screws you remove so you know which screw has to go back where. This has to be done stone cold sober, of course, with good lighting and perhaps close focus spectacles.
http://members.shaw.ca/gregs_space/C..._for_SD300.pdf
You might get away with a simpler fix
thanks but i feel any intervention myself to fix this would invalidate all and any guanrantees....
Sorry to hear that your saga has not yet had a happy end. It's rather difficult to know what to suggest - how about demanding that Canon prove that it was your fault?
All it takes is a bit of grit to get on the lens barrel or a couple of drops of rain to get in and this can happen. Or the lens gets knocked when it is extended and then you have to pay big-style.
Your stuck with this one if you want to keep your guarantee intact. It has to be Canon who fixes it and you will have to pay. Whether this is a camera fault or not is their decision and they will find in their own favour.
I would be tempted to pay Interdiscount their 80 CHF, get your camera back still broken, and try the simple measures listed at www.e18error.com which do not involve taking the camera apart. That way you should not invalidate your guarantee. If you find you can't get it working then send it off yourself to Canon to be repaired.
I suspect that a lot of these types of camera will develop this fault after a time.
I would also pay the 80 CHF and send off camera to be repaired yourself...
Or grab the camera and not pay the 80 CHF
I have no intention of further boosting the profits of Interdiscount or canon for selling shoddy goods , that do not meet the general basic laws put there to protect the consumer.....
The camera was not suitable for the purpose for which it was intended...
ie taking pictures for an extended period of time .
Maybe you should give the consumer rights association a call:
http://www.konsumentenschutz.ch/
Alsothe magazines K-Tipp and Saldo might be able to offer some advice...
Which branch of Interdiscount was it BTW?
Pay the 80 CHF on credit card and then do a charge back the day after... let them take it up with the cc company.
But if somebody buys such a camera new and drops it in the first few weeks of use and it stops working then it is hardly the fault of the manufacturer. This will likely be a mechanical fault caused by dirt or moisture getting in or caused by impact. That it is purely an internal electronic fault is highly unlikely. You are a professional photographer and this is not a camera that can withstand what I'd euphemistically refer to as "professional use".
I'll agree with this one, but knowing how Karlnmik works I very much doubt that this camera was dropped.
If it is caused by dirt or moisture getting in, and given that interdiscount was able to say with almost 100% certainty that the camera would not be covered under warranty before Canon even looked at it, then this would indicate that this happens a hell of a lot, and that the camera more than likely has some kind of design fault. Therefore not fit for purpose.
It's far far more likely than you think - I come across computers everyday with fried logic boards, sound cards, video cards etc.
Do you really think that this kind of camera would be put to "professional" use by a pro when the pro already has DSLR's and lenses?
I was talking to a pro once would said he dropped his OM1 down a rocky pier about 20 feet. Some other cameras I have seen pros using have been used hard with the brass showing through. There is a tendency for them to use cameras like mechanical tools rather than sheltering a fragile bird in the palms of their hands. I have a G9 and I regard it as a very fragile camera. I even worry about carrying it around in my pocket.
As for this particular problem being an electronic problem then I would disagree in that the lens stopping is a sign that the electronics are working and not the other way round. It has detected an abrupt resistance to the retraction or extension of the lens and stopped the motor to prevent possible damage.
I would say that Canon should keep statistics and if the lens fault occurs in the first three months of use more often than in the second or third three months of use then Canon should accept that it is a design fault and fix it under guarantee if the fault occurs in the first three months and make the effort to remedy the design fault for future models. But maybe that is too sensible for them and they would rather have their reputation for making retractable lens cameras permanently shot to pieces.
Not a pro here but never liked Canon's built quality in general compared to Nikon. That said my Nikon dslr stopped working once for no fault of mine. The internal electronic focusing mechanism developed problems. Just took it to the camera shop I bought it from (the big one in ZH HB) and got it fixed by Nikon for free.....without any hassle. G10 is built like a tank so I assume G9 was similar. Cameras do stop working without user fault.
Karl nice gallery and good luck.
Sometimes I hate to be right I wonder how camera producers/shops get away with less customer-friendly behaviour than those who make and sell other kinds of electronic goods.
Do you mean Foto Pro Ganz ..?
Yep them. Although Nikon took 2-3 weeks to repair.
My story ... I bought a shaver at an Interdiscount in the City. Although the box looked new and unopened, when I got home I could see that the shaver had already been used (yuck). I took it back to the same shop but they didn't have another in stock. They did find out that the Interdiscount nearest my work had one so I went there.
Interdiscount Shop 2 refused to exchange it, claiming it was the responsibility of Shop 1 to do so. Luckily I remembered the name of the guy in Shop 1 so he got a bollocking from the manager of Shop 2 and after standing my ground (and offering to charge them for my time to go back to Shop 1) I got the replacement from Shop 2.
Why do they make it so difficult to get a replacement (or perhaps even honour a guarantee) from a different branch?
Sorry, but their service really sucks.
I only go to Interdiscount to hold and test products. Once I am satisfied I then buy it from digitec.