checkmate3001

Sometimes. Often the customer wants to take the card back with them.

My personal favorite was once when a customer thought there was a problem with their card. They said they couldn't access it with their computer. I took it in the back and put it in a card reader. The very first picture on the card was the customer with some dudes dick in her mouth. So so difficult to look her in the eye when I gave her her card back and tell her it was working just fine. :)

Nikon has decided that they WILL NOT sell parts to camera shops that aren't "authorized". There are only about 25 shops in the United States that are "authorized". To become authorized you need to be first allowed to become authorized - which hasn't happened in over 15 years. So no one new is getting into the club. Second, you MUST purchase every piece of adjustment equipment required to fully adjust the cameras or lenses you want to get authorized on.

The adjustment equipment is VERY, VERY expensive. The shop I work at has spent over $100k in the last 3 years to STAY authorized. The silly thing is that over half the equipment we have NEVER used. It doesn't matter if it is useful or even necessary. It doesn't matter if you can find the exact same thing and buy it directly from the manufacturer yourself. If you don't order it from Nikon and pay what they charge, you aren't authorized.

There has been a lot of talk in the industry about law-suits and getting consumer protection firms involved in this fight because a lot of shops went under for no reason than Nikon not willing to sell parts to them. Unfortunately, these shops are typically small and don't have much money. So they can't afford top lawyers. The news hasn't picked up on it much either. A lot of authorized shops don't like it either because it means that if something weird happens, they too could be cut out of the loop and completely go under. Unfortunately, these shops can't do anything for fear of retribution from Nikon.

It is a very scary time for repair shops right now and everyone is fighting very hard to survive. It is a dying industry.

At my shop it is mostly Nikon - but mostly because we get free advertising from Nikon's website because we're authorized. So Nikon's policy has helped us, but I still disagree with it. It is completely Un-American.

It has been this way for a while in other countries. I don't remember which ones, but manufacturers have been dicks for years.

Refurbished come in 2 varieties: Factory refurbished and then a more loose term of refurbished. Factory refurbished are generally very good. They were done by the manufacturer and are usually returned items from dealers. A factory technician goes through them and either repairs them if there was a fault or verifies they are in factory standard.

They other type of refurbished is something that the retailer or repair shops have done in-house. These can be a crap shoot. It really depends on what their quality is and how honest they are.

My favorite review site is dpreview.com and kenrockwell.com. I don't really like kenrockwell.com that much, but it is mildly entertaining from my perspective. He has a lot of experience, but he throws in his biased opinion often. Some of his information can be misleading internet banter.

Best site to buy gear: bhphotovideo.com by far the best online camera website to buy gear. They are extremely honest and they make sure you are happy. Basically the newegg of camera equipment.

Edit: formatting, links.

I agree 100%. The industry is EXTREMELY secretive and doesn't like anyone messing with their cameras. I don't know what the manufacturers are really thinking, but it seems like there are a lot of very rich and powerful heads that are old and closed-minded. There have been a lot of issues with very controlling, constrictive regulations passed down the chain of command.

Every time I hear of someone hacking a camera, it makes me smile inside. I'm waiting for the day that someone breaks into the market and goes full google. I want to see someone make a camera that opens everything up to the consumer. Make it programmable like android. Give the device to the people for the people... I am overly idealistic, however.

No one likes my answer to this one...

I don't own a camera. HAHAHA!

Crazy as it seems, I only use my cell phone. I get to play with cameras all day. I've even borrowed cameras for a weekend here and there. I'm just not good at photography and really get far more joy out of fixing them. I also like to drink when I'm out with friends and I'd break something if I carried a nice camera out with me drinking.