Don't buy a Bessa with Mack warranty...

[fbrahic]

Dear all,

When I was purchasing my Bessa R3A, I got it from B&H as it seemed like a good trusted source. I also purchased the Mack camera extended warranty to cover any problems.

Sadly, my camera came with a drifting rangefinder - the alignment at infinity keeps going out. I sent it in to Mack to have it adjusted, and have had nothing but a horrible experience since then. It's already been back twice, and it's still drifting. Now they're claiming that the camera is fine and that I'm imagining all of this. I wish I was.

Having talked to their service manager, it is clear that they are unable to service Voigtlander in any way beyond basic adjustments. I've been pushing for a replacement, but haven't had any luck so far. If anything, they've been treating me in the most insulting of ways by claiming that the camera is fine, when I can clearly tell that the alignment is out at infinity, and drifting.

Therefore, I would definitely not recommend getting a voigtlander camera with a Mack warranty - that's as good as not having a warranty, perhaps worse. Also, based on my service experience, I can personally say that I will not be purchasing a Mack warranty again.

Francois

 

[peterc]

Francois,

Can you persuade them to send it to someone who can work on Bessas?
My Bessa R was focusing beyond infinity so I took it to the warranty company. They had it for a month before they admitted their technician didn't have a clue what I was talking about. They agreed to send it to a repair business that knows RF cameras and paid for the work.

Peter

 

[f/stopblues]

I don't endorse this by any means (may void your warranty!), but there's been several descriptions about adjusting the alignment on R2A/3A's on this forum. Just do a search and see what comes up. It doesn't seem terribly bad. Also, some people have used a dab of nail polish to set the screws when they've finished.

Just a thought for an alternative!

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Why not ask CameraQuest if they will inspect the camera and give you an estimate the cost of any adjustments. Then ask B&H and or Mack nicely to pay the bill.

If they refuse you may need to pay it yourself and put this down to experience.

 

[zuikologist]

Is it possible to get the credit card company involved if you paid using a card?

 

[Max Power]

Why not ask CameraQuest if they will inspect the camera and give you an estimate the cost of any adjustments. Then ask B&H and or Mack nicely to pay the bill.

If they refuse you may need to pay it yourself and put this down to experience.

I hate to say it, but I'm with Jon on this one. It might cost you a few bucks, but Stephen Gandy is as honest and professional as they come (from personal experience).

Just my $0.02

Kent

 

[netzspannung]

Hi!


Since your warranty is useless anyway, you can just remove the hot shoe and adjust the rangefinder manually.... Takes a little bit of time and steady hands. And you need a ruler or something. But i've done it in less than 15 minutes


Instuctions are here
http://www.textklick.demon.co.uk/r2align.html

 

[stric]

I am sorry to hear that but I must say that even when I place my order over the phone with B&H for my Bessa it was a really uncomfortable experience. The sales person on the other end was down right rude and it made me wonder how this company does business with such brutes on their payroll. In any event I ahven't had any problems with my camera but I have hadsome very pleasant experience with cameraquest. The mere fact that they pride themselves in being authorized CV dealer for the US is very reasuring and Stephen simply loves rangefinders.

 

[John Henry]

I have done business with B&H for a number of years and have never run into any "brutes" on their staff. However, B&H is a New York City thing and that might be considered curt and rude by those who are unaccustomed to the way business is done in The Big Apple. That said, there is a guy there, Henry Posner, who can be counted on to smooth out any legitimate problems one might have with a B&H transaction.