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I am thinking about joining CPS. I was wondering if anyone else were members and what you thought about the service. Especially if you thought it was worth it to get the Platinum membership instead of the Gold. I just added up my equipment and I have 55 points in my kit that I plan to keep and another 15 points in equipment I plan to sell (7D, EFS 15-85, and 580 EX II).
Thanks,
Brant
I dropped my 16-35mm on the ground, it saved me money when they fixed it.
That is the only advantage of being a CPS member.
Platinum was $500 now it is $300 vs Gold for $100. It looks like the repair savings decreased from past years, you only gain 10% more repair discount for the Platinum. The straps they give you are cool but an additional $200 for one strap and lens caps isn't worth it IMO.
IMO joining CPS is like buying repair insurance. It will take a bit less than $500 repair to pay for the Gold. (I say less because they pay the return shipping)
It would take you a $2000 repair to make the extra 10% discount pay for itself with platinum.
If you had more gear it might be worth while Brant, but I do not think you or I have enough gear to make it worth while.
In the last five years I have had one lens repaired, I only paid for the service two years. For me it ended up a break even deal.
I've considered it. I think the main benefit is likely the repair discount and faster turnaround, and if I have a camera/lens that needs repairing, I'll strongly consider signing up for CPS first.
I don't see a lot of benefit in the Platinum level over the Gold, personally. The extra 10% repair discount and free inbound shipping would still require multiple items to be serviced to cover the $200 difference in cost.
There is some value in the free clean and check for bodies, in that they clean the mirror and focus screen in addition to the sensor. There's almost no value in sending a lens in for a clean and check, as they only clean the exposed elements. When I was at the Canon service center in NJ for my 1D X to have the lubrication fix applied (which they did in less than an hour, while I waited, along with a free clean), one of the reps told a customer that the clean and check for lenses was not really useful. So, the 10 of them with Platinum vs. the 5 with Gold would not be that useful unless you had a whole bunch of eligible bodies. Also, you need to figure the cost of shipping - and shipping insurance - into the 'free' clean and check (the CPS free shipping applies to service, but AFAIK not to clean/check). Given that, it may be cheaper to take the camera to a local shop to be cleaned unless you live close to a service center (or travel close to one fairly frequently, which I actually do).
I just noticed they added a 'Cinema' level. Nice. :rolleyes:
FWIW, I have 144 points. :cool:
Thanks guys. I may try Gold for a year. I was thinking of sending the EFS 15-85 and 7D in to be evaluated and cleaned before selling them.
......at $1,000 per year......:rolleyes: Safe to say, I am not that market....Quote:
Originally Posted by neuroanatomist
BTW, is there any bonus for breaking 100 pts? A calculator mouse autographed by Chuck Westfall perhaps? :cool:
Additional exercise when you are carrying all your gear around.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kayaker72
Sometimes an inflated ego for owning all the expensive gear.
It gives you an additional hobby beyond normal photography, which mainly centers on trying to figure out how to store and carry your gear.
It helps keep you from buying more dangerous things like motorcycles.
There may be a few more bonuses, I would have to think a bit. I am at 128 points myself.
That's too bad. :( When I brought mine in to the service center, after they were done I walked outside and shot the blue sky with the 40/2.8 stopped down, and the sensor was totally clean (although I've had to clean it a couple of times since then).Quote:
Originally Posted by jrw
For the focus screen, I was thinking of it from Brant's perspective, the 5DIII focus screen doesn't just pop out.
I've been a gold level member for years but I've never taken advantage of the service. For me it's sort of like insurance in case something breaks. Canon ships Fedex and requires an in-person signature, so that kills any dealing with them for me for any non-critical stuff. If I really wanted to borrow a 1Dx or a 500mm lens, I guess I could burn a vacation day and stay home waiting for Fedex.
How many of you actually meet the "51% of income from photography" requirement and/or the full-time work requirement? Obviously some of you do, but how many are ignoring that part of the process? I'm purposefully a hobbyist photographer, and way too honest, so I just stare at CPS and wish I could get some of those benefits.
Where does it say 51%?
This is from CPS's FAQ
"Membership is available only to those individuals (self-employed or employed by a professional imaging business), who play a direct role in the creation of moving or still images for third parties on a full-time basis and are legal residents of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia."
The description changed, it was worded differently a few years ago. It was a bit less descriptive and more open.
Huh....it was a Canon rep that suggested I join. I did mentioned I was just a hobbyist, but they were more concerned that I had enough gear.
I've had a Canon Repair rep suggest that I join...when I said I don't meet the 51% requirement, they said "oh yep, that's a problem". *shrug* I do see that the wording was changed...almost worse for me. With 51%, I could make a killing ("could" being the operative word) at photography and keep my full-time job in Internet networking while qualifying for CPS. Now I'd have to have two full-time jobs to qualify, and that ain't happening.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kayaker72
This is from the actual Terms and Conditions for Gold the wording is slightly different than the FAQ;
"1. Membership is available only for those individuals, (a) that are full time self-employed, or an employee of a professional imaging business, who plays a direct role in the creation of moving or still images for third parties on a professional basis, (b) are legal residents of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia and (c) who are at least 18 years of age at the time of enrollment. At this time, membership benefits, and repair service are available in the 50 United States and the District of Columbia."
Now I am a full time self-employed individual who plays a direct role in the creation of moving or still images for third parties on a professional basis. However my images would be secondary to my business, for documentation and such. My business is in no way photography and most of my competitors would hire someone to do their videos and photography. But by the description I would qualify.
There is no 51% requirement that I see. Please point this out.
For that matter what is "Full Time Self-Employed"? Full time employment is defined by the hours not the wage. Companies define what is and is not full time employee there are no set amount of hours.
Surely Canon is not trying to keep a wedding photographer just starting out, that has very little income and works long hours just because his income is less than his "other" job.
Canon asks you to put real information in that shows you own a certain amount of gear.
They ask you give them a credit card and pay them $100.00.
They do not ask for any proof what so ever that you meet the employment requirements.
We can look at something like this and think some are dishonest in joining.
Actually petty3, if you are making an income from photography you have a fair argument that you do qualify.
Likewise, I wonder about the 'professional imaging business' bit. My Fortune 100 company employs a couple of full-time photographers among its ~75,000 employees. They should be excluded because our mission is making medicines not images?
For that matter, many computer/graphics designers would fit the description, even if their Canon gear has nothing to do with their day job.
I say if you want to join, join. Canon will be happy to take your money, provided you have sufficient gear registered for the level at which you want to join.