problems with canon equipment

[jann1033]

long story short something is wrong with either my rebel xt, 28-135 lens or both, canon can't seem to figure out how to fix it and after 6 months of messing around with it i've had it. so the question is i am trying to decide if i should sell my canon stuff and buy nikon or just upgrade my rebel body( which i was planning on doing anyway but wanted to wait a little to see if a 30d successor comes out soon). my major questions are ...1)how good is nikon customer support, i want to hear success and horror stories and 2)has anyone had problems with the canon 30d

the long boring version of the saga is below

28-135 lens stopped working last nov ( bought it in july, around Oct i noticed when ever i tried to use it in macro or pointed the lens toward the ground the shutter wouldn't depress even though everything in the view finder said it was ok to take a photo, at first it was occasionally then it was everytime i tried to take a photo with and only with the 28-135 lens) sent the lens to canon when camera shutter wouldn't depress at all Jan. according to canon, IS was bad first 2 times i sent it in so whole IS unit replaced twice, focus was off so that was fixed twice( times it was sent in 3 & 4) 2 weeks ago started again with the wouldn't let me depress the shutter , this time, return #5 senior tech claims i must not know how to use the camera( ie the buffer is full, the card is being written to, i was panning so it wouldn't focus, i had the timer on...all the things that someone might do in the first week they use the camera but none of which applied to me..duh ya would have thought i would have figured those out in the first 9999 photos i took with the camera I use almost every single day but guess i look way dumber than i thought) so i figure it is going to die within a month and not take a photo again at all, my warranty is now over( 2 days ago) so now i will be stuck with a lens and camera canon has played around with for 6 months, used up 1/2 my warranty and left me with nothing but a broken lens and/or camera which is why if i knew Nikon CS was better would send me running not walking to Nikon. however it would be easier not to have to sell all my other lenses etc and upgrade but i don't want to ever have to deal with canon cs again which makes me hesitant

 

[Roger]

Well, the 28-135 is one of Canon's oldest in-production lenses. Maybe that is a problem with it? Who knows what they are testing it with (body), I assume in Irvine? Do you have any other Canon lenses to try on it? That would be my first step.

I haven't had any problems with my 30D. No Err99, nothing. I'm sure that the 30D (ahh the mystical 40D) replacement is ready to go, I think they are just waiting on what Sony and Nikon will do. Since there is no "major" show a la Photokina this fall, there isn't a 'set' time for an announcement. It could come the day AFTER their current lens rebates end! About the only thing that is kind of certain (read: expected) is that it will have the Xti's sensor in it, but with higher ISO.

 

[jann1033]

that is the weird thing... all the other lenses i have seem to work fine with it although i wish i had thought to try it with a different lens this time( i was using another lens the same day i had the problem this last time and it seemed ok but i mean for a longer time period)
that is why i gave in and sent the body this time, i thought maybe something was wrong with it that was only showing up between it and the lens but now they say nothing is wrong at all which i know is wrong.
that is why i hate to buy the 30d...they have had some decent prices locally on it( 1300 with a 17-85 lens which i haven't looked up yet) so that makes me wonder if it 's due to father's day or maybe suspecting something new and getting rid of stock..for sure if i buy it it'll be out the next day

 

[gary]

the 28-135 IS is probably the oldest image stabilized lens canon has out on the market, if you've taken a lot of pics it may have just worn out, esp since you say no problem with body or other lenses, i had one for years with no problems, won grand prize with a pic from that lens and d60 camera in first contest i ever entered. i sold it over the winter to help fund the 17-55 f/2.8 IS. so far that's been the best lens upgrade ever for me, it was what i took 80% of my med cruise shots with, i did once have a bad canon lens, the 35mm f/2, but that's an old design, cheaply made, and many have complained over the years about it's weak construction, pic quality was outstanding, but after a couple of years of use, while at wdw 2 years ago it started making grinding noises while autofocusing and eventually quit altogether, and it binds while trying to manual focus, so it's a write off at this point
i wouldn't jump brands at this point over 1 lens, and that's no knock on nikon, they make some fine products, but if i were a nikon user i wouldn't switch over 1 bad lens of that line, not if you have an investment in multiple lenses.
as far as the 30d replacement, if you've gone as far as you can develop your craft with the rebel, than by all means consider a move right now, especially if you can get a good price on a body only. who knows how long till an upgrade, and are you missing out on shots right now that the 30d would help you take? don't miss out on today's shots waiting for technology that's not here yet.
btw, i'm really satisfied with my xti, easily the iq equal to my beloved 20d

 

[Roger]

psssh. BTW, I was actually thinking about Fuji's S5, but don't let anyone know. Maybe because it's actually in stock, unlike something else.