Respectable Camera Repair In Bangkok?

[thefusilier]

Hello,

Does anyone know of any good DSLR camera repair places in Bangkok for Canon? I know there is an official Canon dealership in MBK, but its closed of course. The damage doesn't seem too bad, just the lens took a drop and the lip (where the lens cap fits on) is broken. No real mechanical or critical parts damage.

Any suggestions?

[john_bkk919]

The Canon service center is / was a half block from Chong Nongsi BTS. It's in their HQ.

'Big Camera' at MBK has the ability to do some lens cleaning and that's about it, as far as I know. For other stuff they will probably send you yourself to the repair center above. But the staff in 'BC' are friendly enough and often offer decent practical advice.

No real complaints about Canon Thailand though don't expect sterling service either. The part might be on backorder for quite awhile, discussions about the matter might take longer than expected, and the ultimate price might not be to your liking. Then again, a filter ring of a popular size and type (I assume that's what you broke) may be something they can handle right away.

I'm sure someone will chime in with how their warranty repair or some other stuff was handled well. That's fine. I've had DSLR and lenses in there a few times for repairs and although I have no major beef with them and was treated courteously as I treated them, it's not what I would call particularly fast, fair, intelligent, or reasonably priced service either.

As an alternative, have you tried a standard UV filter? Might screw on so you don't have this gap in the lip that snags on things. Perhaps OK as an interim fix.

[tifosi]

Hi thefusilier,

Try this one

www.fotofile.net

They have many branches around Bangkok. They are are professional camera shop with good reputation in Thailand (Like B&H in US). BigCamera is more target to consumer and has less knowledge staffs IMO. Their main branch/repaired shop are located at MBK but I think that you can contact with them at other branches that close to you as well. May be at Central Ladprao.

www.avcamera.com is another good shop with repair services.

Anyway, If Canon Thailand at Sathorn road is not closed it would be my first choice.

Here is the map to Canon Thai.

maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=13.721871,100.530476&spn=0.003997,0.006968&t=h&z=18&iwloc=A&q=%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A9%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%97+%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%99+%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%8C%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%81%E0%B9%87%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%B4%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%87+(%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%A2%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%94%E0%B9%8C)+%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%94&cid=10755807413368294650

btw, I'm Thai and came here to see how foreigner feel about current situation in Thailand. I'd gladly help anyone that not support terrorists :-D

[Tokay]

I had help until I read it was a Canon.

Niks profession Nikon shop in BKK services my photo cams. No idea about solid Canon support. I'd look for an authorized shop rather than some little shop that may make the problem worse.

If anyone has a Nikon and needs it serviced, their number and addy is: 022352929 / 022352934, 166 Silom Road, BKK

[tifosi]

AFAIK The only authorized Canon repair shop in Thailand is Canon Thailand. I must admit that I also trust only Canon Thailand for repairing my Canon gear. Anyway both shop I recommended are in Camera business for over 20 years and many Thais trust them. I think that it would be ok if it's mechanical problem or basic electronic problem.

[This is not brand bashing, just want to share some information for Nikon user ;-)]

Regards of Niks Thailand. They are dealer of Nikon in Thailand. For Thai people, if you don't buy camera from them (grey imported) and want to have your camera repaired by them. They will keep your camera for 30 days before starting the repair. It's their policy. And the service prices for out of warranty camere will always come with trailing zeros ie. 1,000 2,000 and usually started from 3,000 baht for DSLR. There was a case at Pantip.com last year that one of a weatherproof D700 was damaged by something like sweat of the owner and they refused to honors the warranty because the warranty of that weatherproof camera doesn't cover damage from water. However, after some fights they make a deal with the D700 owner at the back of the room to keep it quite. To date,I still don't know what that deal was. BTW If your camera is out of warranty and you lost your warranty card then you will be eligible for the 30days policy as well.

So if you have a Nikon that not from authorized dealer in Thailand and want to have your camera repaired at Niks, ask them first about the waiting time. I'm not sure if this policy is still in effect but it was about a year ago. Maybe they will treated foreigner differently from Thai, I don't know. Just make sure to ask them first.

I love Nikon cameras and always want one but I hate its dealer haha. I would get an old F3 someday.It was my dream camera when I was a kid. There are fairy tales that if you have an old model of Canon camera or lens and sent it for repair but the spares are discontinued or Canon Thailand can't get the spares in reasonable time then they will ask you whether you want to wait or agree to exchange your old camera/lens with current model at the estimated repair cost. They also don't care where you get your camera from as long as it's Canon.

Sorry about my terrible Grammar ;-)

cheers,

[Tokay]

[This is not brand bashing, just want to share some information for Nikon user ;-)]

Regards of Niks Thailand. They are dealer of Nikon in Thailand. For Thai people, if you don't buy camera from them (grey imported) and want to have your camera repaired by them. They will keep your camera for 30 days before starting the repair. It's their policy. And the service prices for out of warranty camere will always come with trailing zeros ie. 1,000 2,000 and usually started from 3,000 baht for DSLR. There was a case at Pantip.com last year that one of a weatherproof D700 was damaged by something like sweat of the owner and they refused to honors the warranty because the warranty of that weatherproof camera doesn't cover damage from water. However, after some fights they make a deal with the D700 owner at the back of the room to keep it quite. To date,I still don't know what that deal was. BTW If your camera is out of warranty and you lost your warranty card then you will be eligible for the 30days policy as well.

So if you have a Nikon that not from authorized dealer in Thailand and want to have your camera repaired at Niks, ask them first about the waiting time. I'm not sure if this policy is still in effect but it was about a year ago. Maybe they will treated foreigner differently from Thai, I don't know. Just make sure to ask them first.

I've never had a problem there but they do seem a little "stuffy." I wouldn't put it past them to treat customers differently.

[john_bkk919]

Niks won't help with Canon stuff. You'll get a tight (or even incredulous) smile and a 'no' and that's about that.

As for how they are, they're well known for their 'policies'.

fotofile.net is the same as the 'Big Camera' at MBK I mentioned.

Bottom line: If you want it repaired, it's going to end up at Canon Thailand. If the shop sends it there for you it will only add time, possibly expense, and most shops will tell you this. CT is a half block from Chong Nongsi BTS - easier actually than going up in MBK.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&q=can...mp;t=h&z=15

Walk south on the west side from the BTS station, cross the big intersection, and there's the Canon building on your left. Very easy.

PS: Cheers to the other posters on this thread. Photography is a great hobby here and I wish there were more avenues for cross-cultural meet ups and the like.

[dominique355]

AFAIK The only authorized Canon repair shop in Thailand is Canon Thailand. I must admit that I also trust only Canon Thailand for repairing my Canon gear. Anyway both shop I recommended are in Camera business for over 20 years and many Thais trust them. I think that it would be ok if it's mechanical problem or basic electronic problem.

[This is not brand bashing, just want to share some information for Nikon user ;-)]

Regards of Niks Thailand. They are dealer of Nikon in Thailand. For Thai people, if you don't buy camera from them (grey imported) and want to have your camera repaired by them. They will keep your camera for 30 days before starting the repair. It's their policy. And the service prices for out of warranty camere will always come with trailing zeros ie. 1,000 2,000 and usually started from 3,000 baht for DSLR. There was a case at Pantip.com last year that one of a weatherproof D700 was damaged by something like sweat of the owner and they refused to honors the warranty because the warranty of that weatherproof camera doesn't cover damage from water. However, after some fights they make a deal with the D700 owner at the back of the room to keep it quite. To date,I still don't know what that deal was. BTW If your camera is out of warranty and you lost your warranty card then you will be eligible for the 30days policy as well.

So if you have a Nikon that not from authorized dealer in Thailand and want to have your camera repaired at Niks, ask them first about the waiting time. I'm not sure if this policy is still in effect but it was about a year ago. Maybe they will treated foreigner differently from Thai, I don't know. Just make sure to ask them first.

I love Nikon cameras and always want one but I hate its dealer haha. I would get an old F3 someday.It was my dream camera when I was a kid. There are fairy tales that if you have an old model of Canon camera or lens and sent it for repair but the spares are discontinued or Canon Thailand can't get the spares in reasonable time then they will ask you whether you want to wait or agree to exchange your old camera/lens with current model at the estimated repair cost. They also don't care where you get your camera from as long as it's Canon.

Sorry about my terrible Grammar ;-)

cheers,

I have 2 Nikon cameras, one bought at Phantip Plaza (gray import) and one from an authorized dealer. Both are excellent cameras, but Nikon Thailand clearly is not up to the usual Nikon image of good service. My gray import Coolpix had no manual in English, which is why I contacted Nikon Thailand, giving them the serial no. and asking for an English manual. They replied with a very rude e-mail, accusing me of being a criminal, because, according to them, buying gray import is illegal in Thailand. Of course they refused to send me a manual and even warned me that downloading it from the Internet is also illegal.

I contacted a lawyer specializing in this and was informed that gray market imports are NOT illegal in Thailand. Thailand follows the rule of international exhaustion of trademark rights, which means that once the (original) products has been sold legally anywhere in the world, the trademark rights are exhausted and the trademark owner (Nikon) has no right to stop products from circulation in or into Thailand.

I found this very disturbing that Nikon Thailand accuses customers of committing illegal acts, when clearly they are wrong.

To make myself completely clear, the Nikon Coolpix I bought at Phantip was an original and genuine Nikon camera, but Nikon Thailand was not the importer, thus had no profit on it.

[tifosi]

AFAIK The only authorized Canon repair shop in Thailand is Canon Thailand. I must admit that I also trust only Canon Thailand for repairing my Canon gear. Anyway both shop I recommended are in Camera business for over 20 years and many Thais trust them. I think that it would be ok if it's mechanical problem or basic electronic problem.

[This is not brand bashing, just want to share some information for Nikon user ;-)]

Regards of Niks Thailand. They are dealer of Nikon in Thailand. For Thai people, if you don't buy camera from them (grey imported) and want to have your camera repaired by them. They will keep your camera for 30 days before starting the repair. It's their policy. And the service prices for out of warranty camere will always come with trailing zeros ie. 1,000 2,000 and usually started from 3,000 baht for DSLR. There was a case at Pantip.com last year that one of a weatherproof D700 was damaged by something like sweat of the owner and they refused to honors the warranty because the warranty of that weatherproof camera doesn't cover damage from water. However, after some fights they make a deal with the D700 owner at the back of the room to keep it quite. To date,I still don't know what that deal was. BTW If your camera is out of warranty and you lost your warranty card then you will be eligible for the 30days policy as well.

So if you have a Nikon that not from authorized dealer in Thailand and want to have your camera repaired at Niks, ask them first about the waiting time. I'm not sure if this policy is still in effect but it was about a year ago. Maybe they will treated foreigner differently from Thai, I don't know. Just make sure to ask them first.

I love Nikon cameras and always want one but I hate its dealer haha. I would get an old F3 someday.It was my dream camera when I was a kid. There are fairy tales that if you have an old model of Canon camera or lens and sent it for repair but the spares are discontinued or Canon Thailand can't get the spares in reasonable time then they will ask you whether you want to wait or agree to exchange your old camera/lens with current model at the estimated repair cost. They also don't care where you get your camera from as long as it's Canon.

Sorry about my terrible Grammar ;-)

cheers,

I have 2 Nikon cameras, one bought at Phantip Plaza (gray import) and one from an authorized dealer. Both are excellent cameras, but Nikon Thailand clearly is not up to the usual Nikon image of good service. My gray import Coolpix had no manual in English, which is why I contacted Nikon Thailand, giving them the serial no. and asking for an English manual. They replied with a very rude e-mail, accusing me of being a criminal, because, according to them, buying gray import is illegal in Thailand. Of course they refused to send me a manual and even warned me that downloading it from the Internet is also illegal.

I contacted a lawyer specializing in this and was informed that gray market imports are NOT illegal in Thailand. Thailand follows the rule of international exhaustion of trademark rights, which means that once the (original) products has been sold legally anywhere in the world, the trademark rights are exhausted and the trademark owner (Nikon) has no right to stop products from circulation in or into Thailand.

I found this very disturbing that Nikon Thailand accuses customers of committing illegal acts, when clearly they are wrong.

To make myself completely clear, the Nikon Coolpix I bought at Phantip was an original and genuine Nikon camera, but Nikon Thailand was not the importer, thus had no profit on it.

Hi john_bkk919,

Trust me about Fotofile,I'm Thai ;-) . Actually the shop that did the repair is FotoThailand on MBK 3rd floor but they have the same owner, Fotofile Group. Fotofile owned by photographer and sold camera in Thailand long before the digital boom. Few years ago there was only semi-serious photographer that use SLR camera so there was not many specialize shops that sell them. They have their own repair service team that do many tasks in house. They even offer a service to modify DSLR camera for infrared. If you have out of warranty 3rd party lens with not so good importer, they could be a good choice. I won't send my Tamron to Niks for sure haha. On the other hand, Big Camera is more like a department store shop with limited after-sale service. I totally agree with you that Canon Thailand is the only place that I will send my Canon gears for repair (except some old cheap lens, maybe. The canon spare parts are inexpensive but their service charge is a little high for Thai).

Hi dominique355,

Sorry to heard about that kind of services. Actually it's "Niks Thailand" and not "Nikon Thailand". They are just an authorized importer so they don't care about the camera that not brought from Them. Maybe they think that we are stills in 1980 to do business like that. Oh! illegal, That's one of most stupid thing I heard about them. Hopefully that Nikon will start distribution camera int Thailand by their own in the future. Currently Nikon Thailand is only deal with manufacturing and export %100 of them under BOI.