Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!
I could not agree more about the wisdom of the extended warranty. My IQ180 failed 3 times in the first 13 months as I recall. Phase overnighted me loaners each time and ultimately replaced the back after the third failure. I think Phase had a great reliability record with its P series of backs, but my sense is that the IQ backs have not been as reliable.In a lot of ways this is like asking about fire insurance.
- Anyone who has ever needed it, even once, is likely to tell you it's critical.
- Anyone who has never needed it is likely to tell you it's money down the drain.
My previous job title was Head of Tech Services and I dealt with all the repairs. When someone called in with an issue, of any kind, if they had a warranty their blood pressure was much lower. This was especially true when they had the value added warranty which includes a loaner during any repair/service.
With an IQ the warranty jumps from 1 year to 5 years, includes the loaner program, and adds a few accessories (e.g. Capture One Pro). To me, with a background in service, at $4k extra it's a good value. $1k/year for warranty, peace of mind, and a few accessories.
Hi Gareth -Some stuff breaks........... some doesn't.
Always used to get the value added warranty at my last studio and the very well used backs never developed any problems - not much to go wrong.
The P65+ I personally purchased had only 12 months warranty and at just under 3 years old shows no signs of problems. IQ's might be different but if I upgrade to the IQ2, the 12 month warranty is all I'll be getting.
As a paranoid first timer a digital back is so expensive to buy and worryingly expensive to repair. As a seasoned P1 user, I now never worry about their reliability and if its going to go pop>fizz, it will probably be in the first 12 months due to a manufacturing defect.
Cameras and lenses get as much warranty as possible. Digital backs are ok with the normal 12 months IMO.
Is it worthy it to shell out 1500 -2000 a year for the extended warranty? How many IQ180 users actually used the warranty within its effective period?
Would love your thoughts.