My favorite camera - a Kodak P850 point-and-click machine with lots of cool features - took a calamitous drop of three feet onto concrete a few weeks ago, and I spent another week or so debating what to do about the non-functional camera. The device was four years old, and it had long served me well, so I was reluctant to march out and spend another $400-$500 on a digital camera that met my primary needs: professional quality images and ease of use.But at the same time my other camera options were not sufficient for my needs, and let's face it: learning a new piece of technology is a royal pain in the derriere.
After searching the Web for simple solutions (hint: there are none), I found myself at the Kodak troubleshooting pages. This interactive guide eventually sent me to the homepage of the authorized Kodak digital camera service center, a company called United Camera in Chicago. I grumbled at first, thinking this would be a multi-week odyssey in slow parcel post shipments and/or finding out that the camera could not be repaired at a reasonable price.
Alas, my fears were unfounded. It took a mere six days from leaving Toledo via Priority Mail ($5.82) to reach United Camera to be shipped via UPS back to me. That is all - a round trip of less than 150 hours, and the $165 to repair my camera was well worth the cost. United Camera cleaned the entire device, made sure all functions worked as designed, and even tested the camera's image-making capabilities in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings.
So I wholeheartedly endorse the fine work and helpful personnel at United Camera. I am simply amazed that I can ship a broken machine hundreds of miles away and get it repaired so quickly.
