Peace of mind for high end gear

[RyanCrierie]

So...I'm actually seriously investigating upgrading from my Rebel XSi to a 5D3.

But one of the things holding me back right now is that I am totally inexperienced when it comes to owning high end gear.

Basically, if someone were to steal my XSi / I drop it / or it ends up with some spots in the eyepiece after a month or so of not using it -- I would cry. :'( Then I'd get over it, as I long ago paid off the camera in realistic terms; and the camera is somewhat easily replaceable.

...this is not the case with a 5D3, or a good quality L series lens, as it's cost approaches a decent used car in pricing; and it's a very high value, compact item.

So how would you all suggest I go about 'setting things up' so that I have peace of mind?

My local camera shop is Penn Camera (now Penn Camera Calumet); and they offer:

Calumet Two-Year Complete Protection Plan for Cameras, Video, & Lenses Under $4500
Regular Price: $454.99

Is this worth getting, or should I stick to the stock Canon warranty?

Additionally, how do you all store your high end gear when it's not being used? I see people placing their stuff in good quality hardwalled cases with dessicant bags inside -- but where can you actually get said dessicant bags, and how often do you need to replace them?

 

[facedodge]

Canon will warant the equipment for one year for manufacturer's defects.
The instore warranty is for damage, but is limited I believe, so you may want to check it. You must return the damaged equipment for the warranty. Lost or stolen obviously is not covered.

In my opinion, the best way to cover youself is by adding these items to your homeowners insurance.

 

[David KM]

Canon will warant the equipment for one year for manufacturer's defects.
The instore warranty is for damage, but is limited I believe, so you may want to check it. You must return the damaged equipment for the warranty. Lost or stolen obviously is not covered.

In my opinion, the best way to cover youself is by adding these items to your homeowners insurance.

+1 Yep, that's the way I do it. For repairs and such, I went with CPS for the loaner program and quick-ish turnaround.

 

[Skip2316]

I'm wondering where to go for accidental damage insurance as well. I don't own a home so what would the options be? Is one not available and I should just be extra careful? I know that Square Trade offers insurance, but they don't cover camera bodies over $2000 for "drop/spill" purposes.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Definitely get insurance. If you make money with your gear, even selling one 4x6" print from Snapfish, that counts as business use, making you ineligible for a homeowners policy rider. But as long as you're using the gear for personal use only, the homeowners rider is a very inexpensive solution. My gear is insured through State Farm (they call it a personal articles policy), and I pay $7.60 per $1000 gear per year. No deductible, worldwide coverage, covers loss, damage, theft, etc., with full replacement value.

The only caveat to this sort of coverage is that you should be careful about making claims. Because coverage is linked to your homeowners policy, claims against the rider are reported to the CLUE database, and too many claims can affect your eligibility for coverage as well as your future rates. So, if you drop your entire bag of gear off a cliff into the ocean, file a claim. If you lose a lens hood, just go buy a new one.

 

[Tijn]

Consider a sun-sniper strap also. It's a strap to wear your camera with, more comfortable than the standard strap and it's enforced with a flexible steel core so thieves can't simply cut it off you and run off. May give some peace of mind.

Edit: also check out a topic I made about more or less the same thing a while ago. These and many other tips are repeatedly put forward in it.
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php/topic,3052.0.html

 

[RyanCrierie]

Sounds all good to me. How would you recommend storing your gear for semi-long periods of time? I don't use my camera heavily, and there might be periods of a month or more where I don't use it.

So where do you get the dessicant bags for your long term storage solutions? Is there a good provider, or recommended amazon product link for bulk dessicant?

 

[neuroanatomist]

Sounds all good to me. How would you recommend storing your gear for semi-long periods of time? I don't use my camera heavily, and there might be periods of a month or more where I don't use it.

So where do you get the dessicant bags for your long term storage solutions? Is there a good provider, or recommended amazon product link for bulk dessicant?

I store my gear in Pelican Storm hard cases, with desiccant packs. Can't help on the consumer supplier end for the desiccant packs, though - I get mine from a scientific lab supply vendor.

 

[Z]

Sounds all good to me. How would you recommend storing your gear for semi-long periods of time? I don't use my camera heavily, and there might be periods of a month or more where I don't use it.

I store my lenses and such in a Vanguard hard case with colour-indicating silica gel that I bought from eBay. My personal preference is not to use desiccants unless in a water-tight container, like the Vanguard or Pelican, or you'll end up having to regenerate the silica every couple of days.

 

[mbiedermann]

I'm wondering where to go for accidental damage insurance as well. I don't own a home so what would the options be? Is one not available and I should just be extra careful? I know that Square Trade offers insurance, but they don't cover camera bodies over $2000 for "drop/spill" purposes.

I buy most of my equipment on a credit card that doubles the vendor warranty. So my 5D3 will now have 2 years warranty with the second year usually covering accidents and stolen equipment. Quite a few high end credit cards now do this.

An alternative is to buy a warranty from squaretrade.com. They offer very reasonable prices (e.g. $350 for a 5D3).

Cheers

 

[mistabernie]

Two things:

1) you don't always want to keep silica gel or drying agents in with your gear. Prolonged exposure can dry out the rubbers in lenses and camera grips.

2) more in line with what the OP was asking, insurance is the way to go, but don't rely on homeowner's insurance. On our policy, only the first $250 of a loss was covered -- wouldn't go far in replacing even my 5Dc, let alone anything a bit more modern in my kit. Outside of MA (and probably a handful of other states), the most common thing I see as a stand-alone policy is a State Farm personal articles policy. This way, you're avoiding putting in claims on your homeowners (if you were to go this route).

The important thing is to call and talk to your agent to make sure what's covered if you're going to try to attach to your homeowners. It may be different for others (I have to believe it, I know of a couple of people that have had homeowner's claims to take care of decent amounts of gear that were stolen or otherwise lost), but given my personal experience, I always tread lightly when homeowners being used gets mentioned.

I buy most of my equipment on a credit card that doubles the vendor warranty. So my 5D3 will now have 2 years warranty with the second year usually covering accidents and stolen equipment. Quite a few high end credit cards now do this.

An alternative is to buy a warranty from squaretrade.com. They offer very reasonable prices (e.g. $350 for a 5D3).

Cheers

If you're talking about American Express, there are limits to these claims as well. On another forum I read about a guy that dropped a two week old 5D2 and it split the frame apart at the corner. Sent to Canon and was told it was 'beyond economical repair'. AmEx gave him $1000 for the repair, so it's not a total loss, but it's still a pain. That being said, it's definitely useful to at least have that available, but actual insurance coverage would have absolutely been better in this case obviously.

 

[7enderbender]

Canon will warant the equipment for one year for manufacturer's defects.
The instore warranty is for damage, but is limited I believe, so you may want to check it. You must return the damaged equipment for the warranty. Lost or stolen obviously is not covered.

In my opinion, the best way to cover youself is by adding these items to your homeowners insurance.

I agree that insurance is the way to go. I'm personally still looking for camera insurance in Massachusetts which is a problem in our highly regulated insurance market where some of the heavyweight companies don't do business (State Farm for instance which seems to have a great and affordable product for this purpose).

I'd be cautious with adding things like this to the homeowners insurance. They do not cover everything the way special camera insurance would and you also have to check what your deductibles are - to a point where filing a claim may not always be worth it; especially given the risk of messing up your homeowners insurance premiums because of an incident that may not be worth that in the long run. To me homeowners insurance is for big claims that relate to your home and it's not necessarily a good way to insure consumer goods even when valuable.

 

[7enderbender]

Sounds all good to me. How would you recommend storing your gear for semi-long periods of time? I don't use my camera heavily, and there might be periods of a month or more where I don't use it.

So where do you get the dessicant bags for your long term storage solutions? Is there a good provider, or recommended amazon product link for bulk dessicant?

Pelican (and similar companies) have all that. It's worth it for the dust protection alone.

 

[mws]

Any place that sells gun safes, etc. usually sells silca gell in bulk.

 

[facedodge]

If you don't own a home, you can still get valuable property insurance from State Farm or other insurance company. Also try your credit card company.

Homeowners insurance note...

My insurance (USAA) covers over 100K in personal property with at $1000 deductible. I am not required to register these items. Everything I have is covered, the moment I own it. My insurance company offers valuable property insurance with no deductible. This requires I register my equipment with them and I pay based on the value. I was quoted about $5.50/month for $7,000 in equipment.

 

[jcns]

renter's insurance may cover your items. It covers ALL OF MY GEAR (camera, ski, bicycles, tv,tools) whether I am home or traveling.

 

[preppyak]

If you don't own a home, you can still get valuable property insurance from State Farm or other insurance company. Also try your credit card company.

This is what I did, cost me like $40-50/yr to insure all my gear (about $4500 worth). It covers me whether its stolen, broken, etc..covers everything.

I did a bunch of research on the idea before I got it insured. Most of the pro's who had their stuff covered advised not attaching it to your homeowners insurance, just in case you actually have to use it more than once. Two claims against your homeowners insurance might get your policy cancelled or adjusted...and that's an expensive situation. A separate policy won't have that issue.

But, the valuable property insurance, at least from State Farm, is only if you don't make money off your equipment. If you get paid for anything, you'd have to do a business policy, which costs way more

 

[Invertalon]

Best ways to protect your gear:

1.) Get State Farm Personal Policy. It is like $1.49 per $100 insured. Covers theft, you dropping it, misplacement, fire, etc... Anything but mechanical failure due to age. They even cover you if you ship that item with UPS/Fedex to Canon or whatever for service, without needing to pay for more insurance through the carrier.

2.) Pay with AMEX or another card like it, so your warranty doubles. By paying with AMEX, for me, the 1-year Canon warranty turns into a 2-year warranty.