Immediate SeaLife repair needed - help!

[ewaiea]

Please read the below email...I ordered a Sealife DC1000 Elite from Leisurepro.com back in April. I am down in the Florida Keys on the dive weekend and my external flash stopped working. The local Divers Direct Shop couldn't help me because I "didn't purchase it from them". They also told me that sealife cameras from LeisurePro are not under warranty - I was not aware of this issue - I thought it was under warranty. I emailed Leisure Pro and also Sealife Cameras servicing department with the below message - going on the Kona Aggressor in 2 weeks for a photography class - kind of in a panic right now....any advice???

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Greetings LeisurePro and Sealife Cameras Servicing Department,

My name is Eric Williamson and below was my order info. I ordered a Sealife DC1000 Elite from you back in April of this year. Recently while diving in the Florida Keys the external flash stopped working. I brought it to the local divers direct shop and they told me that since I ordered it from LeisurePro.com that it is not under warranty from Sealife or from Divers Direct - they tried to help me out but were not able to.

The Divers Direct rep also told me that LeisurePro is not an authorized dealer of Sealife camera equipment and said this was therefore not under warranty. I was told there would be a 12 month warranty with this product - was this warranty through LeisurePro?

The problem is that I have swapped out batteries on the external flash but there continues to be no activity - no flash. I have tried doing a test flash with the fiber optic cable disconnected and the light did travel through - so the cable is not the problem. I have tried various sets of batteries and strobe settings - including of course the default settings. I am not sure what happened as this flash has always worked before - I've gotten about 20 dives on it since April with no problems now all of a sudden it doesn't work. It appears that the strobe is not charging - the red light is not coming on.

I bought this camera for the purpose of taking a photography course on the Kona Aggressor 8/1/09 - 8/8/09.....which is coming up in the next 2 weeks. I would like a replacement strobe and/or camera sent out to me as soon as possible BEFORE I pay express shipping to send back a defective camera that was guarenteed for a year. I hope that LeisurePro is as good with technical support as they are with order support. Please call me as soon as possible regarding this issue - it's very important to me. I am CCing Sealife Servicing department on this email - should anyone over there want to respond please feel free.

V/R,

Eric Williamson

 

[mike_s]

I ordered a Sealife DC1000 Elite from Leisurepro.com back in April. I am down in the Florida Keys on the dive weekend and my external flash stopped working. The local Divers Direct Shop couldn't help me because I "didn't purchase it from them". They also told me that sealife cameras from LeisurePro are not under warranty - I was not aware of this issue - I thought it was under warranty.

Leisure Pro is a "full service Dealer" of Sealife.

even says so on the SeaLife Web page.

see SeaLife Underwater Cameras - Dealer Locator - Leisure Pro


seems this is just a case of Divers Direct wanting to bash Leisure Pro.


BTW..... Leisure Pro is also owned by the same person who owns one of the biggest camera companies IN THE WORLD. Adorama Camera. So you can bet they would be authorized dealers of this popular dive camera.



My advice since you bought it from Leisure Pro, is to send a PM to [user]Leisure Pro Brett[/user] and tell him of your upcoming trip and see if you can get it replaced before then.


seeing how your location is in Hawaii, I'm betting express mail is going to be required to ensure you get it swapped out in time. (just my opinion).

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

If you are currently diving, get to an auto parts store with your strobe.

Take one of their accessory magnets (one of those that is used to pickup screws or other dropped metal parts). move the strobe switch to "on" and rub the magnet just to the right side of the switch. If you can do that 5-6 times and your strobe light comes on (push the button over to "test" and the strobe flashes, it's a magent issue. You might have something blocking the magnet on your strobe.

It might be a quick fix for you. But, that first test should answer whether the magnetic switch is the issue.

 

[ewaiea]

I spoke with LeisurePro but that was a short lived conversation - they told me it would be 3 -4 weeks - the lady almost laughed at me when I asked if they could do rush service and express shipping to Hawaii. Instead - I worked with a rep from Sea-life Cameras - Pioneer Research is the company. They worked with me one on one - had me send my camera in - it arrived today. They sent it back out via 3 day mail in today or tomorrow's mail and I'll be apparently getting the camera back by Tuesday in Hawaii. They replaced the head and tested it (both in the water and flash tested it) before they sent it out, though the original had not flooded - there was some EXTREMELY minor grains of dust and sand on the o-ring but me and the engineer at Sea-life agree that this is not the reason it broke. We're not sure what the problem was and airport x-rays do not affect these things. So they just advised me not to open the flash unless the door is facing downward. They impressed me with their prompt service. I just hope that the new head their sending me doesn't run into the same problems.

 

[DandyDon]

I spoke with LeisurePro but that was a short lived conversation - they told me it would be 3 -4 weeks - the lady almost laughed at me when I asked if they could do rush service and express shipping to Hawaii.

Mike gave you some very good advice. If you have more problems with LP, you might try it.

Instead - I worked with a rep from Sea-life Cameras - Pioneer Research is the company. They worked with me one on one - had me send my camera in - it arrived today. They sent it back out via 3 day mail in today or tomorrow's mail and I'll be apparently getting the camera back by Tuesday in Hawaii. They replaced the head and tested it (both in the water and flash tested it) before they sent it out, though the original had not flooded - there was some EXTREMELY minor grains of dust and sand on the o-ring but me and the engineer at Sea-life agree that this is not the reason it broke. We're not sure what the problem was and airport x-rays do not affect these things. So they just advised me not to open the flash unless the door is facing downward. They impressed me with their prompt service. I just hope that the new head their sending me doesn't run into the same problems.

Sealife is great on service. Good luck...!

All cameras are made to the "cheap price" demands of the buying public tho, and things go wrong - which is why I always carry a backup camera on trips. It's not as nice as my primary, but something to shoot with still.

And insuring against damage is very important. I use State Farm's PAP.