Let me interrupt telling the “Edo-Tokyo Open-Air Architectural Museum” story. As is typical at the end of the year, I’d like to talk about the camera inspections and cleaning.
I got my first SLR camera, the Pentax K-70, in the fall of 2016. Since then, I have asked Ricoh Imaging’s service counter in Nishi-Shinjuku to check and clean my camera about once a year. As a clumsy person, I am not confident that I can clean the dust on the surface of the imaging sensor or in the viewfinder by myself, so I have to rely on professionals.
As time goes by, the Nishi-Shinjuku service counter was closed and moved to Yotsuya, the Pentax camera I use changed from KP to K-3III, and I started using Panasonic Lumix cameras (currently S5 and G99) together, so the scope and arrangements for annual inspection and cleaning have gradually changed.
A little over a year ago, I found this
As you can see in the upper right corner above, Bic Camera’s Camera Periodic Inspection Pack is a service menu that covers the inspection and cleaning needs I am looking for, and costs 9320 yen (tax included) for 3 times/24 months. I thought this was a good deal, and my camera has been under their care since last year.
This is the reason why I have yet to stop by the PENTAX CLUB HOUSE in Yotsuya (lol). I heard that they offer the same kind of service if you bring your camera in, but the official website doesn’t clearly indicate it. As for the price, it seems that this price list for 2019 is applied (unconfirmed).
If this price list is still valid, the price is 3300 yen if you bring it to CLUB HOUSE, and 4400 yen if you have it delivered to your home. Of course, if you consider the security of the genuine service, I think it is perfectly reasonable to choose this.
The main reason why I used BIC CAMERA’s package is not only the price, but also the fact that they accept up to 3 orders for both Pentax and Lumix models (I am a multi-mount user, but it is quite a hassle to deal with different contact points for each model, so I appreciate having a single contact point). ), and more than anything, the convenience of the store being open almost all year round with long business hours is attractive.
As for Lumix cameras, Lumix Base Tokyo in Aoyama offers cleaning and inspection services. You can bring in your equipment and have it returned on the same day if it is available.
The fee is not too expensive. In fact, it is nice to know that Micro Four Thirds cameras are relatively inexpensive. However, as is the case with PENTAX, there are some shortcomings, such as the fact that they have a holiday every week and their business hours are quite short.
Of course, at a manufacturer’s facility like this, you can enjoy not only inspections and cleaning, but also gathering various information and touching actual equipment that you don’t own. I understand that there is a point or two to the opinion that we should visit these centers without any hassle.
On the other hand, I think my choice is also reasonable and “possible” from the viewpoint of cost performance.
But there was a pitfall waiting for me. This inspection pack is already discontinued, and it seems that it cannot be renewed after the next inspection… I guess it is not a viable business at this price (sigh).
Incidentally, Kitamura Camera also offers a similar multi-vendor service, where they charge 1000 yen per menu item for exterior cleaning, and 3000 yen for sensor cleaning only.
After all, the price range offered by Bic Camera and the manufacturer’s locations may be sacrificing a bit of profitability.
What should we do from now on? Change my mind and go to Yotsuya and Aoyama, or brush up my cleaning skills by myself…well, let’s see…
