Philips Norelco Customer Service Review
I purchased a Norelco 6863 XL shaver for under $100 dollars from a Best Buy location less than a year ago. I had no problem with the shaver for some time. Except the other day I plugged the product into the outlet and two hours in I noticed black smoke colored stuff around the button (on off button). I unplugged the device and plugged it back in, and it seemed to work fine. Only issue was that the top three LED lights, out of the 5 ceased to light up. So I figured so what… they are only LED lights. Typically a single charge lasts me a week of shaving. So the next day I turn the device on, and nothing happens. I figured somehow the battery had died out. So I plugged the device to charge it, and all of a sudden smell smoke. At this point I figured it was time to call Norelco. I spoke with a gentleman from their customer service dept. on the 4th of Sept. and explained the circumstance. He explained that he had never heard of such a scenario. He stated that a lady above him would get back to me within 24 hours. The next day after dealing with Nikon I was going to call Norelco, to my surprise they called me (less than 24 hours). I spoke with a very nice lady named Laura who explained that she would send me their newest model of shavers as soon as possible (a model that wasn’t even released yet) and that their would be a prepaid shipping label in the box, which I could use to send the old razor back. They didn’t even ask for a credit card or anything (which is the typical setup for transactions like that). That is amazing service. They trust the customer and they treat them right! They just bought a loyal customer!
Nikon Support II
Due to the issues (read the previous story), Nikon sent me a prepaid shipping label on he 19th of September. I finally had time to send it out. I dropped it off at a drop of location near me on Sept. 2nd. On the third I checked the tracking system, and the item had an expected delivery date of the 4th. I check the item on the 5th, and the tracking system indicates that the prepaid shipping was paid for, nothing more, nothing less. I contact UPS to find out what’s going on, and they claim the shipment was never picked up and that what I saw was a glitch in their system. At this point I am concerned. My main worry is that Nikon does not insure their packages with UPS. They have their own outside insurance company, which I assume lowers the cost to ship $5,000 cameras. My concern is that the insurance company my not help me. I decide to walk over to the drop of location, which claims that the package was picked up. I even met the UPS guy who picks them up (since he was picking up packages at that moment). So at this point my mind is racing with different scenarios of what is the possible outcome.
I decide to call Nikon before I start bothering the UPS people. I called the service dept. and explained the lady the story, which she was just baffled by. She then did some investigating and found out that the camera had been delivered but had a different tracking number. But I asked her how that was possible, when I only had one shipping label and I printed two copies (one for my record and one for shipping). She wasn’t sure and simply gave me a different tracking number, which seemed to corroborate her story. She explained that the item was going to be looked at and had no approximate timeline for when I should receive more information. A few minutes later I received an invoice stating that they received the camera and were going to be working on it. At this point I hope to get the camera back and just hope that the issues arise again. But I am still not sure if they will truly adhere to the Lemon Law.
The story will be updates as more news is provided. Meanwhile I am now editing some photos from my last shoot, which will be posted in the next couple days.
Nikon Support
This is a compilation of three letters that were sent to Nikon regarding my Nikon D200.
First time sent in to be serviced: (November, 2007)
I purchased the Nikon D200 kit from BH photo video last September. When I received the camera, right away the camera began to have issues. The shutter began sticking and the camera would produce an error, and would not take any images. Usually the result ended up being a black frame and the camera would state an error on the screen. When I called their sales department, they told me they would take it back, but were out of stock (I should have sent it back, but I had photo shoots scheduled). I decided to keep it and deal with the issue. I noticed when I turned the camera off and then on the issue sometimes went away. After a couple months, I finally had some time to send the camera in. Meanwhile I was loosing a lot of money, while the camera was gone. On top of it all, I spent all my money on this camera, as an investment (a horrible investment). I have had Nikon SLR bodies before and never a single issue. I got the camera back and the issue seemed to have been resolved. A few months passed and the issue occurred again. This time I had so many shoots scheduled, that I could not afford to send it in, but deal with the problem. I had clients who were mad at me and lost a few jobs because the camera would simply not take an image. I now have a little time to send it in, but still am loosing a lot of money. I do not have my own studio and so fourth, to qualify for the professional program. I just graduated from college, but I work a lot with my equipment. I own close to $4,000 worth of Nikon equipment.
RESULT: Camera came back and appeared to be in good working condition.
Second time sent in to be serviced: (July, 2008)
Besides the shutter sticking and getting a lot worse, I had issues when I used the camera in a studio setting. I noticed when I used a 50mm Nikkor 1.4 lens, there was a huge green flare all over my images, and I have given these images to customer service. Some samples of images are below. David, the manager at Nikon services told me that my Nikkor lens and camera were incompatible and that I needed to sent it in. (Rubbish, that is the best lens for studio)
Today the camera has gone to a new low. I had to take pictures at the club and my SB800 no longer works so I decided to use the little one on the camera. The camera worked for about 30 shots and all of a sudden gave a me green light (I was shooting only one shot at a time) and the camera would not turn off. The light was on for a good minute maybe 2. After which the light turned off, but the camera would not let me take the picture. I tried turning the camera off, but the light meter by the shutter button was still active as if the camera was on. I resorted to take the battery out. I removed it, put it back in. After 2 shots the same issue occurred. This time the screen started telling me the card was invalid and I should change the card (yet I have used this card close to 1000 times. The card is a : SanDisk Extreme® III CompactFlash® 16GB). The camera stopped taking pictures. I turned the camera off, and took the batteries out and the card put it all back in and the camera was back to normal. Two pictures latter again the camera won’t turn off. It keeps getting the shutter stuck and wont take any pictures.
RESULT: Camera was sent back in about 2 and a half weeks with no problems (at least it seemed that way). I no longer had a studio, so no way to test the equipment.
Third time sending it in: (9/3/2008)
The shutter sticking issue came back after the second shoot I had. It is really intermittent and I have no idea why it’s still happening. It happened the first time I sent it in, the second time, and now the third time. The issue never left. I have no idea why it’s happening. Sometimes it happens a lot during a shoot, sometimes never. The shoots are typically outdoors. Batteries always charged and even tried different lenses. Still keeps occurring. A new problem occurred a week ago that seemed to be a one-time thing so far (had the camera less than a month…). I always shoot in RAW only format with white balance set to Auto. Three hours into the shoot, I am looking at my camera and the pictures I start taking all result in pure black shots. I start thinking if it’s the lens or camera, I can’t explain it. I look at my settings and everything is reset! I changed everything back to the way it was and kept shooting. I come back home and look through the images and notice that the number of shots I typically get on my card is almost doubled, and I am starring at my screen with a puzzled look. So I look at the file formats of the images. The first 150 shots are all NEF (raw shots) then it switches to the first shot being a jpg and three raw files (in sets of 4). Then it switches to Jpg, raw, Jpg, raw. Then to Jpg and then back to just RAW since I changed the settings back. I have no idea why it was happening. I am glad it didn’t shoot everything in JPG as that would have been the end of a shoot. The amount of problems I am having with this camera is unbelievable. I would like to request a replacement for this camera. I bought it and it was defective. I should have returned it when I had the chance. But I had no choice. Please expedite my service as I have a lot of clients waiting on me and I have no idea what to tell them.
Thank you for your time.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT CALL: (9/2/2008)
I spoke to a service manager. I asked her if I would receive a replacement camera since this is the third time sending in the camera. She explained that it was up to the technician. I then asked her what about the 4th time if I have to send it in? She explained that it was up to the technician. When I mentioned Lemon Law, she kept saying that she could not confirm anything and it was all up to one technician. I have no idea how long it will take to get this camera back. I will be without one for at least two weeks. Meanwhile I will try to apply to the professional Nikon program (where they give you a camera if something happens to yours). Stay tuned for the outcome…
Photography Sessions
We recently had the pleasure of working with three gorgeous models. The first shoot was something that we don’t typically work with, high fashion. The shoot was conducted in the south suburbs of Chicago. Getting there was a long trip, but it was worth it. Our first session with the model was conducted in a cemetery. The model had large hair and a gorgeous outfit. We shot near a few graves, which proved to be a great backdrop. The second scene was spotted while we were driving. It was an alley behind a long strip mall. There was a funny moment, when apparently a bunch of stylists noticed us in the alley (their shop was a few doors down) and proceeded our way. They had fun watching the shoot for some time. The model at that point was wearing a bathing suit combined with some jewelry and other elements.
The second shoot was a two-day marathon. This model was fairly new to the industry and we spent close to 20 hours together. The first shoot was supposed to be fashion/casual and the location was Downtown, Chicago. The shoot went very well, we just didn’t realize we had spent close to 11 hours shooting around town. Also the model had accidentally left her Blackberry in one of the bathroom stalls. Thankfully though someone brought it to a store next to the bathroom. We used a new technique. Since the model was instructed to hold the phone next to her ear, for commercial value, while photographing her we would instruct her what to do over the phone. We used our brand new iPhone with the headset and were able to shoot and speak to the model to get the correct expression, without disturbing the public. Those shots are not present here, but the technique was very useful. The first day was primarily downtown and conducted on the grass and on top of some architecture. The second day started out badly as our 5 am shoot turned into a dud as the temperature dropped to 60 Fahrenheit and completely cloudy. We decided to take the model to an alternative location and shot on a hammock and in the backyard of a home. One would never consider that the location was a backyard, but it truly was. The outcome of these shots was surprising and the photos looked great.
The third shoot was pretty short. It was tough on the model, as she had to travel 3 hours for a 5 am shoot. The shots are different from the style we are used to, but the well-experienced model provided us the help we usually need. The shoot was strictly on the beach in Evanston, IL USA. There were more than two outfits, but these are the shots, we believe turned out well.
All shots will be available for purchase on our stock photography section in the next week or two. If you would like to be notified, please contact us.
DO NOT BUY from PreferredPhoto.com
So I have been wanting a wide-angle lens for years, and after weeks of increasingly-intensive research, I had decided upon a lens. It is a 12-24mm wide-angle lens manufactured by Tokina. It is half the price of Nikon’s own lens, is the only one of it’s competitors to use metal in the zoom aparatus (weighs more, but is sturdier, especially since it is the moving part of the lens), and is actually clearer than Nikon’s at the edges of the image. Typical price: $450-$550.
I found one at one place for $398, “In Stock.” I was thrilled. I could get overnight shipping and have it in time for my fraternity retreat this weekend for cheaper than I could get it with ordinary shipping anywhere else.
I checked to make sure the website URL started with “https” (secure), I entered in my credit card info, clicked overnight shipping, and submitted my purchase. In the coming minutes I received an email confirming my purchase, and telling me that the order takes 2 days for processing. So what the hell did I just pay overnight shipping for?
So I call the company to expedite the ordering delay, as per the email, and am pleased to talk to an American. I tell him my order number and the problem, and he transfers me. The guy I am put on the phone with tells me that the lens is fantastic, and asks if I would like to buy a UV filter for the lens. No big deal, UV filters are commonplace when you buy a camera. I politely tell him I already have one leftover from another lens (a lie, I was going to buy one on eBay for $8).
He then tries to get me to buy a 3-filter set. He says they typically sell for $85 a filter but the 3-pack is $140. This is really quite ridiculous, seeing as you can pay a third of that for a high-quality one on eBay or Amazon. I tell him I’ll pass on that right now.
Then he asks me if I want the US model or the import model. Now, this lens comes in two versions, one for a Nikon camera and one for a Canon camera. Getting suspicious, I inquire as to the nature of the difference. He tells me the import is made of plastic and the US is made of magnesium: far sturdier. Now, in my near-obsessive research I have not encountered anything that would back up this guy’s claim. I tell him to just give me whichever will work with my Nikon D80. He tells me I need the US model. This makes no sense, seeing as the lens is manufactured in Japan by a Japanese company, for use on a Japanese-manufactured camera by a Japanese company. Surprise surprise, the US model costs $100 more. Funny, I didn’t see anything on the website that asked me to choose models. I point this out to him, and he asks me if I want the warranty. The import does not come with a warranty but the US comes with a 1-year warranty. Warranties cost $37 per year. Curious, seeing as Tokina itself guarantees the product for 3 years (I researched, remember?). I tell him I won’t be needing the warranty, and he tells me that the item is not in stock at the moment (contrary to the website, and to everything up to this point). I tell him that I’d like to cancel my order, and in an astonishingly fast manner he says “your order is cancelled have a nice day” and hangs up.
I stare at my email waiting for an email confirming the cancellation, see none, call the company, an demand one. By the time I hang up I have one. So I’m paranoid now that my American Express bill will have a charge from that disgusting company on it.
Due to the value of the item, I am forgoing eBay and went solely with Amazon for this purchase. I will pay no money for shipping, get it in a week or two, and buy through a company I have bought from dozens of times.
The moral: NEVER buy from PreferredPhoto.com. I wish I saw this before I gave these maggots my credit card number:
Have a nice day, and be careful,
Jefferprise
Make Custom iPhone Ringtone
Well we got an iPhone 3G this past week and noticed a few problems. One of which was the fact that all the old songs we had, we were not able to convert them to a ringtone. Now considering one has to hand over $199 or even $299 and not even have this option was quiet surprising (keep in mind it’s not the phone price that will hurt your bank account, but the heavy monthly increased plans). So we did some digging on the Internet and wanted to find the best tutorial for our readers and here is what we came up with.
Step 1. Make sure your iTunes is up to date.
Step 2. Choose the song you want to convert.
Step 3. Listen to the song and write down where you want the ring tone to start and end (cannot exceed 40 seconds and you cannot skip areas)
Step 4. Right click on the song and select “Show in Finder.” Once you have clicked, a window will come up which will show you the song (do not close this folder, simply put it to the side or minimize)
Step 5. Right click on the same song again and select “Get Info.”
Step 6. Click on the “Options” tab
Step 7. Input the start and end time (if you want the song to start from the beginning, simply adjust the ending) (format: Minutes: Seconds: Milliseconds)
Step 8. Press Ok.
Step 9. Right click on the song and select, “Convert Selection to AAC” (If you have another format selected proceed to the iTunes preferences and click on the “Advanced” tab. Where it says “Import using:” select “AAC Encoder” and then press Ok.)
Step 10. Right click on the new file that has been created (will be the smaller file) and right click on the file and select “Delete.” (When prompted, please select “Keep File”)
Step 11. Go to the folder you minimized earlier and you should see 2 copies of the same song. Select the file with the extension m4a and rename the extension to m4r.
Step 12. Double click on the file, and you will notice that the file will placed in your ring tones folder (just sync your iPhone and you are set!)
Enjoy your new iPhone 3G 
(May want to turn of the 3G feature to get normal reception. If you have it on, it somehow sucks all the reception away 
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How many pictures have I taken?
Have you ever purchased a used SLR camera and wanted to know how many images the user has already taken? Have you yourself ever wanted to simply find out how many images you have taken? (Keep in mind that if the user has sent out their camera to be serviced, that number may have been reset) Well if you have Photoshop CS3 or any previous version, this quick tutorial will show you how to check out your exact number.
Step 1: open a RAW file or a JPG (make sure this the original file that was recorded by the camera)
Step 2: go to File and click on File Info…
Step 3: Click on the Advanced Tab
Step 4: Click on the drop down arrow for: http://ns.adobe.com/exif/1.0/aux/
Complete: your aux: ImageNumber is what will display the number of images your SLR camera has taken. In this example it is 14,366 shots.
Mixtapes: A Philosophy
Though I would never in my right mind purchase a pre-recorded tape, I see blank audiocassette tapes as a relic of a past age, a relic with redeeming qualities that CDs have yet to successfully compete with.
First off, you can get tapes in 90 or 110-minute lengths. Back in the day, this meant you could fit an entire LP on a side, and another LP on the other side, then put it in your pocket or in your car. Though the portability of tapes is no longer a deciding factor in someone purchasing one, the length is still a positive. 74-minute blank CDs used to be the norm, until 80-minute versions came out. That’s still ten minutes shy of the shorter tapes you can buy. The longer tape is a full half-hour longer than the longer CD you can buy. When it comes to making a mix for someone, why limit yourself to 80 minutes?
The ease in which one can turn a list of songs into a CD has lessened the emotional impact of giving someone a mix. Making a quality mix, no matter the recording medium, takes time. I will shortly get into why. But once you’ve compiled what you believe to be the perfect mix for the situation, you pop a CD in your drive, and tell it to burn. In a matter of minutes you have a digital, soulless hard copy of your mix. That’s where the tape comes in. At the point in which one would put a CD in their drive, the tape-lover would begin the phase of mix making that truly separates the tape from the CD. The act of recording music onto a tape is far more personal than its CD counterpart. Making a tape requires the creator to actively copy each song onto the tape. This serves, in part, to allow the creator to make changes to the music that a CD creator would be unable to make without expensive equipment or software. I’m talking about fading, splicing, omissions… all kinds of good stuff. The fact that one can personalize a tape puts it above CDs in that respect. What’s more, it forces the creator to connect with the mix on a far more personal level. The person making the tape is experiencing the mix as he is making it; he is the first person to hear the mix.
One thing that LPs and tapes have in common, besides being analog, is the fact that they both promote the unity of the mix. An album today does not hold true to the same qualities of an album of decades past. An album is a unit, a block of music, it is an entity, a collection of songs that work together in some way. A great mix will have the qualities of an album. It will flow, it will have a consistency of mood; and if it does not have consistency, it will have an evolution of mood. Listening to an album takes one on a journey; it puts a listener in a place for its duration. A CD, though still referred to as an ‘album’ by most record companies, is not in fact an album. A tape or LP listener is discouraged from – though capable of – skipping a song, or repeating a song by itself. CDs make it far too easy for a user to program tracks, or repeat tracks they like and skip tracks they don’t know. This prevents most people from truly discovering and loving an album in its entirety. And since a quality mix is made not as a bunch of songs put on the same CD, but as specifically-selected components of a larger whole, a mix is essentially an album. When a band makes a truly stellar album, don’t you think they’d prefer if every song is listened to and appreciated not only as a song, but as a piece of the album of which it is a part? The same should be true for a mix.
Unlike CDs, which abruptly stop working, tapes deteriorate gradually through heavy usage. Multiple listenings will render a tape subtly – though noticeably – worn in comparison to a fresh, unused tape. A tape will not suddenly become unreadable, like so many CDs. Over the course of hundreds of listenings bits of musical data will mingle with their neighbors, and a tape will soften around the edges of its musical range. A person’s favorite shirt is identifiable to his friends because it is heavy weathered, it has been used and loved and it shows. A tape is no different. A worn tape tells those who are exposed to it that its owner loves it, that the tape has a special place in someone’s life and cannot be easily replaced. It’s a character that CDs are incapable of developing, a character unique to analog media.
There may never be another recording medium that has the qualities of tapes that I mentioned above. Until such a medium is discovered and made available to the public, people like me will continue to make our mixes exclusively on tape.
Photographing Models
In the month of July we selected three models to showcase. We shot with Alissa, Melissa, and Rosa. All of which did an outstanding job and we did all the work outside in Champaign, IL. Check out the work and let us know what you think. We think some turned out better than others, but of-course with time, we will find the right shots to work with. Also their images will soon be for sale on our stock page. Also the girls will be available as cool wallpapers soon.
The settings for these shots:
ISO: 100
Shutter speed varied from 100-400
Aperture - 5.5 - 7 (usually recommend 10 for photographing the whole body)
Lens: Nikkor 50mm 1.4
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Fireworks Tutorial
Fourth of July was an amazing one this year. This year we shot some new fireworks and wanted to let people in on some of the settings we use. Keep in mind that whatever settings you use, there is still some leeway one needs to consider. Your location in relation to the fireworks and how bright the fireworks are is a crucial consideration. When trying to find the right spot to setup, I would highly recommend looking for an area that is not lit by any street lights and the direction you are shooting at, does not have any constant lights. This will insure that when you are adjusting for the lighting, no lights will be interfering in your measurements. If you choose to shoot fireworks without a tripod, good luck…
You need the following to shoot fireworks:
- A camera that is capable of doing long exposure (keeping the shutter open for 2-3 seconds)
- A sturdy tripod that will not be affected by the wind, if you have a light tripod, try attaching the camera bag, to the main shaft of the tripod (this will increase stability)
- A memory card that is capable of taking at-least 200-300 shots (min) = 20-30min
- A wired remote (optional but helps a lot)
- Pair of ear plugs (can get very loud, especially if you are right below them)
The Right Spot
Finding a good spot is honestly very difficult. We usually try to find a spot where there is no one around. This insures that you don’t have to worry about your stuff being taken in the night and also that no one accidentally bumps into your equipment.
Caution
If you are shooting in the middle of the field and the source of the fireworks is also there, be cautious of the emergency fence that is typically placed around the perimeter. This fence is a safety precaution to insure that the falling debris from the shot out fireworks hits no one. We would recommend being at-least 20-30 feet away from that fence (accidents happen and that fence is usually a primary fence, and viewers are usually placed behind a second fence).
So what settings do you use
- Nikon D200 Digital SLR
- 18-200 VR Nikkor (we used, but no specific lens is required)
- ISO: 320
- Shutter Speed - 1.6 - 3 seconds, varying on the amount of light (sometimes less when it comes to the finale)
- Aperture - f/11
- Focus - try focusing on the first firework display, and then lock in the focus into manual, to insure that there is no delay in taking the image.
If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to comment and ask. Hope everyone had an amazing 4th of July!
Also here is the outcome of this year’s 4th of July, and more of this new and cool desktop wallpaper will be posted in the coming weeks on the website. Please check out the previous year on the following page: fireworks
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