I was hoping this post wouldn’t have come so soon, which is no fault of the gear, it’s because I’m a clumsy buffoon. I dropped the X-T1 with the 10-24 attached from about 5′ high onto the hard ground, it landed on the lens and the only damage appeared to be that the lens mount was broken, depressing to have my favorite lens busted. Based on my previous experiences with Nikon repair I was expecting a very long and arduous process, I even considered buying another lens to get me by in the meantime, but I decided the Rokinon 12mm would get me by for now.

I shipped off the lens to New Jersey where their repair center is located. I was shocked when I was contacted the day after they received the package to give me the estimate and approximately 7 days to repair, with the option to have a refurbished lens sent to me instead to receive it faster. The estimate to repair was under $200 if I remember correctly, unfortunately when they were repairing it one of the main elements shattered (which was from the damage) and from this point the lens was deemed too expensive to repair. Thankfully I have gear insurance through the NANPA/Rand program who promptly sent me a check to replace the lens less a $250 deductible. The price from Fuji was around $850 for a replacement (the lens is $999 retail), but at the same time B&H had a $200 rebate for the lens so I went that route instead and got it for $799. First experience with Fuji repair was very good.

Shortly after I was cleaning the sensor on the X-T1 and realized after a wet cleaning that the dust was actually between the glass protecting the sensor and the sensor itself. I presume the shock of the fall must have knocked the glass loose slightly to allow dust underneath, so here we go again. Shipped it off Fuji, and again the day after they received it the status on their website was updated to ‘In Process’, the next day the camera was shipped back to me and fixed under warranty. Absolutely fantastic service and it was actually repaired properly!

Every time I called in I was on the phone with a real person within minutes, actually I never even had to hold to get someone, their phone system is awful though, you have to sit through 4 different menus to get to repair, even though this is the repair number. This is really my only complaint, they need a direct number, otherwise it was very easy and they were extremely friendly and pleasant to work with. A night and day difference from what I dealt with Nikon repair, and I was in the coveted ‘Nikon Professional Services’ (cough, cough, what a joke). Thank you Fujifilm for being awesome!

About the author David Kingham

David is a professional landscape and nature photographer originally from Loveland, Colorado who is now traveling the American West full-time in an RV with his photography and life partner Jennifer Renwick, and their two cats. David has published an eBook called Nightscape and has in-depth videos on post-processing. David and his partner Jennifer Renwick find joy in teaching others photography in their photography workshops, and through their blog.

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  1. Great service. People were responsive and helpful. I would not hesitate to recommend fuji camera repair to my friends.

  2. I also had superb service with Fujifilm New Zealand.. Repair (replaced EVF under warranty) and return within 5 working days. They also gave the sensor a clean too 🙂 Amazing.

  3. I had the same experience with Fujifilm. Had an XF18mm/2 with a huge dust speck behind the front element. Sent it in and they promptly sent me a brand new replacement lens within the week. Almost no down time.

  4. David,
    I’m very sorry to hear about your x-T1 and lens. But, I’m truly impressed with the speed of repair. I haven’t sent anything for repair but when I needed a manual I, too, was able to speak to a real person who took care of me immediately. Our experiences are similar. I have a lens making noise when focusing. I’m going to send it in in a week or two and I’ll post my experience.

    Mark Rindflesh

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