My point is simply that YOU are not getting ripped off any worse than
any other generation of photographers, so you can quit feeling sorry
for yourself, because I've been there too, and so has everyone else who
ever sent in any camera!

The repair probably costs $5.

Knowing *how to* costs the other $300.

What sort of argument is that? You acknowledge their expertise and
intimate knowledge of a very complex device, then say it's a bloody rip
off that they charge top dollar for their service?

If you disagree with their valuation of the investment they've made in
training their staff, precision equipment, etc., you can always do the
fix yourself. Shouldn't take you more than a couple of years research
and a couple of dozen camera bodies to practice on.

I think that people come to a "justified" or "rip-off" conclusion by
comparing the price asked to the price of a new item, but it's not a valid
comparison. The likes of Canon (and all other camers manufacturers) are
primarily geared up as a manufacturing organisation, where these things are
made in highly automated factories.

With repairs they are now accounting for a far less automated and far more
labour intensive environment - they have the expenses of paying the staff -
training the staff - funding the facilities - developing and maintaining
expensive test and repair equipment - plus when all of their expenses are
paid they want to return a profit so that they can have a return on their
investment.

Many will adopt a standard repair charge (call it what they like), but in
many cases to cut down on the labour component they tend to adopt a fairly
agressive policy of replacing the "next higher assembly". As an example of
this Hewlett Packard used to break a particular inkjet printer down into
only 3 components (case, printing mechanism, and power supply) - if you had
a chipped line feed idler gear they wouldn't replace the 10c gear - they
replace the entire printing assembly - charge you a standard repair fee -
and out the door it goes - next please. Same with their calculators - mine
developed a broken key, but they don't fix keys - the keys are on the PCB
which also contains the CPU + memory + display which is all welded to the
plastic facia - so what you got back was in essence the original rear 1/2 of
the case, and that's all.

I'm not sure what Canon's policy is, but they could well adipt a policy of
replacing entire front ends from stock units - it's easier for them - you
get a better result - and it costs a known amount.

I'd be VERY surprised if any of the major manufacturers were any different.

You're ignoring the costs of maintaining a shop and the value of the
expertise.  Those spare parts at hand have a carrying cost as well.

Well, back in the good old days, they did a lot more than just replace the
parts.  They would lubricate and calibrate the entire camera as well.  Many
pros would just wait until the camera broke before sending it in for
"preventative" lubrication, as the price was the same.  It's possible they
spent a lot more time on your camera than you thought, and they do this with
every camera aside from the repair.  Even though it's digital, it still has
a lot of moving parts in there.

Compare this to sending in a defective Rolex, Omega, or other fine watch for
repair or just maintenance.  You get a complete overhaul, including a
handful of new parts for the price of about 100 Timex watches -- that all
keep better time than your Rolex.

The problem is, we don't know exactly what they do to the camera.  I doubt
they just put the old parts back and send it on its way.

You think its so easy You repair it. Anybody who actually repairs
cameras instead of just telling you to buy a new one will charge pretty
near the same amount.