X-T1 Accessory Door

[jlmphotos]

ugh, this door... mine does not expand, but it opens often on its own after the slightest touch...

 

I guess if fuji were apple they would just say "just hold your camera different"

LOL...  Why must we drag Apple into this?  BTW if you couldn't tell I'm an Apple fanatic.

[fazekas]

Have the same problem with my X-T1. Was purchased April 2014, so it's a little out of the warranty window. The budging door has been since the get go, but has gotten worse. When I contacted Fujifilm repair, they stated I need to mail it to their NJ facility, at my own cost, which BTW is around $40+ with insurance! They would not confirm whether or not it would be covered, and that I'd be without the camera for around 3 weeks! I live in California, they have no repair facilities here, they do have a facility in Arizona, don't understand why it can't be sent to them! Great camera, except that this is supposed to be weather proof and it's an expensive camera, so I'd expect the cover door to be made better and for Fuji to have better support! 

[milandro]

Get in touch with the Japanese office, despite what the American importer can say , a manufacturing defect ( because this is what it is) is not what the normal guarantee is about and constitutes negligence on the maker’s side (not the user) and the user cannot be held responsible for something cause by the use of poor materials or their faulty installation!

 

The plastic which protects the camera is not supposed to do this after one year or two.

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_liability

[Luke Johnston]

Your advice on this thread is most informative Milandro but it's not negligence. The claim is rather that the product was not fit for purpose on arrival [given their claim of weather resistance] (a phrase I would recommend anyone communicating with Fujifilm use).

Milandro is right to say your rights will vary depending on the country you purchased your camera in. In Australia, the camera would have to be repaired regardless of whether it was within the warranty because consumers have rights under the Australian Consumer Law (a statutory instrument). As a law school alumni, I suspect the situation is the same in the UK and Canada but Continental Europe and the USA could be radically different.

[milandro]

well, not exactly “ on arrival” since most of the cameras are older than the minimum of 1 year guarantee  The EU has a mandatory minimum of 2 years despite what some sellers would want!.

 

Manufacturer Negligence, is, in this case, the American term used for delivering a product to the public which, even after the expiring of the guarantee reveals itself to be not fit for the intended purpose.

 

 

as in:

 

“....The manufacturer's negligence may be:

• a failure to take care during the manufacturing process, resulting in a particular product being defective;
• a failure to take care during the design of the product, including a failure to carry out sufficiently careful research;
• a failure to carry out effective tests;
• a failure to provide an effective warning of dangers;
• a failure to recall a product, or to issue appropriate warnings if a danger becomes apparent after the product has been put into circulation....."

 

Perhaps one could say that the camera showing a damaged and bulging door is not “ fit for purpose” and indeed refer to the weather resistance.

 

If the product was, as it was, advertised as being a WR camera and it no longer is ,it is then NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE ( the purpose for which you had bought the camera in the first place).

 

Under the UK sales of goods act of 1979 

 

“...The Sale of Goods Act also says that goods must also be fit for any specific purpose that you have agreed with the seller. For example, you might need a printer which is compatible with your computer. If you buy a printer because the salesperson says it's compatible with your computer, it must be compatible. If you later find out that it isn't, you can claim the printer isn't fit for purpose..."

 

WE bought the cameras assuming that it was going to be weather sealed (for as long the camera works and not for one year alone) if the camera is obviously no longer WR it is not fit for THAT purpose (as advertised when we bought it).

 

 

The guarantee terms are also such in Dutch law ( my country)  that the shop>importer>maker ( this is the chain of responsibility starting from the shop, the closest one to the customer) has an theoretical obligation to repair or exchange any faulty goos for an undetermined period which is dependent upon what one, as a customer, would normally consider the normal useful life expectancy for any given product.

 

In the case of a camera this is several years.

 

The EU in general takes a rather serious approach to this problem but not always as strict as it can be in each separate member country.

 

http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/shopping/shopping-abroad/guarantees/index_en.htm

 

 

Ireland (for example) has a 6 years period in which one can bring action against any seller having sold something not fit for purpose.

 

http://www.eccireland.ie/popular-consumer-topics/buying-goods-and-services/

[Adam Woodhouse]

Personally I would take it to (or ship it off) local Fuji service centre.  Me being in Ontario, Canada I'm fortunate that there is a Fuji service centre 1.5hrs from my home so I could drive it there and talk to them if needed.  But that is what the service centre is for.  Get them to fix it right and go back out shooting!

Best of luck.

[milandro]

most of us don’t have that option.

 

In the Netherlands there isn’t a Fuji repair center. You have to take you camera to the shop which then send it to Germany for a MINIMUM or 2 to 3 weeks turnaround.

[themartien]

Hello,
Switzerland we are lucky, the law has changed and since 2012 we have 2 year warranty by default   

 

by cons , my camera is being repaired for a period of 3 to 4 weeks   

[milandro]

but this is not about the length of the guarantee ( which in Europe has to be a minimum of two years).

 

This is about a manufacture defect which might reveal itself one day past whichever period your guarantee says and still be pertaining the manufacture responsibility which goes way beyond the maximum guarantee

[MrJones]

Have the same problem with my X-T1. Was purchased April 2014, so it's a little out of the warranty window. The budging door has been since the get go, but has gotten worse. When I contacted Fujifilm repair, they stated I need to mail it to their NJ facility, at my own cost, which BTW is around $40+ with insurance! They would not confirm whether or not it would be covered, and that I'd be without the camera for around 3 weeks! I live in California, they have no repair facilities here, they do have a facility in Arizona, don't understand why it can't be sent to them! Great camera, except that this is supposed to be weather proof and it's an expensive camera, so I'd expect the cover door to be made better and for Fuji to have better support! 

This is my dilemma as well except that mine should be covered by warranty.   So I can send it in but I'll pay shipping and I'm not too crazy about having to go through the process just for the accessory door.    I probably wouldn't bother with it as it is today but I'm concerned that it will get worse over time.

[milandro]

on the other hand, should any harm come to your camera because the open door could potentially let water in, hence causing the camera to stop working, then the importer could suppose that the deriving malfunction could reasonable have come from your negligence in not having the door repaired.

 

Quite a conundrum if you ask me.

[Patrick FR]

I join the Club

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[milandro]

alright, this is quite a problem!

 

Someone else in another thread has reported the entire plastic protection coming off!

 

Since you, Patrick, seem to be in a better speaking terms than most of us with Fuji, what is it that they are saying about this?

[Patrick FR]

I've contacted several local Fuji services around Europe, first anonymously. Then, when I did not got a clear response, I contacted them with my fujirurmos email.

 

The main questions were: if I now repair my X-T1, will I get a better build accessory door? Or will it be still the same one, that will eventually bend again? Is it a potential problem with all X-T1's, or just a few have this flimsy door?

 

But it's hard to get any official statement (maybe they don't know the answer). Which is why I'm working on an article to post on FujiRumors. Somebody in Japan will read it then

[milandro]

Strange that you didn’t get an answer from your German Fuji lab.

 

 

As I wrote in my answer to the member who reported the entire plastic protection coming lose, in my experience, the Japanese seem (and in many other Asian cultures in general) to have a problem in answering questions where they don’t know the answer of there is bad news to be told or they have to say “ NO” to a direct question.

 

It is , I suppose, a cultural thing but one which makes communication some time a bit more complicated than it should be.

[jlmphotos]

Has anyone contacted Fuji?  I'd love to hear what they have to say.

[milandro]

I've contacted several local Fuji services around Europe, first anonymously. Then, when I did not got a clear response, I contacted them with my fujirurmos email.

 

The main questions were: if I now repair my X-T1, will I get a better build accessory door? Or will it be still the same one, that will eventually bend again? Is it a potential problem with all X-T1's, or just a few have this flimsy door?

 

But it's hard to get any official statement (maybe they don't know the answer). Which is why I'm working on an article to post on FujiRumors. Somebody in Japan will read it then

 

Has anyone contacted Fuji?  I'd love to hear what they have to say.

 

 

 

Obviously yes...

[milandro]

more of this in other threads, this is getting serious!

 

http://www.fuji-x-forum.com/topic/996-fuji-x-t1-rubber-surface/?do=findComment&comment=11343

[Huitai]

I am not suffering this problem on my X-E1, but I recently read an article in a Korean forum that Fujifilm has admitted the problem and decided to fix it in some way (I cannot remember it exactly because I am not using X-T1. Sorry for this). Since this decision is made in Fujifilm HQ, I think X-shooters in all over the world can get benefit from this.

[Patrick FR]

I am not suffering this problem on my X-E1, but I recently read an article in a Korean forum that Fujifilm has admitted the problem and decided to fix it in some way (I cannot remember it exactly because I am not using X-T1. Sorry for this). Since this decision is made in Fujifilm HQ, I think X-shooters in all over the world can get benefit from this.

Could you please provide a link to that article?

[milandro]

they are fixing the cameras upon request and under guarantee, so, they are not avoiding responsibility but I am not aware of a public and official acknowledgement which should, in all likelihood, bring to a re-call action ( costing them a fortune) to avoid possible litigation which could come if they were to publicly admit they have provided a faulty product.

 

REMEMBER, this is NOT only a cosmetic issue. The doors and their shutting capability is an integral part of the Weather Resistance sealing. IF the camera develops this and you ( knowingly or not) then expose it to moisture and this would penetrate the camera THROUGH the doors, the camera will probably undergo a fatal electrical failure.

 

IF this were the case you might not only sue Fuji because they provided a faulty product ( and get another camera) but you could, conceivably, even claim damages if you were working and the camera ceased functioning, because of their negligence, causing you to loose money or even to be sued yourself ( suppose you are in the middle of a wedding and your camera no longer works and you cannot carry out the task of a unique event).

 

So, publicly admitting there is a problem has to lead to a very expensive re-call action.

 

 

I suppose that their best strategy is simply keeping quiet and dealing with this on a one to one base if and when the problem appears (and it might never do so, hopefully, for most of us!!!) . We have recently learned that this problem affects the X-Pro-1 too.

[discoturkey]

 

 

 

[milandro]

I am puzzled discoturkey , are you sure you’ve posted in the right thread?

[FabX]

Same problem with flimsy doors also on my X-T1. 

[margce]

Same problem here... I don't understand how it happened because I don't use the accessory door at all. I have never used any of those ports =(