Making Sure Your Camera and Camcorder Parts Are Real

You’ve just got your camcorder back from the repair shop. Unable to work for five days, your client is getting impatient and wants their video shoot done yesterday. You call and schedule a time to begin the following day.

But there’s a problem. As you take your camera out of the box something seems off. You’ve just had your LCD screen replaced yet it doesn’t look new. The surface coating looks dull. You turn the camcorder on to take a test video. Something is definitely not right. The picture is looking washed out.

You have to call your client and cancel. It is back to the repair shop and more missed days of work.

It looks like you were just a victim of counterfeit parts. But wait a minute… the repair shop that did the repairs assured you they were using genuine parts.

Advertised OEM Camcorder Parts That Are Counterfeit

When you have repairs done to your camcorder and after the repair it does not work as expected, the shop may have used a counterfeit or non-OEM part.

OEM is an acronym for “Original Equipment Manufacturer”. The part is supposed to be of the same quality as those bought directly from Sony and Canon. But that is not always the case. Some manufacturers (primarily overseas) create fake parts then advertise the item as an OEM part.

Some unscrupulous businesses then purchase these lower cost, non-originals and use them in your repair. If you are duped by a repair shop and the part put into your video camera is a counterfeit you pay in two primary ways:

  1. The part is poorly made and may break again fairly quickly.
  2. The non-OEM part is not performing to the same standards as the OEM part and your camcorder is not working with the same performance as it did from new.

Even a repair shop that quotes you a reasonable estimate and seems legit can be buying non-OEM parts that are manufactured in China, Taiwan or Hong Kong.

OEM Does Not Mean Genuine Parts

Ebay is the largest supplier of non-OEM parts that are advertised as original but are fake. Many of these come from Asia. Yet even a company registered in the U.S. and selling original OEM camcorder products can still be buying and reselling fake parts.

Sony and Canon Say Watch Out for Counterfeit Parts

Reliability from video camera repair shops is getting harder to come by. The practice of using fake, counterfeit parts is not rare, it is becoming more common. The chance you have your repair done and an illegal part used instead of an original is getting greater.

The following is quoted from the esupport.sony.com article “Watch Out for Counterfeit Products”

“If you find items with prices that seem too good to be true, they may be counterfeit.”

Canon also emphasizes the danger of using non-original parts that may lead to equipment damage or malfunction. The below is quoted from the article“About Counterfeits: Understanding the Problem” on www.usa.canon.com.

“Counterfeit Canon products are harder to spot than you think. And more destructive than you think.”

Insuring your repair shop purchases their parts from a legitimate OEM manufacturer is even more important.

Repair Shops Cutting Corners for Profit at Your Expense

How to know if a replacement part put in your camera is fake or counterfeit?

You have to trust the shop you are doing business with. Call and talk to the repair shop that you are doing business with. Trust your instinct. Don’t be afraid to ask. Are you buying the parts from Canon USA or Sony USA?

At Video One Repair we unfortunately see counterfeit parts that were used in previous repairs quite often. Our technicians disassemble the camcorder to begin fixing the problem and then find out the part in the camera is a fake. We commonly see this with LCD screens and other mechanical parts.

We sometimes get calls from people to complain about a recently repaired camera that had been into another repair facility. When they use their camera after receiving it back from repair, the quality is poor or it is not working like it did before. They are not sure why, only that something was not done correctly and need it fixed immediately due to the time lost from the other service center.

Protect Your Investment With Video One Repair

At Video One Repair we buy our parts directly from Sony and Canon. You can rest assure any replacement part for your camcorder or video camera is original, not fake or counterfeit.

Have you recently had your camcorder repaired at another repair center and think they may have used non Sony or Canon Parts. Is the camcorder just not working 100 percent?

Give us a call 888-283-2228 and we would be happy to help you resolve the problem or answer any questions you may have.