i brought this camera for a begining photography class that i was taking. The first time i even tried to use the camera my professor check it out and discovered the the light metering was very off he told me to call vivitar for a new camera. I called vivitar and the customer service rep told me i had to send the defaulted camera in and i would get a new one. after almost 2weeks of waiting i called again the customer service rep then in formed me that the new camera had not even been sent out and that it was going to take 4weeks for the claim to be processed and then i would get a new camera. when i told the rep that i wanted my money back i was told that it wasnt in their policy to refund and that i was going to have to wait the 4weeks. when i spoke to the supervisor who was not much help either he futher explained that it was going to be a month before i recieved the new camera. i would not recommed this product to anyone. if anything goes wrong you'll be talked in cirlces and it'll be at LEAST a month before you even recieve a new product that you dont know may be faulty also.

Customer Service

Very Very poor

Similar Products Used:

i recommend cannons they are very good products.

This fall I purchases 10 Vivitar 3800N film cameras for my Beginning Photography class that I teach. Six of the cameras arrived with faulty light meters and just yesterday another stopped working. I am exchanging all seven as they are under warranty. However, I am extremely disappointed with Vivitar customer service. When I called to ask if there was something I should have known about to make the light meters operate, and to let them know that 7 out of 10 products were faulty, the prepresentative was not at all helpful; he gave me a false explaination that all electronics will become unstable after sitting on the shelf for a year or two. He clainemed that thier product was not faulty but rather explained that I should expect onr or two items to be faulty, but then said that the cameras were not defective. When I repeated that 7 out of 10 cameras had faulty light meters, he could not give me an explaination but rather defensive.

I most likely will choose another product when I have the opportunity to purchase equipment for my school.

-great value -durable -accurate light meter (I shoot slide film w/o any problems) -mechanical shutter (I think with at least one default shutter speed) -sharp and fast 50mm lens (f/1.7)- would definitely recommend over the zoom -depth of field preview -multiple exposure

-overall build quality doesn't quite compare to Japenese cameras, but still durable -plastic top and bottom plate

In 2000, while I was traveling in China, I dropped my only camera, a Nikon 6006. Unfortunately, it was destroyed and unsalvagable. So feeling quite depressed, I walked into a department store and headed straight to the photo department. Because the imported cameras were so expensive, I decided to risk purchasing an all-manual Chinese-made domestic brand camera w/ a 50mm lens... the Phenix. Well, when I finally returned home from my long trip, I was very surprised and pleased with the results of the pictures and the performance of the camera. I could still tell which pictures were taken with the Nikon vs. the Phenix, but it wasn't because the picture quality was any worse. It was just because the 2 lenses were different. Well, to make a long story short, this Vivitar is identical to the Phenix camera I bought 4 years ago and I think they are the exact same camera (just badged in the US as a Vivitar). I have used this camera regularly since then (a couple rolls a month, at least), and it has never given me a problem. I have been keeping my eye out for the Phenix during my travels, but I have never seen it for sale in the US. I'm glad now that I can always replace it with the Vivitar if needed.

Customer Service

Never needed

Similar Products Used:

Pentax K1000 Nikon FM2n Nikon FM10