Your Very Favourite Lens Is...

Gone. Gone forever. It has rolled off the roof, where you were taking pictures of the nurse's quarters, and fallen into a newly-opened bottomless pit that has appeared in your back yard.

What are you going to do?

This depends upon whether you had the foresight to purchase a Mack Diamond Warranty when you got the lens. If that was under three years ago you can breathe a sigh of relief.

Ring up the Mack people, tell them the sad news, and wait for them to send you a cheque for the replacement cost of another Very Favourite Lens. They are men of honour - if you have a Diamond Warranty you are covered for three years against impact damage, manufacturer defects, sand/grit damage, accidental or unintentional abuse, mechanical malfunction, and abnormal wear and tear.

You are still required to keep your gear secure against human thieves - they cannot really insure you against patently criminal activity. For that matter, neither can some police forces...

Well, philosophy aside, the prices are geared to the price of the equipment. here's a number of examples:

1. $ 499 and under.............................$ 99.00

2. $ 1999 and under...........................$ 399.00

3. $ 3999 and under...........................$ 479.00

Now like all insurances, it is a calculated bet. If you don't use it, they keep your money, and you have the satisfaction of having your Very Favourite Lens with you to squeeze and hold and...If you do use it they are down the price of a new Very Favourite Lens - not you.

Sort of a win either way.

Note, the Mack Warranty does not cover the sulfurous sinkhole in the back yard, or your fate if you also roll off the roof and fall down it. Consult your religious adviser about this one.