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... Obsolete ...

I bought everything here except for two Sandisk 1GB CF cards. They came from a seller in Hong Kong on eBay.

Then again I don't own a lot of gear...

Very interesting thread, it's certainly made me stop to ponder. Come to think of it none... Every piece of camera related gear and accessories I own has a receipt from Malaysia or USA.

Except maybe the Hoya CPL from Birddog - but that was likely from HK.
Oh, the used 80-200 from Glen. It's likely the orig buyer didn't source that overseas cos the internet wasn't invented at the time the lens was new.

Not much, but I don't own much either.

I do not really feel guilty about this, but perhaps I have a corrupt way of conceptualising the situation:

Why give away free money to some guy for the service of making available a product locally which I can usually obtain both sooner and cheaper by sourcing my own channels? Am I really doing anybody a favour be forking out to middle men? Are "proper" distribution channels anything more than a corporation's method of exercising control over markets? After all, we're all camera junkies and regardless of who we get our gear off, the Nikon cartel still gets most of our money - all that changes is who takes a cut and for how much.

Does anyone here feel they are doing something wrong by not buying locally?

lotophage wrote:Does anyone here feel they are doing something wrong by not buying locally?

Not me. I'm an internationalist at heart. I don't think a job or livelihood in Australia is worth more than a job or livelihood in Kenya or North Korea. I've moved all the way around the world to sell my labour/professional skills, I will shop around the world to buy the stuff I want to buy.

I have no empathy for retailers with 100+% markup putting a sales guy in front of me that has a hard time figuring out which side is up while demonstrating the stuff he sells. SB800 at Paxton's: $999. Good luck guys!

Cheers
Steffen.

Pls. correct:
All Transcend Compact Flash & SD cards are local stocks and distributed by Local Transcend's distributor.

First of all, it should be pointed out that there are no cameras that are manufactured here in Oz.

So, the only jobs "at risk" are those of the overpaid execs at Maxwell's, and the undertrained sales monkeys at places like Michael's or Hardly Normal.

Neither of whom I feel too much affinity with, nor sympathy for.

I happen to be one who objects quite strongly - in principal - to the fact that an accident of birth dictates where one might live and work. I accept tthat for many the matter of choice doesn't really arise, but for those of us for whom it does, this can be a real sore and sorry point.

So no, I feel no guilt when I choose to buy something off-shore at a reasonable price rather than the overly expensive price that certain parties choose to foist on an otherwise helpless public.

It's really high time that Australians learned to become competetive in the world market.

VK4CP wrote:So, how much are we paying for our photography gear in Oz?
It seems, too damn much.

Indeed so. If there's only a few dollars in it, I don't mind paying more to support local businesses (and get local warranty), but any more and I get selfish.

D70 - Maxwell stock
Sigma 12-24 - HK Supplies
17-55 DX - Wing Shing, HK
24-120 VR - HK Supplies
70-200 VR - HK Supplies
SB800 - HK Supplies

Adding up the combined savings from these over Aussie prices at the time is incredible, at least $2K worth, or 25% off Aussie retail...

what about warranty issues? i know most brand such as Nikon, Canon don't offer international warranties! If there is a problem, you will have to send it back to the place where you originally bought.

Technik wrote:what about warranty issues? i know most brand such as Nikon, Canon don't offer international warranties!

With Canon typically the warranties on flashes and lenses ARE international. Just show up with the original purchase paperwork and you're away.
Strictly speaking the camera bodies have "local" warranty only, and if you need it serviced they'll charge you the normal service fee. But having said that, these days I buy most of my camera bodies overseas and have had things like 20Ds repaired by Canon Australia under warranty with no hassles.
Of course, if you show up with a "Digital Rebel XT" instead of a 350D they'd probably care.

Canon in the US may deal with things differently, and Nikon in the US is notorious for only working on locally-bought gear, but the situation can vary from country to country. So be careful you don't assume that the experiences of Americans as found on the 'net will apply here (they may, but check).

Lenses are international warranty.

I don't mind spending a bit more from a shop to get the item in stock when I want it, not to mention things like warranty for camera bodies, but it's a bit hard to pass up savings of hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Technik wrote:what about warranty issues? i know most brand such as Nikon, Canon don't offer international warranties! If there is a problem, you will have to send it back to the place where you originally bought.

True in general, but consider that with the amount I've saved I could actually afford to replace outright any lens in my arsenal while it's away on warranty service (with the possible exception of the 70-200 VR).

JZA70-mel wrote:I don't mind spending a bit more from a shop to get the item in stock when I want it,

And there's the rub.

With reputable suppliers like Poon, we're able to have the high end gear shipped to our door within a day or three of placing our order. If your local store doesn't have it in stock - and not many will stock a lot of the stuff that we're likely to lust after - it'll not only be cheaper to buy from HK, but quicker and much more convenient.

How can you lose?

DaveB wrote:...and have had things like 20Ds repaired by Canon Australia under warranty with no hassles.

Likewise for my Nikon D70 when it failed as per the internationally issued service advisory, Maxwells rectified it at no cost to me. For any genuine manufacturing defect as what warranties are supposed to cover - I doubt the local service agents will refuse to repair. They may however exercise discretion for those value added services offered to local buyers - eg. first sensor clean is reputed to be free for those who bought their Nikon DSLR bodies locally.

atm everything except for a filter and a battery in Australia

Olympus E300 with dual lense kit on Olympus Australia traniee discount

72mm CPL -USA
Spare BLM1 battery -India i think

hmmm

overseas:
pentax DA 12-24 f4 from B&H cos not then available in aus.
zenitar 16 f2.8 from russia ... not available in aus
Pentax FA50 f1.4 from B&H landed for 278 [local over 600 ]
pentax FA 80-320 f4 S/H from KEH for 89 bucks

local:
tamron SP90DI f2.8 from photo continental
sigma 28-70 EX f2.8 from centre.net
all the rest S/H from pawnshops, ebay etc

My 20D, the rubbish kit lens, the 17-40 and Canon 50 1.8 were purchased here (oh, and the Transcend 2GB card).

The rest are imported (3x other Canon L's, Canon macro, 2 more 2GB Sandisk cards, 580EX).