Where to buy equipment and lens advice

[rokkstar]

Hello,

Just moved to Sydney and have been trying to find discussion groups related to the D70 and found this gem. Good to be here.

What I want to know is two things really.
1. Where is the best place to go for good buys. In the UK there is a shop called jessops that will match any internet price you can find. Is there anything like that? There are a number on George st but which is the best place?

2. This relates to above: I am going to buy a longer zoom to compliment the 18-70 kit lens. My choices are:

Nikon 70-300mm G (i've heard good and bad about this)
Sigma 55-200mm f/4-5.6 DC
Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DL Macro Super

But i'm unsure as to which is the best.
Can anyone give me their opinion on them. I'm put off by the build quality of some of them but should I be?

Cheers
Matt

[sirhc55]

rokkstar - welcome to the forum.

To answer your first question, firstly look around this forum for some answers. You will find that a lot of people here buy from HK or the US as prices in this country are, in the main, outrageous.

On the second point you will again find a lot of answers on this forum. I am one of the strange ones with the Sigma 55-200mm DC. IMO it is an OK lens, nothing brilliant, but it works. For an all round lens the Sigma has a slight edgle over the 300G in that it has macro facility which can be very handy.

Anyway, again welcome - post your pics and ask any question you like - we are a friendly bunch

Cheers

Chris

[rokkstar]

Chris,

Thanks for getting back to me.

I was looking into buying from HK or US in the UK but was put off by the fact that I might have to pay hideous amounts of import tax. What's the deal with that here. Do you normally get away with it?

I know there is a brilliant shop on ebay called digital rev which has some terrific prices. Might start checking them out.

Thanks for the friendly welcome too.

Matt

[sirhc55]

Chris,

Thanks for getting back to me.

I was looking into buying from HK or US in the UK but was put off by the fact that I might have to pay hideous amounts of import tax. What's the deal with that here. Do you normally get away with it?

I know there is a brilliant shop on ebay called digital rev which has some terrific prices. Might start checking them out.

Thanks for the friendly welcome too.

Matt

Firstly the deal on duty and gst. I have brought in from the the US and HK 6 items and so far no tax or duty. BUT you can get caught out - it’s a choice you make.

I have purchased 2 items from DigitalRev - no problems. You will also see throughout this forum mention of HKSupplies and Mr Poon - excellent prices and service.

Hope this helps

Chris

[gstark]

Hi Matt, and welcome to the funny farm.

Where did you move from, and where in Sydney are you located? You might care to take a few moments to update your profile; you never know when that sort of info can be useful.

1. Where is the best place to go for good buys. In the UK there is a shop called jessops that will match any internet price you can find. Is there anything like that? There are a number on George st but which is the best place?

None of 'em. They're all trailer trash and just came in off the set of an episode of Springer.

Well, thye're not that bad, but the best places in SYD are here, Vanbar in Camperdown, and probably ECS in Drummoyne.

I say here because, for people who are active members of this community, we are able to arrange some special deals.

2. This relates to above: I am going to buy a longer zoom to compliment the 18-70 kit lens. My choices are:

Nikon 70-300mm G (i've heard good and bad about this)
Sigma 55-200mm f/4-5.6 DC
Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DL Macro Super

But i'm unsure as to which is the best.
Can anyone give me their opinion on them. I'm put off by the build quality of some of them but should I be?

Build quality isn't the be-all and end-all of thiese lenses, but it's damn important. Almost as important as the acuity that the lenses will provide.

I'm one of those people who will tell you that if the badgework isn't Nikon, it's simply not worthy of being mounted on the front of your camera.

I also have a 70-300G that for me simply doesn't pass muster. Othewrs get good results from their's, so the quality of these seems to be quite patchy.

For reach, and that's really the important question you haven't asked, I use an 80-400 VR.

Let's now address that question - reach. What do you find your shooting? Or perhaps what are you likely to be shooting? In order to best answer your question about which long lens to get, you really need to define your percieved needs first.

Let's see what you're wanting to shoot, and then let's see what lenses will do the job for you.

[gstark]

Matt,

I know there is a brilliant shop on ebay called digital rev which has some terrific prices. Might start checking them out.

Look at this thread for lots of information on trading here, and be sure to look at the hksupplies thread under the Traders section for details of the best off-shore trader.

[rokkstar]

Gstark,

Moved here from UK - a horrid place called Luton. Man is it refreshing to be here as opposed to that s**t hole.
I'm now living in Surry Hills.

As for reach, hmm. I find myself crying out for something longer when I'm shooting wildlife for example. I can't crop in enough. And the same with portraits.
I like the idea of being able to get in close to subjects without intruding their space.

The other overriding factor is money. I can't afford the decent primes and therefore look for ccompromises like the sigmas, the tamrons etc.

Cheers
Matt

[Greg B]

Matt, there are quite a number of people here with the Sigma and the Tamron 70-300, and producing some good results. And the Nikon too.

There are also people spending much larger sums on some fine VR zooms.

However, for well under $300, you can get one of the 70-300s (Nikon, Tamron, Sigma) or you can spend a bit more and get the next level up of the Nikon or Sigma. The Sigma and Tamron lenses have a 1:2 macro capability - a bit of an extra bonus.

Welcome to the forum (and Australia for that matter!!)

[johndec]

Hi Matt and welcome to the forum.

I think you'll find that a lot of people here, when they first got their D70, got the kit lens and either the Nikkor 70-300G or the Tamron 70-300LD. I was one of those that ended up with the Tamron lens, which although I haven't compared it directly with the Nikkor 70-300G, it seems the general consensus around the net is that it is at least the equal of the Nikon lens with the added benefit of macro. I have read "rumours" that the Nikkor 70-300 "ED" is actually a rebadged Tamron as they share identical optics

I'm pretty happy with my Tamron and perhaps you should add that to your shopping list. I've seen them go locally on ebay.com.au for around $AU150. Of course, as soon as I save the pennies for a 80-400VR, the Tamron is gooooonnneeee

[bwhinnen]

Welcome.

As others have stated the cheaper glass can be great. I have the Nikon 70-300G and it does a great job for me in the right conditions, you just need to find the limitations and work around them.

Cheers
Brett

[rokkstar]

Thanks for all the help guys.

I think I have narrowed it to the nikon 70-300 g or the sigma 70 -300 macro.

The macro function I think might swing it though on the sigma and I hate to say this, ........it looks nicer than the Nikon. I know , I know, thats a rubbish thing to say, but you guys know how it is.

Matt

[BBJ]

Hi Matt, Welcome to OZ. I have the 70-300G and i like it for a cheap lens and a great way to learn how to use longer lenses i find this to be a good starting point. The Sigma has the xtra macro mode and that is ok as well so i think if you are on a budget then either of these will be ok.

There is a lot of talk about them bad and good but for the price i think cant go wrong, unless you want to spend more money and upgrade to something bigger with some more bucks.
Here is a couple pics i have taken with the 70-300G.
http://www.darwinonline.org/albums/userpics/10259/yam48%20copy.jpg
http://www.darwinonline.org/albums/userpics/10259/normal_inflight.jpg
http://www.darwinonline.org/albums/userpics/10259/normal_graham.jpg
Cheers
John
BBJ

[BBJ]

Ok maybe my links dont work. Strange.

[sirhc55]

Matt - these following links have photos taken with the respective lens:

Sigma 70-300:

http://www.pbase.com/cameras/sigma/70300f456

Sigma 55-200:

http://www.pbase.com/cameras/sigma/55-200_4-56_dc

Tamron 70-300:

http://www.pbase.com/cameras/tamron/af_70300_456_macro

and finally the Nikon 70-300G

http://www.pbase.com/cameras/nikon/70-300_4g

Cheers

Chris

[BBJ]

Ok if you highlight and copy the URL and open another window and paste into address line you can see the pics.

[johndec]

Ok maybe my links dont work. Strange.

BBJ,
This problem was mentioned the other day in this thread:

http://forum.d70users.com/viewtopic.php?t=1848

Might be time to change isp's

[rokkstar]

Thanks for the links Chris and BBJ. BBJ, your images of the motorcyles are great - really sharp and that's exactly what im after. But I think I have decided on the Sigma 70-300. The Nikon images are lovely and sharp too but I prefer the results of the sigma. Knowing my luck it will just be clever post processing

OK, so the next issue I guess is where to get the best price. I'm a bit stuck really because I cant get an australian credit card as Im not a permanent resident!! And i've kinda maxed out my UK card with hotel bills etc. SO for the first instance I think I'm going to have to go in to Sydney and haggle down the price for cash at one of the street sellers.

Thanks for your help guys.

Matt

[rokkstar]

Hi Guys,

Sorry to be flogging a dead horse here but I was wondering if anyone could give me a rough idea as to a good price for the Sigma 70-300 Super Macro.

The guy in camera shop was giving me a great price for the Nikon - $239 and I dont know whether to go for it or try and find the sigma.

I can't buy anything online at the moment because I dont have any credit cards or debit cards.

CHeers Matt

[christiand]

I bought mine (ex mine BTW) for some AUD$303 from the US
including shipping a few months ago.

CD

[ru32day]

Re GST, Duty etc.

I read the Australian customs site on this topic the other day.

From what I could gather, the following applies:

GST is calculated on total product - ie value of product + shipping costs converted to $AUD.

If GST calculated on this basis is $50 or less, than it is exempt from GST on import - so if all you're buying is one of the 70-300 lenses, you should be OK.

If Total product value is $1000 AUD or more, formal paperwork is required, and Customs makes a service charge for processing it. From my recent experience, this seems to total around $60, although I haven't seen the invoice yet (this was managed for me by the shipping firm - UPS - just had to give them my credit card details, or could have paid driver by cheque on delivery).

If total product value is <$1000, informal paperwork can be done and there is no service charge (just the GST charge)

Depending on the type of product, there may also be some other duty payable, but not generally on cameras and lenses.

Many shoppers here try to buy as much in one hit as poss when buying from the US, due to the delivery fee usually being a set figure (around $35US) for the first lb in weight and a much lower fee (around $4US) for every lb thereafter.

That's why I bought a heap from one shop last time, even though there were some things slightly cheaper or of a different variety that I'd have preferred to buy elsewhere.

After studying the customs regs, I'd have actually saved money by buying from the two shops, because what I gained in cheaper postage, I more than lost in import charges that would not have been payable, had I purchased over two orders.

Of course, if you can get all you need through the Bargains available to the group, you don't really have to worry about any of that. In my case, some of the things I needed weren't available this way.

Mind you, even with the avoidable charges, I still spent a great deal less than I would have buying through any of the local camera stores.