piers_morgan

Hi,

Been meaning to buy a digital SLR camera for a while now. Have my eye on the Canon 300D which I have been quoted in Sydney for 1750 (with lense). :scared:
Have tried the usual places in Sydney such as Digital City and Georges and Teds etc etc. But in the US it retails for about US$950.

So I am really tempted to buy one online from the US - has anyone tried this? Even if I buy it there and pay GST when it arrives here I will be better off.

Or does anyone have any Oz shops or sites that I can get a better deal?

Thanks,

Piers

bondipom

Make sure you get an international warranty with it. If it has a power supply you may have to purchase a 240v50Hz one.

I am interested to see the result.

From the following it looks like Canon do not allow online sales and competition for their SLRs.

http://www.digitalcamerawarehouse.co...egory158_1.htm

THYE.A.

Cameras in OZ are very expensive compare to Singapore/Malaysia,
partly due to the exchange rate.

Have you considered the newly launched Nikon D70.

Also , pls do some research on www.dpreview.com

bondipom

It seems that with the new exchange rates that suppliers are taking the margin for the cheaper imports rather than passing them on to the customer.

Amazulu

Most modern power supplies are voltage sensing & can run on 110 or 240V.

andy thomas

[QUOTE]Originally posted by piers_morgan
Hi,

Been meaning to buy a digital SLR camera for a while now. Have my eye on the Canon 300D which I have been quoted in Sydney for 1750 (with lense). :scared:
Have tried the usual places in Sydney such as Digital City and Georges and Teds etc etc. But in the US it retails for about US$950.

is there really a store in sydney called Georges and Teds, those are the names of my two boys, they hate man united as well.

bondipom

[QUOTE]Originally posted by andy thomas
www.teds.com.au

And there is a camera store called Georges.

piers_morgan

there's one company in th US who have quoted me about AUS$1550 inc delivery, an additional charger that will work here (which I guess I may not need, accorfding to Amazulu). Not sure what import duty I have to pay (anyone know - customs site is a nightmare), but GST will take it to about AUS$1650 anyway, so hardly worth all the effort and nail biting to get it from the US. Will have to flash the cash this Saturday on George St and see who will give me the best deal.

Are there any decent Oz comparison/electrical goods sites I can persuse?

Ta,

Piers

PS Going for the Canon rather than the Nikon as I already own a couple of lenses from my Canon 3000n

bondipom

IMO Canon and Nikon make excellent cameras and lenses. It is hard to make a case to go either way.

Piers you should certainly be able to flash the cash and get a discount. They may not discount the main unit but you will be able to bargain on getting a lot of stuff thrown in for free.

You will also get quoted different prices from different salesmen in the same store. Let us know the result.

piers_morgan

Thanks, I plan to check out Ozzie websites as well to see what prices I can get online and then see whether the highstreet shops will beat them. If anyone knows of any decent electrical/visual e-shops then that would be great.

Piers

joem

I've just been looking at the new Panasonic FZ10 with a Leica lens, looks pretty good, check it out here -

http://www.megapixel.net/html/issueindex.php?lang=en

This site is the best on the net, for digital camera reviews




joem

piers_morgan

Thanks

Ansy

I'm from the US, and I agree that cameras are cheaper in the US. If you bought one, you'd have to request the seller to send a dual/"intelligent" power plug that can also convert to the Aussie 240V 50Hz power etc.. Also, iyou may have to pay custom duties/fees/GST.....Grrr I don't know what it's called in Oz, but I believe it is 10% the value of the camera.

However, you could get bargains on camera deals on auction sites like

www.ebay.com.au

Andy66

I echo Ansy's post.

I sell budget Digital Cameras on Ebay. The 300D is a great choice, but I would strongly suggest you look at the Nikon D70 - it is similar money and edges it in quite a few departments.

The US version of the Canon is called the "rebel" and if you look on ebay, you will see they attract less money than the full UK spec - although I am not 100% sure why, other than voltage difference in the power supply, but they may be slightly different spec.

Watch out for Customs Duty - it can be horrendous. You will probably be stung for VAT & Excise before they will deliver it (although you may be lucky) which can wipe out any savings you would make.

With the exchange rate just now you might be as well getting a cheap flight to the US and buy it there!

Andy