Parallel Imported Lenses?

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Mad Scientist
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#754699 2-Feb-2013 09:32

i find that i can't process 1000 pics so i shoot jpg.

in fact my white balance and red-green correction is inferior to canon's digic its less hassle for me to not shoot in raw routinely

of course you are a pro ... but i havent got the time to experiment at this stage ... raw is only for white balance in night indoor scenes

timmmay

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#754717 2-Feb-2013 10:06

You can do great things with jpeg, and the camera does quite a bit of processing for you. RAW just gives you flexibility to fix things. I've never taken a shot I couldn't improve in my raw editor.

alasta

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#754767 2-Feb-2013 13:34

I have my eye on the Nikon 85mm DX Micro and I'm going to buy it when I'm in Australia in a couple of weeks because with the GST reclaimed it'll end up costing me about $700 (just below the threshold to avoid attracting GST upon re-entry to NZ) versus $1150 at my preferred photographic retailer in Christchurch.

That price difference will almost pay for my flights to and from Australia, although interestingly the price difference is nowhere near that much when I look at a couple of the other lenses that I'm potentially interested in.

mikerussellnz

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#754771 2-Feb-2013 13:54

Another recommendation for smifu. I have bought a few lenses from them and always good service.

I can't comment on repairs though as I have not had any issues with the lenses.

timmmay

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#754774 2-Feb-2013 14:09

alasta: I have my eye on the Nikon 85mm DX Micro and I'm going to buy it when I'm in Australia in a couple of weeks because with the GST reclaimed it'll end up costing me about $700 (just below the threshold to avoid attracting GST upon re-entry to NZ) versus $1150 at my preferred photographic retailer in Christchurch.

That price difference will almost pay for my flights to and from Australia, although interestingly the price difference is nowhere near that much when I look at a couple of the other lenses that I'm potentially interested in.

I thought the GST threshold way $400? It is for stuff shipped in.

alasta

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#754777 2-Feb-2013 14:34

timmmay:
alasta: I have my eye on the Nikon 85mm DX Micro and I'm going to buy it when I'm in Australia in a couple of weeks because with the GST reclaimed it'll end up costing me about $700 (just below the threshold to avoid attracting GST upon re-entry to NZ) versus $1150 at my preferred photographic retailer in Christchurch.

That price difference will almost pay for my flights to and from Australia, although interestingly the price difference is nowhere near that much when I look at a couple of the other lenses that I'm potentially interested in.

I thought the GST threshold way $400? It is for stuff shipped in.

It's $700 according to this page.

Having said that the only time I've ever brought in goods valued over $700 was an iPad worth about $1300 and customs at Christchurch airport didn't seem interested in it so I didn't end up paying any GST.

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timmmay

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#754780 2-Feb-2013 14:46

I don't see anything on that page, but it's got a lot of nested sections. Customs policy for packages is if they get revenue of $50 or more then you get a bill. With GST at 15% that's a $400 threshold for GST, plus duties.

You might be lucky, you might not.

jfanning

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#754781 2-Feb-2013 14:48

alasta:
It's $700 according to this page.

That is a combined $700

alasta

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#754783 2-Feb-2013 14:54

jfanning:
alasta:
It's $700 according to this page.

That is a combined $700

If I understand correctly that won't be a problem as I won't be bringing in anything else.

At the end of the day I'll just suck it up in the unlikely event that I do get charged. It's not worth losing sleep over.

Strongbad1905

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#754832 2-Feb-2013 18:34

Hey my names Daniel I'm the manager of parallel imported Newmarket branch. We order all our lenses from either canon Japan or stockists in Hong Kong. Our store covers warranties on all electronics for one year plus we can help arrange service after this time. I can't speak for other stores but our parallel imported branches do not send any of our stock overseas for service. We have never had an issue other the an out of the box issue with a coating on a Nikon 12-24mm lens that we swapped out.
The lens you are after store like us and our competitors get cheaper by sometimes buying split up products eg 650d 18-200mm kit sold body only and lens separately. Like right now in the Newmarket store mine is generic packaged but canon can verify the serial no for you. Cheers hope this helped.

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#755264 3-Feb-2013 22:41

I have a simlar history with lenses. For years had a Pentax with a 28-80mm and a 70-230 lens that I was happy with quality wise but having to carry two lenses around was a bit of a pain so when buying a new DSLR I wanted one lense only. I agonised for ages as to what length,say a 18 -105, 18-135, 18-200, 18-250, etc. I wanted as high as quality as poss in a zoom lens so in the end got the 18-105mm. I have been delighted with it. It has done 99% of what I have wanted.Perhaps a few times I had wished I had got the 18-135mm for a bit extra range but not a big deal. Later on I got a 40mm macro for close ups.

As per Timmmay I have also just recently bought a Sony RX100 for a carry round camera. Fantastic results and a delight to use. Just made a "chest Mount" for it so I can take it out on my mountain bike.Did my research price wise first,early Dec 2012 when they were just out at $1100.00,then reduced to 9 something with a case.I got mine at the Sydney duty free shop on a one hour stopover for A$599.00 = NZ$752.04. I took about 800 photos with each the Sony and the Nikon DSLR over a two week period.The Sony sure was a lot lighter to carry round and it was good to have such a wide aperature 1.8 lens for low light shots.When you are constantly useing a lens with a max aperture of 3.5 you are spoiled with the Sony's low light ability.

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graemeh

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#756217 5-Feb-2013 18:49

alasta:
jfanning:
alasta:
It's $700 according to this page.

That is a combined $700

If I understand correctly that won't be a problem as I won't be bringing in anything else.

At the end of the day I'll just suck it up in the unlikely event that I do get charged. It's not worth losing sleep over.

You won't have a problem with just a $700 lens.

The "personal goods concession" that applies to people travelling is $700 but effectively $1099 it the items are only subject to GST (i.e. no duty).

It is $1099 because they work out what you charge you by subtracting $700 from the value of the goods. Then then work out the GST (and duty if applicable) on the excess. If it works out to be less than $60 then they don't charge you.

alasta

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#756328 5-Feb-2013 21:36

graemeh:
alasta:If I understand correctly that won't be a problem as I won't be bringing in anything else.

At the end of the day I'll just suck it up in the unlikely event that I do get charged. It's not worth losing sleep over.

You won't have a problem with just a $700 lens.

The "personal goods concession" that applies to people travelling is $700 but effectively $1099 it the items are only subject to GST (i.e. no duty).

It is $1099 because they work out what you charge you by subtracting $700 from the value of the goods. Then then work out the GST (and duty if applicable) on the excess. If it works out to be less than $60 then they don't charge you.

Thanks for clarifying. I think that clears up some of the mystery around what customs choose to ping you on.

RileyB

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#758702 9-Feb-2013 15:03

timmmay: I won't buy anything than OEM lenses any more, ie Nikon lenses on Nikon bodies, Canon lenses on Canon bodies. I've had too many problems with Sigma lenses not focusing properly. I had a Tamron 28-75 which wasn't bad, but the Canon 17-55 was a definite upgrade.

Wouldn't rule out OEM lenses, especially if budget is an issue. Currently own four Sigma lenses, and all of them a great, I've used the much more expensive Canon versions of most them and in most cases the Sigma lenses are just as good, or even better.

TinyTim

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#758718 9-Feb-2013 16:18

There are plenty of good third-party lenses. Read some of the reviews out there - try Photo.net, Photozone, DP Review etc.

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