Buy camera in Hong Kong?

[Pentoman]

As the title says really...

Apparently it's cheaper to buy in HK, and as long as you get international warranty and buy from somewhere reputable it's fine. Is it worth it?

I've been looking at the Panasonic TZ5 by the way. It's £200 in the UK. A search on google hong kong didn't turn up anywhere selling the TZ5 nor a price, which concerns me if I get there and it's not sold there! Is this just because Hong Kong is small so I should be on google China or something?

thanks

Russell

[Pentoman]

Oddly, I can't find it for sale here..

http://www.tincheungcamera.com.hk

Is the TZ5 not available for purchase yet? Perhaps it'll have to be Jessops (actually the guy in Currys digital was probably the most helpful..).

[Bob_Defly]

Do international warranties actually exist?

Or is it something that Hong Kong sellers just say to get Europeans to buy their stuff..?

[.Adam.]

I know Canon SLR bodies don't have an international warranty, only their lenses do, not sure about other makes.

[toohuge]

My dad purchased a canon dslr body in HK recently and it turns out he saved about £30-50. Due to international pricing, it is probably worth buying in the UK unless you get a massive discount.

[rhubarb]

I'm in Hong Kong at the momemt so popped downstairs to fortress at lunchtime, the TZ15 (asia name for TZ5 I think) is 3490 HKD with exchange rates of about 15HKD to the pound means it's about £232. However fortress is like pc-world, high prices in a large building. Around wanchai and mongkok you'd probably be able to find it from a reputable dealer for around £200 with the international warranty, they'll probably throw in a 2Gb card too.

But if you can pick a legit one up in the UK for £200 and get a 3 year warranty then that would be your best choice.

There are savings to be had out here, but not really on compacts, I don't think the margins are there. Have a look at this website here for prices on lenses and bodies. A sigma 120-300 for a smidge over a grand for example, and tripods are really good value, i picked up a Gitzo Traveller 1540T for half the price of the UK

[furtive]

I was in HK recently. The prices in Kowloon weren't that much cheaper than internet prices here sadly

[jezza l]

.Adam. said:

I know Canon SLR bodies don't have an international warranty, only their lenses do, not sure about other makes.

I bought a 40D there last year and as Adam says, the bodies don't come with international warranties. Well on the Canon gear they don't anyway. Not a huge issue for me as I have family in HK. Saved a good few hundred on it too.

[Rosso Rebel]

I go to HK a couple of times a year, and haven't found a camera outlet that's much cheaper than the UK - where did you buy your camera?

[Pentoman]

rhubarb said:

I'm in Hong Kong at the momemt so popped downstairs to fortress at lunchtime, the TZ15 (asia name for TZ5 I think) is 3490 HKD with exchange rates of about 15HKD to the pound means it's about £232. However fortress is like pc-world, high prices in a large building. Around wanchai and mongkok you'd probably be able to find it from a reputable dealer for around £200 with the international warranty, they'll probably throw in a 2Gb card too.

But if you can pick a legit one up in the UK for £200 and get a 3 year warranty then that would be your best choice.

There are savings to be had out here, but not really on compacts, I don't think the margins are there. Have a look at this website here for prices on lenses and bodies. A sigma 120-300 for a smidge over a grand for example, and tripods are really good value, i picked up a Gitzo Traveller 1540T for half the price of the UK

thankyou thankyou thankyou

The camera is £299 (!) here in Jessops and a more stomachable £204 on ebuyer. I'm not sure I get a 3 year warranty included though - even John Lewis is wanting £47 for that. I think with your info it's most sensible to just go with the ebuyer option, bit of a shame really as it seemed exciting buying a camera out there!

I take it you're in Central or perhaps Kowloon?

[Pentoman]

Got camera from ebuyer but it's no longer on their site oddly.
Also bought a Kington 4GB SDHC which corrupts after you've taken a few pics/videos and half the images/videos become unreadable. Tried formatting and everything, no luck. Camera is SDHC compatible.

An old spare 1GB card seems to work fine but it won't hold a lot - especially if I use the 720p video mode! I'll get another SH in HK to save time and effort.

Russell

[Pentoman]

Got camera from ebuyer but it's no longer on their site oddly.
Also bought a Kington 4GB SDHC which corrupts after you've taken a few pics/videos and half the images/videos become unreadable. Tried formatting and everything, no luck. Camera is SDHC compatible.

An old spare 1GB card seems to work fine but it won't hold a lot - especially if I use the 720p video mode! I'll get another SH in HK to save time and effort.

Russell

[Colin RedGriff]

Bob_Defly said:

Do international warranties actually exist?

Or is it something that Hong Kong sellers just say to get Europeans to buy their stuff..?

I bought a Canon SD860IS (IXUS) for my daughter in January from the US, had it repaired under warranty last month with no questions asked, other than proof of purchase. Copy of the credit card bill was susfficient.