10D, EOS 1 or 1D MKII?

[IncompletePete]

Ok, I'm about to get a nice lil student bank account with a hefty, interest free, overdraft!

I'm thinking of buying the kit from the USA 'n lugging it back to the UK in my bag, if I did that I could pay for flights, body 'n lense 'n still have change for the same price of just a 10D body on its own!

Anyway, should I buy (I'm focussing on sports photography):

10D with a Sigma 170-500mm f5/6.3 APO

£1530 in the UK - £728 in the USA

10D with a Canon 100-400 USM IS

£2348 in the UK - £1123 in the USA

Or get an EOS 1 'n stick with film for a while....OR get an EOS 1D MKII for £1500.....:shock: :D

I'm using A&M Photoworld's website for the US prices and Jessops for the UK's, I trust A&M is correct?

[canon_user808]

Don't know if you can trust A&M, i remember reading that some members had a really bad issues with them in the past. Try doing a search on them.

[IncompletePete]

But are their prices roughly correct for the US market?

$849 for a 10D, $1179 for the Canon 100-400 IS lense for example?

[canon_user808]

I'd rather go with prices from B&H. Just my opinion.

[Cadwell]

OK.. first off the gear. I'd go for the Canon 100-400L (in fact I have). It's a fine lens for sports photography. The Sigma is reputed to be rather slower in terms of autofocus. Not what you need for shooting fast moving action.

Be aware of some caveats when buying from the US. Canon UK will not honour a US camera warranty. They will honour a US lens warranty. So you need to be prepared to either ship the camera body back to the US in the event of a fault or arrange for a third party warranty.

Oh... and look at somewhere like WarehouseExpress (http://www.warehouseexpress.com) for UK prices, Jessops tend to be on the expensive side.

[IncompletePete]

I'm not worried about the warranty as I've got family in the US so won't have any troubles with that. As I've got my reading week in November or so, i'll head over then 'n pick up some kit.

[IncompletePete]

Oh and I get Jessops kit at cost price, my girlfriend works there :D

[IncompletePete]

Also, could anyone name me a good place to get this kit in the USA? Will be in the San Francisco bay area this november :D

[KennyG]

A&M are far from being representitive of US prices. Check their ratings here: http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1988.html

Use B&H as your reference: http://www.bhphotovideo.com

You are not worldly wise enough it seems to recognise the scam artists that plague the camera world in the US. Check any of them at reseller ratings and you will quickly realise that if the price seems too good to be true, it is.

Also, the warranty for US bought cameras are not valid here in the UK, period. Lenses are OK and Canon will cover them, but make sure you keep your receipt. The safest way is to buy the camera here and the lenses in the US. Do you really want to send your camera back to the US to have it fixed and maybe be without it for 2 or 3 months, plus pay all the shipping charges. Think about it before you go and blow your student loan at a dodgy shop in NYC.

[Murph7355]

Can't see you getting a 1DmkII for 1500 quid I'm afraid. That's less than 3k USD. I'm sure they're over 4k.

And without wishing to sound too old fartish, I wouldn't go blowing your student overdraft on camera kit. Especially if it's your 1st year. Interest free or not, you do not want to be more shackled with debt when you start working than is necessary.

Why not look for a used 10D? Or even a D60?

You should ask B&H or Adorama for quotes on the gear your looking for. They'lll probably have stock, or will be honest if they don't. And the prices will be realistic.

[IncompletePete]

Fair enough, will have a further look around. Besides, my overdraft is interest free, I don't actually need it so I don't need to worry too much, just using it so I can pay so much every month instead of one lump sum, works out very cheap!

The warrantee thing is fine too, Canon do a worldwide warrantee for £20 extra, seems pretty reasonable!

[CyberDyneSystems]

Dpending on the time constraints.. maybe a new 20D?

[Big_B]

Fair enough, will have a further look around. Besides, my overdraft is interest free, I don't actually need it so I don't need to worry too much, just using it so I can pay so much every month instead of one lump sum, works out very cheap!

The warrantee thing is fine too, Canon do a worldwide warrantee for £20 extra, seems pretty reasonable!

Pete, I'm just leaving uni and envy your brand new, untarnished interest free loan. Them were the days ..... have fun mate :D

[IncompletePete]

Fair enough, will have a further look around. Besides, my overdraft is interest free, I don't actually need it so I don't need to worry too much, just using it so I can pay so much every month instead of one lump sum, works out very cheap!

The warrantee thing is fine too, Canon do a worldwide warrantee for £20 extra, seems pretty reasonable!

Pete, I'm just leaving uni and envy your brand new, untarnished interest free loan. Them were the days ..... have fun mate :D

They are fantastic aren't they :D You should still have an interest free overdraft for the two years after you've left uni, you get that at NatWest 'n Barclay's anyway!

The 20D is a lil too far away for me, am heading to the US this November so shall be hoping to order my kit from B&H 'n then post it to my family for me to pick up!

[Andy_T]

However,

now that the 20D is announced, might be the perfect time to look for a USED 10D. There's another thread ('Are 10D users mad' or something) that mentioned ebay auctions selling a perfect 10D for $ 820.

Best regards,
Andy