Buying in Hong Kong

[pulse]

Hi, a few years ago i bought the original 300d & a couple of lenses while visiting HK. At the time while searching the net i found that i should check that the gear i was buying had intrnational warranty & was "original".

Is this still the case, im in HK now for work, was thinking of getting another lens & a new compact 950IS.

Ive gone back to the same store, as they previously had a great reputation(echo photo & audio), and was told that for the 950IS they no longer can get the international warranty & you also dont get the 3 different powercords that use to come with all canon cameras ie i dont get an aussie lead just a HK one.

Is this the case for all canon stuff or particularly for compacts?

Should i be concerned that the camera they have shown me may not be original?( is it called a grey item?)

Is there a way i can check?

Thanks inadvance!

[joeseph]

from what I understand, Canon lenses bought thru "normal" Canon channels have Intnl. warranty, whereas bodies (presumably compacts fall into this catagory) will only have warranty in the region where sold.
Guess it comes down to how much you want the protection of a warranty (1 year's worth) Vs. the cost of buying gear back home. For me, if there was more than 25% difference I'd save then I'd seriously consider buying "grey"
Having said that, it would pay to check with your local Canon folks as I know there was a situation in N.Z. where canon refused to repair some parallel imported bodies even at owners cost due to there being a number of items turning up that had been registered with Canon as being stolen somewhere.

[pulse]

Thanks Joseph,

That actually sounds right & in fact rings a bell for when i first looked into this a few yrs ago.

Ive been trawling the web & im also under the impression now that lenses will come with international warranty but not anything else.
I prob agree with you re the need for the warranty. For the lenses i suppose i wanted it due to the expense & that peace of mind re fakes.

My only question now is, is there a good way of checking that the compact or body im looking at is not a fake? Ive taken a look, packaging, manuals & accessories all seem to mirror what i have got in the past, except for not receiving the multiple power cords.

rgds