Imported Lenses

[Scimmia]

I was wondering if any of you have bought imported lenses from BH and I was wondering if there was any difference. If there isn't anything noticeable, is there any reason to buy US made other than the fact that it was made in the US? Thanks

[rdenney]

I was wondering if any of you have bought imported lenses from BH and I was wondering if there was any difference. If there isn't anything noticeable, is there any reason to buy US made other than the fact that it was made in the US? Thanks

None of the lenses are made in the U.S.

The "U.S." versus "Import" is a matter of warranties. The imports do not have warranties valid in the U.S., and you may have trouble getting the lens serviced by Canon USA.

Rick "who doesn't care if Canon USA doesn't get their cut, but who thinks some Canon lenses are too expensive and complex to risk losing warranty access" Denney

[Carzee]

The Official (franchised?) USA importer/wholesaler keeps a list of what is buys from Canon, ie the serial numbers, and the company sets its prices and looks after the product's warranty.

Now, USA and every market has backdoor (unauthorised -read discount) parrallel distributors selling the same products but with different serial numbers. They are cheaper but not covered by the legal legit Canon USA Inc warranty and exchange umbrella.

'Grey market' is a euphamism for bootleg.

Ahh, such sad distopian paradyms deep in the beating heart of the land of liberty... blah

[foxbat]

B&H provide their own explanation (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist.jsp&A=getpage&Q=GreyMarketStatic.jsp) of the issue.