Japan trip = bargains?

[miller]

I'm heading to Japan in a week.
Anyone got experience with getting lenses cheap in Tokyo?

Miller.

[FScott]

My experience with buying electronics in Japan(where I am now for 6 weeks) vs the states is that electronics is more expensive here, even photographic equipment and even in AKIHABARA. Now what is cool here is going to akihabara or yodobashi camera and seeing (and playing with) the cameras that won't be in the states for 6 months. If you want bargains though you need to go to Hong Kong or Singapore. sorry.

-- Scott.

[Andy_T]

Haha ... cameras and lenses are even more expensive there than in EUROPE :shock:

Best regards,
Andy

[whchan]

Even Singapore and Hong Kong are not cheap either. You may be able to save the sales tax but you loss the warranty. US has the best price and you can always buy if out of state (mail order) to avoid the sales tax.

[miller]

oh well - I guess I'll give it a miss then.
Still, we're flying from tokyo to canada, to the US, so I'm sure I'll find something cheaper than UK prices....

Miller.

[Raj]

Dont even thinbk about it, everything is much more expensive here. Wait for your trip to States ;)

[booggerg]

nothing is cheaper than buydig.

[michael.luczkow]

I'm heading to Japan in a week.
Anyone got experience with getting lenses cheap in Tokyo?

Miller.
i've found canon stuff to be FAR more expensive in japan than in the US. even the people at kitamura thought i was joking when i told them how much some lenses and cameras cost. i even bought a camera for a guy that works at a camera store. that's how much more it costs.

[defordphoto]

There are no deals anymore with the dollar losing so much against every other denomination. My wife has been to Singapore, Bangkok and Shanghai several times over the past two years and there are no deals on electronics or camera equiment anymore. They cannot even match Internet pricing.

[miller]

Glad I posted! Saves me a lot of calculator work and disappointment when I get there...
Guess I'll wait for a B&H binge in NYC...

Miller

[xuxu1]

Glad I posted! Saves me a lot of calculator work and disappointment when I get there...
Guess I'll wait for a B&H binge in NYC...

Enjoy your stay in Japan. But purchase your equipment back home (before going on the trip). You will save lot´s of $$$.

ED

[condyk]

Enjoy your stay in Japan. But purchase your equipment back home (before going on the trip). You will save lot´s of $$$.

He'd probably be better buying the more expensive stuff in the US than at home in the UK.

[xuxu1]

He'd probably be better buying the more expensive stuff in the US than at home in the UK.

Yeah.... seems your right. Just noticed how expensive that stuff in the UK is. I visit England frequently. Most of the time London. I always thought only Harrod´s had such high prices in their neat little photo shop. :eek: Have´nt been in any other photo shops there. :o

ED

[FScott]

Well, I have to correct myself. <Some> things are cheap here in Japan. While cameras and lenses are about 30% more expensive, things like Canon lens hoods are cheaper. I bought an EW-73B lens hood for my EF-S 17-85 for 2400 yen or $21.56 at Yodabashi camera ($29.95 at B&H). I went back and bought the ES-62 hood for the nifty-fifty because it was only 1300 yen or $11.67. It's $23.95 at B&H. I guess it just pays to shop around... Also Yodabashi camera is an incredible place. They have every piece of Canon hardware sitting out for you to play with and the sales folks don't hover. I played with a 1DMkII for several hours. I must have tried 30 lenses on it from Canon and all the 3rd party folks (sigma, tokina, tamron). Great fun. They also have all the accessories you ever wanted and all in stock. Cool. I also played with the competition from Nikon which were pretty nice. I also played with the Minolta dSLR with the built in image stabilization. I hated it. It didn't fit my hand at all. The pentax was quite nice but too small. I also had trouble holding it. The Olympus dSLR was just too wierd...

-- Scott.

[xuxu1]

1.) I would´nt make a trip to Japan just to purchase a lens hood.
2.) L-lenses already have a hood included.

Scott... Just kidding of course. :o

Kind regards
ED

[condyk]

... Also Yodabashi camera is an incredible place. They have every piece of Canon hardware sitting out for you to play with and the sales folks don't hover. I played with a 1DMkII for several hours. I must have tried 30 lenses on it from Canon and all the 3rd party folks (sigma, tokina, tamron). Great fun.

Now that's my kind of shop ... maybe next they'll offer booths with different lighting conditions to play in: African Safari booth, portrait and glamour booth, Overcast city scene booth, etc. Fill your Cf card and check the results later, go back and buy. I love Japan :D

[xuxu1]

I love Japan :D
Me too even though it´s terribley expensive!

[blackviolet]

yodobashi is great for little things - i picked up some padded cloth AA battery holders w/ zipper for around 3 bucks. also, when i bought my extension tubes, they were quite a bit cheaper. lighting clamps, lens caps, even the battery for my cp 330 printer were pretty cheap. i also love the rebate/members program, too.for lens or anything else 'staple', forget it - much cheaper in HK or especially on the net in the states.

[internationalmanofmystery]

He'd probably be better buying the more expensive stuff in the US than at home in the UK.

I disagree. The last two Canon items I bought both have faults and require service under warranty. Unfortunately one of the items was purchased in the US. With Canon's quality being so poor at the moment, I wouldn't buy anything from the US that could break unless you visit there often enough to take it back yourself.

Light stands, tripods, etc are a much safer bet.

[xuxu1]

With Canon's quality being so poor at the moment, I wouldn't buy anything from the US ....
Looks to me as if Canon is sending all there second grade manufactured lenses to the US lately. :rolleyes:

Have´nt had any (Canon) quality problems here in my part of the world. :D

ED