buying online - trusted vendors

[thrtytwo]

Looking to but a 7D and the prices vary wildly.

~$2200 locally in a store (aus warranty)
~$1800 form a local online retailer (aus warranty)
~$1400 on ebay (grey import)

Now I find some online only retailers selling them between $1200 - $1300 with a 12 month aus warranty. I'm assuming they are just selling grey imports, but taking on the responsibility of the warranty themselves.

http://www.shopbot.com.au/pp-canon-eos-7d-price-86219.html

has anyone used any of the online stores in the above link?

[MattyP]

Yup.. used DWI (www.dwidigitalcameras.com.au)
Actually bought my 7D off there too. Spent over 20k with DWI on photo gear. You won't pay any tax on the DWI stuff as they do dodgy receipts. (just ask to get the real one emailed over). I had bulk L-series lenses sent over in one box (85, 35, 100, 14) and they put it down as $995 worth lol.

DD Electronics and DigitalRev are other good vendors on there that I've used for other photographic stuff (flashes, PocketWizards etc)

However lately I've been buying most of my stuff off B&H (bhphotovideo.com)

[thrtytwo]

thanks mate :D will feel happier to order now haha

[mehow2g]

My mate who works at JB HI FI says they will match online prices now.

Also I bought from DWI with no dramas.

[thrtytwo]

yeh I also heard something like that. But I don't think they would match SUCH low prices. And although I haven't confirmed this, I'm pretty sure they must be grey imports at that price, and the sellers are just honoring the warranty themselves.

[mod]

bought my Nikon 24-70 from DWI all good came in 3 days too

[thrtytwo]

thanks for more feedback :D

[thrtytwo]

Also I plan on buying a 50mm prime (f1.8) but don't know what other lens a basic kit should consist of.

DWI has the following kits available in my price range;

EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM
EF-S 18-55mm IS II
Twin kit with 18-55 II and 55-250mm IS
EF-S 18-200mm IS
EF-S 15-85mm IS
EF-S 18-135mm IS

I will go do some reading myself, but are any of these a stand out? Or should I just stick with the 50mm prime for now?

[s1mon]

Purchased my 500D (while ago now) from Digital Rev off Ebay. Ordered Saturday night and delivered Wednesday morning. Have since purchased lenses / filters etc off them and never had an issue.

[MattyP]

Also I plan on buying a 50mm prime (f1.8) but don't know what other lens a basic kit should consist of.

DWI has the following kits available in my price range;

EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM
EF-S 18-55mm IS II
Twin kit with 18-55 II and 55-250mm IS
EF-S 18-200mm IS
EF-S 15-85mm IS
EF-S 18-135mm IS

I will go do some reading myself, but are any of these a stand out? Or should I just stick with the 50mm prime for now?

Owned the 28-135 back in the day. Not a bad lens, but if it takes some serious knocks then you might as well throw it away (sold mine for $50 after kept having deliniation problems after a few drops :p)

The other EF-S lenses are a POS. Never thought there was such a drastic quality difference between them and L-series, but they're not worth it IMO. However if you need to get more range, then get the 28-135. You'll have something that covers you from standard focal length to a nice zoom (the 28-135 becomes a 44mm - 216mm). The 1.8 isn't a bad lens, but if you can spare an extra few hundred bucks then go the 1.4 version.

[mr_rotary]

When I enquired with DWI they could not guarantee no import taxes/GST. I had also enquired if they had 2 particular lens in stock to which they had said they did not have any. So I sent another e-mail the next day asking when they where getting them in to whoch they replied they where in stock. So I phoned them up only to get someone who spoke little english and eventually found out that they where not in stock in the end. After this, they lost $7k worth of my business.

I ended up purchasing from www.topbuy.com.au who put it in writing no addtional charges to be paid. When comparing the prices to DWI, topbuy was on par or even cheaper. Delivery time takes 6 days. I just bought another lens last week with no hassles whatsoever.

[mitchy]

i wouldn't bother with the 50 1.4, it might only be "an extra few hundred bucks" but the 1.8 is only $100 as it is, and is plenty good.
i've got a 18-135 from my 7D kit that i've never used for sale as well.

JB hifi wont price match grey imports either.
also people talking about no taxes and having item values being written down "wrong". what happens if the parcel goes missing, does insurance only cover you (if it even has it) for the written value?
i'd rather pay the extra to know my few grand worth of gear was covered.

[mr_rotary]

also people talking about no taxes and having item values being written down "wrong". what happens if the parcel goes missing, does insurance only cover you (if it even has it) for the written value?
i'd rather pay the extra to know my few grand worth of gear was covered.No taxes and values written down "wrong" are two seperate issues. Once again with choosing Topbuy, no dodgy values and shipping was with UPS with insurance already included. All spelt out on the website pages of whatever you are buying on the bottom. Also what put me off DWI although I also have had 2 friends purchase with them with no issues.

Another thing, they will reduce the price for cash or you can purchase with a Paypal account. You also accumilate points so with my last lens purchase, I got around $20 off the price.

[mod]

I must be lucky the alst few time I've bought camera gear on ebay,
DWI put my nikon 24-70 lens for $960 AU on the front to avoid any import duties even tho the acutual cost was $1.6k AU lulz

again same with my nikon D7k body was $1k AU from T-dimension (ebay seller, also very good - 3day delivery and warranty freight cost back to supplier is already paid for free) they knocked it down to $900 on the invoice for customs.

[thrtytwo]

Yeh i read a few reviews and between the 1.8 and the 1.4 50mm the biggest difference is in build quality. And if you break a 1.8 you can buy 3 more and not cost the same as a 1.4.

From what I read, image quality is much the same, except 1.4 has better bokeh due to more aperture blades

If only I could justify the 1.2L

If I were to buy a body only, is there a good all rounder lens for around $800-1k

Happy to spend the cash I'm saving on the body :D

[thrtytwo]

Also worth mentioning I photo mostly landscapes, nature, cars and street photography. Not really portraits.

[thrtytwo]

thinking;

http://www.digitalrev.com/en/canon-ef-24-105-f4-l-is-usm-lens-for-dslr-camera (http://www.digitalrev.com/en/canon-ef-24-105-f4-l-is-usm-lens-for-dslr-camera)

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS USM

looks like a pretty good all rounder, and with a 50mm as well, I reckon I'd be pretty much sorted

[mitchy]

a word of warning... once you buy L glass, you wont go back.

[thrtytwo]

Haha thanks for heads up!

tbh I see this as a long term investment, once I buy something like this I wont be upgrading any time soon at all

With that thought in mind I did consider just buying a 550/600D for now with some nice lenses, and upgrading the body to a 5D in a year or two. But I think I'll be happy enough with the 7D to not bother upgrading.

[thrtytwo]

Hmmm now thinking about biting the bullet and jumping straight into a 5D MkII.

Harvey Norman has 20% off DSLRs so I could pick up a body for $2400 locally. Best price I seen online was $2200. For $200 more id be happy with the peace of mind knowing it wouldnt be a fuck about if something broke and I had to send it back.

But Canon are supposed to be announcing something November 3rd. If its something that effects the prices in any way I'd kick myself.

[OmEg_A7]

Just saw this on cannon rumors, might be worth holding out a bit longer on the new body if your considering a 5D2..

http://www.canonrumors.com/2011/09/big-5d-mark-ii-price-drops-in-canada-usa/

[thrtytwo]

wow, thanks for that, definitely worth waiting a bit then.

I think I've decided to get the 5D MkII / 24-105mm f4 L IS USM kit

Hopefully the price drop will be reflected there too.

Bet price online (from a site that doesn't look dodgy as shit) is about 3k including shipping, with a 1 year AUS warranty!

considering the body alone is 3k in Aus, that's pretty good, I think that lens retails for about 1.6k too. So worth 4.6k retail!

[thrtytwo]

So I think the price drops may have just hit oz.

JB HI-FI have the 5D 24-105mm kit for $3.3k. Best price I seen for grey was about $3k and you gamble with import duty. If you get hit with GST the price would be identical!

http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/digital-cameras/digital-camera-slr/canon-eos-5d-mark-ii-21mp-digital-slr-camera-premium-kit/436106