Imported vs. USA Lenses?

[justsomedude]

Looking at B&H Photo's site, I see they sometimes have two versions of a lens listed; a USA model and an "imported" version that is usually a little cheaper.

What is the difference between the two?

[neuroanatomist]

The import version is 'gray market' meaning no warranty coverage through Canon USA.  B&H provides their own coverage, so if the lens breaks you need to send it to them instead of Canon (although reportedly, Canon USA will honor the warranty for grey market purchases with proof of purchase.

More info from B&H: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/USGrey.jsp

[SPG]

Grey market used to make more sense when the currency exchange was an issue. These days I don't see enough of a difference to make it especially worthwhile. My guess as to why they still offer it is because B&H gets quite a few international customers visiting their store who can't really take much advantage of the CanonUSA warranty anyway.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Looking at B&H Photo's site, I see they sometimes have two versions of a lens listed; a USA model and an "imported" version that is usually a little cheaper.

What is the difference between the two?

USA models are imported by Canon North America carry a USA/Canadian warranty.  The Gray market models were imported by a different Canon division into a different country and do not carry a US warranty.  They may not have a English Manual, but most of the lens manuals are multi lingual.  The CD/DVD manuals may be multilingual too.
 
However, if you bought your gray market lens from a authorized Canon distributor like B&H, Canon USA has been known to honor the warranty.  If you buy them from a non Canon USA authorized distributor, you will have to deal with your seller to get a warranty.  Some provide a third party warranty. 

[ScottyP]

Or perhaps one could think of them as the more "genuine" lenses, coming , as they do, straight from the Canon mothership in Asia.