Finally, cheap cameras in Australian shops

[dr croubie]

JB-Hifi have started selling grey-import DSLRs, at prices closer to the rest of the world.
7D body $1348 (That's about what I paid in Europe for it) (compare at Teds $1800)
5D2 body $2187, with 24-105L $3089
niftyfifty $96
EFs 15-85 $729
EFs 10-22 $769

Surely there's some online places that sells cheaper, but JB is an actual brick shop, and their marketing power means the big brands will actually sit up and take notice. Nikon already has, and they've come up with the most pitiful 5-point excuses for us paying up to 50% more than other countries.
"Not the right manual".
Pffffffft. I bought my camera in Holland, got a dutch, german, french, and italian manual. I downloaded the english manual from the canon website, as I did for firmware updates.
And we all know grey-market in the usa gets accepted for warranty purchases with proof of purchase.



In slightly maybe-related news, when I went to look for examples of 'high' local prices, I first thought of Teds, but I did find a nice surprise there, they're selling refurbs with the line "Canon remarketed stock: This stock is returned dealer stock that has been serviced by Canon. All stock includes a Canon 12 Month Warranty. Stock is limited. Remarketed stock available Online or at our Melbourne City store ONLY."
For comparison, a 7D-body at $1620 is still higher than a new one at JB now, but it's nice to have the choice, and they'll come down eventually, it's only a matter of time now...

 

[scottsdaleriots]

what do you mean when you say jb's an "actual brick shop"? I don't get it. Did you find out about jb's warranty T&C? I'm so-so about grey imports or 'grey market', I want to buy 'grey' stuff coz it's cheaper but then I get squirmy coz of the no australian warranty, etc crap. Especially if it's an L lens. I spose it also greatly depends on which jb store yo're talking about, e.g. a melb store and a sydney store. And it depends on the suburb you live in, some of these stores do mark up their prices - lying greedy b*****ds.

Ted's are bad, I don't recommend them even the city store (where I bought my 70-200 2.8 IS II lens). Long story cut short, all they gave me as a "bonus" was a tiny pack of 50 pieces of tissue paper!!! WTF am I supposed to do with that? I also specially ordered a hoya filter as well, spent well over $3400 last year at their store and you know what? I had an extended 35 day or whatever "refund guarantee" with them coz it was almost xmas (past xmas when I bought it) I went back 2.5 weeks later to get an exchange coz my lens' zoom ring was and still is STIFF! Much stiff than the focussing ring, it ain't smooth. They guy lied to my face and said no after making up a story on that's how the lens should feel.

The things is IMO so many of these camera stores if not all are all about sales! Business is about that I get it, but seriously. Photography is a freaken expensive hobby/career/interest. DOn't get me started on printing at professional labs.

In saying all ^ that I think consumer cameras (even lenses) are cheap as! You can get good bargins.

EDIT: reading that jb link, i realise it's online-only. Funny thing is that they don't provide a link to the jb "direct-to-customers" website. Can you link me? I'm interested - just to have a look around. Ironic about jb's reasons for having grey imports then also saying how important it is to support local businesses and to buy products locally, ha.

 

[niccyboy]

JB hifi Melbourne city store is good.. i deal with Nick the manager there... they always look after me and give me close to or cost price, they like people that know what they are doing.

Teds are AWFUL, apart from the PRO department... the old bloke Steve upstairs is great, and knows his shit. We spent over 100k with him there this year setting up a job for a client, and they made it comparable to online. I even bought a lowepro bag from him on Friday for 350 instead of 550... that's ebay prices.

Michaels are stupidly expensive but very knowledgable. Camera House is horrid because it is so commission based that they just hassle you.

Are JB HIFI's grey import prices available in store or online only? The reason i ask is if a product is under 1000 they can avoid the GST online if they ship it from overseas.

 

[dr croubie]

Whereas I really like the Twin City camera house guys in Adelaide, went in there one sunday afternoon, no other customers, and had a chat for about an hour about tripods and stuff (even though my first words were "i'm not buying anything, I just want to pick your brains"). Tried the same in Photographic Wholesalers and they couldn't have ignored me any more, never even bothering to walk back there.

http://www.jbhifi.com.au/direct-import/faq/ should answer most things, from what I've read:
- It's drop-shipped straight from overseas, if customs find it then you have to pay.
- delivery charge is per item, they won't put 2 things in one box (probably because it's drop-shipped from wherever they find it)
- "All Direct Import products are covered by the JB Hi-Fi warranty which is detailed in the JB Hi-Fi Returns Policy and the additional conditions in the Terms and Conditions. Your product can be conveniently returned to a JB Hi-Fi store for a remedy or, if you are not able to do this, you can visit www.jbhifi.com.au/contact-us/" so return it to them, not canon directly.
- "Pricing of “Direct Import” products is very volatile and subject to daily and weekly fluctuations of the Australian Dollar with other international currencies."

http://www.jbhifi.com.au/photo/digital-cameras/camera-lens/direct-import/ - note that there's not the biggest range atm, they're just getting started, but conveniently all the lenses are below the magical $1000 mark...

 

[scottsdaleriots]

Thanks for the links. I want a prime - one of the 50mm's, they've got the 1.4 for $394 + $17 for delivery. Do you think it's worth it? I'm always a bit suss when it comes to grey market/imports, especially since the warranty isn't valid here. B&H have the 1.4 lens cheapest outta Amazon and Adorama, but their shipping rates are ridiculously expensive.

Ted's are bad - the salesguy who I bought my 70-200 lens from said that both Michael's and Camera House sell grey import/market gear. Seemed a bit of a white lie, I dunno if it's true or not but I got the impression he said that so it would deter me from leaving and taking my business with them. Are students allowed to go into the Pro department? I'm studying photography next year and would like to get more gear but want to avoid dealing with awful sales reps downstairs.

I agree, Michael's are expensive as but they have a broad range of gear. Camera House definitely hound you, plus it's so tiny! Everything's squished together, everytime I'm in there I can barely move.

 

[liberace]

Australian consumer protection law is very strong. I doubt it would be easy or possible for JB Hi-Fi or even Canon to wriggle out of providing a reasonable warranty, regardless of whether the camera/lens is grey-market or not.

 

[Flynnyfalcon]

Until Australian stores wake up to the colluding rort, they call business, I will continue to purchase OS. In the last couple of years, I would have saved $15K+ buying OS and feel no shame in doing so. Sadly I wish I felt otherwise, but they have been taking the piss for far too long. If they can explain to me the added expense/benefit in purchasing locally, I'm all ears... until then...

 

[niccyboy]

I bought a 8-15 fisheye in store the other day mind you for 1600... That's Internet prices!

 

[Hillsilly]

I saw this a couple of weeks ago and thought it was great - especially for the smaller, lower cost items. Just note that the prices don't include GST. Therefore items over $1,000 will be subjust to customs duty and GST, which will add another 15% to the price.

If you factor in these costs, the prices aren't that different to some of my local brick and mortar shops in Brisbane selling Australian stock. Eg Photocontinental has the 5Dii at $2,580.

 

[scottsdaleriots]

Until Australian stores wake up to the colluding rort, they call business, I will continue to purchase OS. In the last couple of years, I would have saved $15K+ buying OS and feel no shame in doing so. Sadly I wish I felt otherwise, but they have been taking the piss for far too long. If they can explain to me the added expense/benefit in purchasing locally, I'm all ears... until then...

Really? I thought if it was grey market/an import that Canon AUstralia had the right to ignore the warranty. That has seriously been the #1 (or at least one of the top 3 reasons) I don't buy grey market/imports even though the low prices are pretty tempting. That's interesting

 

[pj1974]

Hi friends... I'd like to share my perspectives about buying photographic equipment in Australia... & prices, etc

But first, before I get into that (the 'service experience & purchasing') with regard to grey market - here is an interesting post on the topic that's probably worth reading:
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php/topic,1725.msg29110.html#msg29110

I've bought a few grey market lenses & a number of accessories online - and have tested each when I received them. Where a defect would show (or a 'lemon copy' - ie not within manufacturers' specifications) I would attempt to return it. Thankfully I haven't needed to! Online service, shipping and so on has been good with those I've used (eg ddphotographics, and a number of others).

Ok so on to 'local buying'. I have a degree in marketing and part of my career I have developed and facilitated customer service training modules to major service organisations (eg international car hire companies, government services, hospitality). I've always taken good service very seriously and am critical of bad service, and am happy to compliment outstanding staff. In my current job I'm a manager of a federal government team - particularly focussed in resolving service issues and systemic service improvement.

Currently I live in Adelaide, South Australia. In the past I've lived for several years in Europe (London, UK as well as Eastern Europe - eg Romania). My first DSLR (Canon 350D) I bought in Europe (from a store in London, and I pre-ordered it online - so the staff held it for me as I was travelling some distance to get there). I've bought a number of lenses and accessories (eg filters, batteries, memory, etc) around that time too - from a few different stores. Also bought my first tripod (a very cheap version) in Romania.

Since moving back to Australia about 5 years ago, I've purchased other camera gear (a number of lenses, a Canon 7D, accessories eg camera bags, better tripod, memory cards, batteries, flash, remote / interval timer, etc). Quite often I'll go to a camera store to see what products different stores are stocking, and what their prices are - and sometimes to talk with camera store staff about the latest products (eg in a lunch hour, or weekend time). I use the internet to be upto date on the latest products that are being annouced and being sold.

My experience has been that in some stores you will get a staff member who knows very little (eg about 20%) of what I do about a particular product (or line / range of products). Eg... they will say "All cameras from Brand X have very poor image quality out of the camera, everything looks soft and the colour is dull, no matter what you do. Brand Y are much better". (Big generalisations, and they include all P&S and DSLRs in their 'statement'). Sometimes I play along for the fun. There might be another staff member in the store who knows what they're talking about (and then I engage in serious discussion). I'm talking about staff in Jessups & CameraWorld (in UK) as well as Teds, JBHiFi, Diamonds, Camera House & Photographic Wholesalers in Australia.

In my personal experience, I've found some stores have a higher 'average product knowledge' than others, and I've found staff in dedicated photography stores generally have more accurate knowledge. Some stores also seem to have more of a pushy / commission based approach. Here in Adelaide I have had some good conversations with 1 or 2 staff in Teds (Rundle Street), and Diamonds camera (both Rundle Street and TTP), as well as Photographic Wholesalers in Hutt Street. (BTW, Photographic Wholesalers is a differently branded outlet, but the same company as Diamonds Cameras in Adelaide).

There are a few key staff that I now look out for in Diamonds TTP and Photographic Wholesalers, and when I am walking by, if they're in and available - I'll speak with them. I have returned 1 Canon lens in the UK and 1 Sigma lens in Australia (due to minor, but noticable optical quality issues) and I just showed what I felt were below acceptable levels, and each time the experience went well. I also had my flash refusing to go up on my 7D which was serviced under warrantee (it's a noted design problem with some Canon DSLRs) without any issues.

On several purchase occasions in store, I've had good deals - where I've demonstrated I'm a loyal customer (or purchased bundles), and often staff have been helpful in informing me when new stock has arrived.

I'm very pleased with the reduction in the price of goods in Australia. I almost did a double take to see the 7D camera selling for around $1350 in a few places in Australia (eg the online @ JBHi-Fi). I bought the 7D when it was only a few months old for substantially more than that... but I don't regret it (a great camera, and I've taken tens-of-thousands of photos in the meantime!)

Hopefully it will continue to give us good value for money options in 'bricks and mortar' stores, as well as online. I'm willing to buy online & even from overseas for good deals - and have bought a number of items online (lenses, accessories, etc) - but generally prefer the 'in store experience' and 'return options'.

Well... that's a long enough post from me! Hope it's been a useful read.

Paul

 

[PeterJ]

I also had my flash refusing to go up on my 7D which was serviced under warrantee (it's a noted design problem with some Canon DSLRs) without any issues.

Nice post Paul, I agree with your sentiments and my experiences are largely the same. A little OT but the single problem I've had with my 7D flash (out of warranty) was after setting it up pointing straight down then trying to pop the flash to use as a wireless trigger while it was tethered. After I retrieved it and held horizontally giving a very gentle pry while pressing the button it came right after a few attempts and I've never had a problem since.

It made me think that maybe something in the mechanism doesn't like being opened while facing downwards, something I'd never done before personally but I guess some may do for personal preference before taking a shot. Anyway not saying that was the cause in your case, and I would have also used the warranty if available but I'll be sure in the future to always make sure I only pop up the flash when fairly horizontal.

In my case it wasn't the microswitch problem, I could hear the motor turning but not getting anywhere.

 

[niccyboy]

My 7d pop up got jammed up and could only be opened with my pocket knife after a few hairy photojournalism gigs in Kashmir recently. I took it in to camera clinic and they repaired it... i don't really use the pop up but i like my camera working properly.

Paul, nice post....

I don't really listen too much to the sales people.. the internet is such a good resource for knowing the quality of the product through reviews etc. Camera sales assistants aren't necessarily brilliant or skilled photographers... yet they do know what has been returned and what they have had issues with.

My theory is if i can find it in a local store for within 10% of the price i can get it online... i'll just buy it in store... saves hassles and waiting... i've bought my gear from all over... mostly on impulse... but always knowing what the product was worth and reading what the product issues were... my only failure is my 24-105 which is soft.. and i've been too lazy to get it fixed, instead using my primes and 24-70.

 

[scottsdaleriots]

I enrolled in my course today and learnt that the first year is $10,000! that's more expensive than a large majority of other uni course fees. it doesnt include material costs either. they're forcing us to buy a FF camera, cant use crop only 35mm. I'm holding out for the 5dmkIII, IF i have to buy a 5dmkII it'll be a grey import for sure.

i'd had a glance at your post paul and wow what a long post. shall read it tomorrow

 

[recon photography]

I enrolled in my course today and learnt that the first year is $10,000! that's more expensive than a large majority of other uni course fees. it doesnt include material costs either. they're forcing us to buy a FF camera, cant use crop only 35mm. I'm holding out for the 5dmkIII, IF i have to buy a 5dmkII it'll be a grey import for sure.

i'd had a glance at your post paul and wow what a long post. shall read it tomorrow

what course and where?

 

[Pyrenees]

Until Australian stores wake up to the colluding rort, they call business, I will continue to purchase OS. In the last couple of years, I would have saved $15K+ buying OS and feel no shame in doing so. Sadly I wish I felt otherwise, but they have been taking the piss for far too long. If they can explain to me the added expense/benefit in purchasing locally, I'm all ears... until then...

I very much agree with this. Ultimately, we as consumers have to make a lot more 'noise'. That means writing to the camera companies, to blogs and to politicians. We need to keep chipping away at it - it won't just happen overnight.

 

[pj1974]

Hi PeterJ and niccyboy

Thanks for your comments / replies on my lonnnnggg post I appreciate what each of you has written in relation to this. It seems like we're on the same boat... generally go with what you know, and some store staff might help you with some (extra) info - but don't bank on it. :

Where a product is available significantly cheaper eg online, it can be worth getting it if one is prepared to wait. I've never had issues importing lenses and accessories from other countries.

The only problem I've ever had with my 7D was that 'built in flash' not popping up (after using a speedlite). I researched and discovered it as a problem with some Canon camera bodies... and tried to get the microswitch to get 'unstuck' (without voiding the warrantee). It wouldn't get unstuck, so I got it repaired (for free, and it took about 2 to 3 weeks, as it needed to be sent interstate). I'm glad I had my 350D as a backup

Interestingly the 350D never has this problem. My 7D has got stuck once or twice since the repair (and they did replace the whole flash assembly / mount area). This getting a bit 'restuck' has happened when I have a flash (or my remote timer house mounted on it), but each time with a slight push down on the underside of the mount, it releases the microswitch and will pop up). Hopefully that won't cause future issues.

For time-lapse photography, I use my 350D (which is probably just as good, as it actually has just as clean, if not cleaner ISO 100 shots anyway). So I mount my interval timer / remote housing on the 350D instead.

Cheers!

Paul

 

[niccyboy]

Hi Paul,

Yeah we definitely are, although my accountants and bookkeepers just shake their heads when i drop receipts on their desk far too often from far too many different retailers haha. They don't understand my addiction.

While i'm not a big fan of my 7d, i love the feel, colours, noise and the length of the lenses in my full frame cameras.... HOWEVER...

re: cleaner ISO 100 shots... with the 7d... try setting your iso at 160.

I find the results are better on 160 with both the 7d and 5d2, i read it on a few forums, and i've had good experiences with it.

See
http://photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00Yita
http://blog.peter-johnson.com.au/?p=264
http://shootintheshot.joshsilfen.com/2010/05/13/canon-hd-dslr-native-iso/ (video)

then those that speak negatively
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=922906
http://vimeo.com/groups/magiclantern/forumthread:237731 (video)

I got good results doing it on a few long exposures in the himalayas recently.

 

[scottsdaleriots]

If only jb would start selling flashes. Has anyone had experience but lenses/flashes from harvey norman? Not camera, I'm just interested in flashes/lenses from them. They do have a low price guarantee policy but have limited product (lens) range.

 

[AG]

Whereas I really like the Twin City camera house guys in Adelaide, went in there one sunday afternoon, no other customers, and had a chat for about an hour about tripods and stuff (even though my first words were "i'm not buying anything, I just want to pick your brains"). Tried the same in Photographic Wholesalers and they couldn't have ignored me any more, never even bothering to walk back there.

Strange i had the exact opposite happen to me. But then again i had just spent over $25k on cameras for work (bunch of 600Ds).

Either way i think its just a matter of what day and person, sometimes they can be friendly sometimes they can't. Its the same with any retail place really. Especially here in Adelaide.