Digital Rev!

[SilverSnake]

Got my 5DMKIII from DR, arrived in 3 days to UK saved nearly £700 over UK prices with a a 24-105mm and 100mm Macro. Came with all UK standard kit etc great service IMO.

Is that including import fees and such, or did you manage to get around that somehow? If it's possible to buy gear from them without having to pay local sales tax or import dues then that would be mighty interesting!

 

[Scott_McPhee]

I was looking at DR when I was purchasing my 5D3.
Cheap prices but the lack of a UK warranty for something so expensive and time critical to me put me off buying from them.

The Kai show is entertaining, but I stick to UK based companies.

 

[NetDog]

I believe that HDEW Camera's in the UK offer similar prices, but you also get Canon UK warranty as the camera's are purchased in the UK. (HDEW is seen by Canon as a UK company)

I have only heard good things about them....

... and no, I don't work for them or have any connection to them!

 

[tyrant]

this is the guys blog http://www.prettyinwhite.com/digital-rev-hey-thats-my-camera/

looks like digitalrev took care of him and did the right thing.

 

[cervantes]

In the comments to the OP's link someone says something like those DRev guys don't even know the difference between a dSLR and DSLR. Me neither.

Does anyone have an idea what the difference is?

 

[tomscott]

I was looking at DR when I was purchasing my 5D3.
Cheap prices but the lack of a UK warranty for something so expensive and time critical to me put me off buying from them.

The Kai show is entertaining, but I stick to UK based companies.

The Warranty thing is rubbish too. Typical scaremongering.

They offer a full year international warranty which can be extended to three and have a UK base where you send them for warranty repair. Export to the UK is a big part of their business, if they didnt offer support they would get trashed on the internet which is what happened in the early days now they are an international business so must offer support. Mine was a UK spec camera anyway, the first camera I bought from them in 2006 (40D) was not it was a chinese version with a chinese battery charger, but a quick call and they sent me a UK replacement for free. They have expanded exponentially since then with it being 7 years ago, and as such my 5DMKIII 24-105mm and 100mm L arrived in full UK spec with all documentation and sealed.

The price you pay Digital Rev includes UK import tax it says so when you go to check out. Therefore you have no issue with customs and hidden charges. If anything your just as protected as UK companies except you get the significant cost difference. £700 is another lens if you can afford to have to find another £700 for a lens then go for it. For me as an up and coming photographer every penny counts.

Obviously places like calumet are the best places to go if you are in the UK. You wont get the same protection as if you bought from them but Calumet are the most expensive in the UK also the most professional.

Like I said this is my second camera from them and I have had no issues what so ever.

Service I have received has been fantastic, and the delivery time of 3 days with free postage awesome. That was jsut before Christmas too.

If you can afford to spend the extra money then I suppose ye... go waste your money. Most of us pros have somewhere local you send your kit for service and repair so that has never been a problem for me.

They are driving prices down in the UK which is not a bad thing! Electronics are hugely over inflated in the UK compared to America, in the UK you pay the same number as the american equivalent but obviously the dollar is worth about 2/3s the pound. Rip off.

Here is a link to more info on the warranty although the ebay side of the business. It states once purchased and payment accepted you get a 1 year warranty.

http://ww3.digitalrev.com/ebay/guide/uk/warranty.asp

From the website

http://www.digitalrev.com/help/terms-of-product-warranty/NDE_A

 

[Dick]

You guys make it sound like the warranty would be the most important thing. I get why this is, but then if I look at my purchases of all things I've ever bought, I can't remember the last time I ever needed a warranty. What are the odds for needing it? I guess it makes sense to play safe, but the real wins in life come with risks. Items usually break right when the warranty period is over. Just got my watch serviced 2 years and 1 month after purchase and it had a 2-year warranty.

 

[tomscott]

Ye I agree but I suppose for a lot of people £2-2500 for a camera is a massive purchase to have no comeback, from a business point of view its the bread and butter, failures happen and they get hammered which is why knowing a repairer is important and someone you know is much more trustworthy.

My pro kit is insured too so if the worst happens thats what its there for.

But I agree in my experience Canon cameras are like tanks. Had two 40D well over 150k actuations and apart from a sticky button where I had been in the sahara where it was incredibly dusty then back in rainy Cumbria where the camera got drenched and the shutter button started sticking. Bit of alcohol sorted that a treat.

Other than that nothing, and the 40D isnt a pro spec camera. I expect the 5D to be more resistant.

 

[Rienzphotoz]

I was looking at DR when I was purchasing my 5D3.
Cheap prices but the lack of a UK warranty for something so expensive and time critical to me put me off buying from them.

The Kai show is entertaining, but I stick to UK based companies.

Clearly you have not added anything to digital rev basket or have not read their warranty / shipment details ... for shipments to UK for 5D MK III they clearly state the following:
PS. The price is with 24-105 lens and a few other small items bundled ... for body only I think it is 2059

 

[Rienzphotoz]

Got my 5DMKIII from DR, arrived in 3 days to UK saved nearly £700 over UK prices with a a 24-105mm and 100mm Macro. Came with all UK standard kit etc great service IMO.

Is that including import fees and such, or did you manage to get around that somehow? If it's possible to buy gear from them without having to pay local sales tax or import dues then that would be mighty interesting!

According to Digitalrev:
"No Import Tax/Duty to Pay:
Any import tax/duty charged will be billed directly us".
Also, Shipment is Free and they provide Local UK Warranty ... read their terms and conditions for more details.
You will find that info when you add your items in the "Shopping Basket"
But sometimes digitalrev prices are far more than buying from B&H and paying for shipping ... it depends from product to product ... I always check the prices between Digitalrev & B&H (Adorama if its a Nikon item as B&H does not ship Nikon gear to Middle East)

 

[Harry Muff]

Why bother with DigitalRev when ProCamerashop is cheaper and based in the U.K?

 

[zim]

Why bother with DigitalRev when ProCamerashop is cheaper and based in the U.K?

Good shout. I like DRev but on the shopping list I'm looking at I would be saving £153 going PCS. I've been watching DRev prices for some time now and yes they are a lot cheaper than UK shops but they are going up.

I've not bought from ProCamerashop anyone have any experience?

 

[zim]

mmmm........

Maybe not so safe, makes their web site look rather misleading now:

Domain name:
procamerashop.co.uk

Registrant:
Smart Choice Photo Ltd

Trading as:
ProCameraShop

Registrant type:
Non-UK Corporation

Registrant's address:
1223 Trans HK Commercial Building, 41 - 43 Carnarvon Road
Kowloon
Tsimshatsui
NA
Hong Kong

Registrar:
Webfusion Ltd t/a 123-reg [Tag = 123-REG]
URL: http://www.123-reg.co.uk

 

[MadHungarian]

Well i just had a less-than-ideal experience myself with my first order to digitalrev...

I decided that for some reason i needed an M3 and a couple lenses. Don't ask why -- there's not really any sane reason for it. And unfortunately, digitalrev seems to be the only real game in town for this sort of stuff for USA customers, as far as i can tell.

So i try to place an order, and my creditcard company immediately goes into a fraud-alert frenzy, rejects the transaction, and also places a fraud lock on my card. Okay, so i eventually get that taken care of with my bank. And I do eventually manage to place an order for a couple white-box EF-M lenses. So they show up okay. One of them was new, and the other one was relatively new but had clearly been mounted on a camera before and the front element had to be cleaned a little. Well, i guess that's the risks you take with random white-box stuff.

So then a few days later i place a second order (for the M3 itself). But the next day digitalrev cancels my order because they say they can't verify that my shipping address is legit or something. But they'd already delivered the first order, and also isn't it just a simple google query these days to see that person X lives at that address, if you have any concerns?

So now digitalrev insists that i send supporting documentation proving that i really live at that address. Like a copy of driver's license or something. Well it'll be a cold day in %#%!@ before i send that sort of thing to some random chinese company!

Anyone else had issues ordering from those folks? Or any suggestions?

 

[Hjalmarg1]

Haven't bought from these guys before but had only heard good things - until this...

http://www.news.com.au/technology/biztech/camera-company-digitalrev-busted-selling-used-cameras-sold-as-new-online/story-fn5lic6c-1226580348144

I have only bought cheap items from them and not a single problem

 

[Random Orbits]

Well i just had a less-than-ideal experience myself with my first order to digitalrev...

I decided that for some reason i needed an M3 and a couple lenses. Don't ask why -- there's not really any sane reason for it. And unfortunately, digitalrev seems to be the only real game in town for this sort of stuff for USA customers, as far as i can tell.

So i try to place an order, and my creditcard company immediately goes into a fraud-alert frenzy, rejects the transaction, and also places a fraud lock on my card. Okay, so i eventually get that taken care of with my bank. And I do eventually manage to place an order for a couple white-box EF-M lenses. So they show up okay. One of them was new, and the other one was relatively new but had clearly been mounted on a camera before and the front element had to be cleaned a little. Well, i guess that's the risks you take with random white-box stuff.

So then a few days later i place a second order (for the M3 itself). But the next day digitalrev cancels my order because they say they can't verify that my shipping address is legit or something. But they'd already delivered the first order, and also isn't it just a simple google query these days to see that person X lives at that address, if you have any concerns?

So now digitalrev insists that i send supporting documentation proving that i really live at that address. Like a copy of driver's license or something. Well it'll be a cold day in %#%!@ before i send that sort of thing to some random chinese company!

Anyone else had issues ordering from those folks? Or any suggestions?

I haven't had any problems. I've used them 2-3 different times. The tracking they provide is useless, but I've never had any problems getting the order in.

 

[martti]

I got stuff from them more than once. Never problems. I did not realize they have their own shop outside eBay now. Not that I need to buy anything, either.

As for the OP, he should just get a new one with Digitalrev taking care of the freight.
Or a refund. This is very bad for their business and I am sure they will bend backwards to make it right.

 

[martti]

Kai lost a few rep points there for sure.

You really think the production crew has anything to do with the online store? Kai did what Kai does - he's not supposed to treat the equipment like it's going to be sold as new afterwards. It's the store's fault for letting the review camera back into their inventory. Probably an honest mistake, but a potentially costly one.

In business world Kai is the face of DigitalRev. He personifies the company. The company goofs, the market says it is Kai's company, it is his fault. This is how people think. In the States a weather man had rubber boots thrown at him because it rained on a football game. Like he was in charge of the anticyclones going this way and that.

Kai has pretty brilliant stuff there...I did not even realize there is a shop there as well!

 

[candc]

I had a bad experience with them. Had some issues with a sigma 18-35; cistomer support was awful. Slow and cryptic. Was then told the return period had expired and that only unopened items could be returned or exchanged. Never again.

 

[bereninga]

I had a bad experience with them. Had some issues with a sigma 18-35; cistomer support was awful. Slow and cryptic. Was then told the return period had expired and that only unopened items could be returned or exchanged. Never again.

Whoa, that is really sh!tty. I def will be staying away from purchasing from them.