[Kevin]

I have a 3 month holiday from work this winter (yes I love my job) and Im planning a "little" trip.
This trip will take me to Austria, Thailand and then New Zeeland for the following 3 months starting this saturday.

Now ive been planning to get a nice wide angle lenz for my Canon EOS 400d ( I think you call it a Rebel XTi) to replace the piece of crap kit lenz that came with it.
Does anyone know how prices on glass are in Asia compared to the rest of the world? From what Ive heard its cheap but I wanna make sure its worth waiting for because waiting means Ill have to shoot my snowboard trip with the kitlenz...

Thanks!

 

[Arkayne]

Taken from bhphoto.com

About USA and GREY MARKET (DIRECT IMPORT) Products

Items marked "USA" are imported and/or distributed by the manufacturer or the manufacturer's official licensed importer/distributor and are warranted by them. Items marked "IMP" are imported and/or distributed by other entities and are warranted by B&H Photo-Video. "IMP" products do not qualify for manufacturer's rebate programs. There is no difference in the item itself.

 

[Kevin]

Did I mention I live in Europe?

So basically what Im buying over there will not be warranteed if it breaks when Im back home?

 

[Arkayne]

Did I mention I live in Europe?

So basically what Im buying over there will not be warranteed if it breaks when Im back home?

Yoinks, I didn't look at your location! That said, I'm not sure how it works for the euro market.

 

[Kevin]

Yoinks, I didn't look at your location! That said, I'm not sure how it works for the euro market.

Thanks anyways mate

 

[narlus]

i would imagine it's the same...ask someone on POTN, i'm sure you will get an answer from a european.

 

[Kevin]

Thanks! I might sign up and ask there if no one knows here.
Offcourse I will be buying the gear when Im in Thailand, I wont be importing it...
And as long as its really cheap I can get over the warrantee thing. It would be like buying new stuff on Ebay or something.

 

[IH8Rice]

have fun in thailand, my parents and aunt/uncle just got back from there. my aunt and uncle were trapped there for a week during their half-ass coup.

check with canon europe on their warranty policy. most manufacturers will still honor the warranty, even if you bought it in thailand

 

[Transcend]

Canon is extremely strict about gray market and foreign warranties. Even if they tell you they will, you may get a nasty surprise if you actually try an service it.

Europe gets a longer and better warranty than anywhere else on the planet due to consumer protection laws, you pay more partially due to this.

 

[Kevin]

have fun in thailand, my parents and aunt/uncle just got back from there. my aunt and uncle were trapped there for a week during their half-ass coup.

check with canon europe on their warranty policy. most manufacturers will still honor the warranty, even if you bought it in thailand

Im aware of this and if it hasnt settled down by then we will probably go to Maleisia or Vietnam instead. As long as its on the way to New Zeeland.
Traveling agencys are allready giving the safe sign here so Im not too worried about it.

Different storys on the warrentee side so Ill sign up to the POTN forums just to make sure and to ask if they know anything about prices there.

Thanks a bunch!!

 

[Kevin]

Also, can anyone recomend me a wide angle lenz?
Im just a hobby photog so it doesnt have to be reaaally fancy, just needs to be good enough to take pictures of Boarding, biking and some achritecture/wildlife whatever when Im on vacation...

Thanks

 

[narlus]

Also, can anyone recomend me a wide angle lenz?
Im just a hobby photog so it doesnt have to be reaaally fancy, just needs to be good enough to take pictures of Boarding, biking and some achritecture/wildlife whatever when Im on vacation...

Thanks

replace the piece of crap kit lenz that came with it.

the kit lens is by far yr cheapest option. i've seen some great images taken using this lens...check for yrself:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=445986

 

[Kevin]

I know you can take pretty pictures with it, but its not really suitable for darker areas with objects that require faster shutterspeeds. Like a downhillrider in a forest.
My knowledge is pretty limited but this is what I understand of it and heard of other EOS 400d users and read on a Dutch forum.
Its also 18-55mm which isnt really ideal for the pics I want to take.

I can take some ok pictures with the kitlens but I want something better for what I want to do with it.
Please correct me if im wrong in any of my thoughts...

Heres what I did with the 18-55mm kitlens.

Hope this helps

 

[Transcend]

First off, don't take anything you hear over at POTN as correct information. There are some smart people there, but most of them do not fall into this category.

Speak to your canon distributor. Then really consider who much possibly not having a warranty is worth to you. If you are saving $50 maybe not worth it. If you are saving a few hundred, maybe worth taking the chance.

Canon in general is very strict about their warranties.

 

[Kevin]

First off, don't take anything you hear over at POTN as correct information. There are some smart people there, but most of them do not fall into this category.

Speak to your canon distributor. Then really consider who much possibly not having a warranty is worth to you. If you are saving $50 maybe not worth it. If you are saving a few hundred, maybe worth taking the chance.

Canon in general is very strict about their warranties.

Yeah i was hoping for the couple hundred at least since prices are very high in Europe compared to the rest of the world...
Ill try and talk to someone from Canon about this.

Thanks

 

[Transcend]

Yup. Part of this reason is the extra warranty you are afforded however. In north America we only get a 1 year warranty on anything. You guys get 2 or 3 times that, so there is some extra cost assigned by the manufacturer in your area.

 

[narlus]

First off, don't take anything you hear over at POTN as correct information. There are some smart people there, but most of them do not fall into this category.

that's true of any user community group, regardless of topic. that said, i'd say that in general POTN is definitely one of the higher quality ones.

I know you can take pretty pictures with it, but its not really suitable for darker areas with objects that require faster shutterspeeds. Like a downhillrider in a forest.

for a downhiller in a forest you'd want off-camera flash, so speed of lens wouldn't matter.

if you are looking for a f/2.8 zoom that's a wide angle, your choices are very limited and expensive.

 

[Kevin]

So i would be better of using a remote flash and a cheap(er) wide angle then using a very expensive wide angle?
The thing is that my 400d only lets me use a 1/200 shutterspeed while using internal or external flash...

 

[Transcend]

I use a Canon 17-40 F4 and lots of lights. The 1 stop isn't worth another $750USD to me in price. That's 2 flashes and pocket wizards worth of extra...

My mk2 syncs at 1/250 officially, I can sync it at 1/320th with wizards. A lot of time with a wide angle i am shooting pans at 1/40th anyways.

 

[Kevin]

Ok thanks a lot for the info, much apreciated!