Hong kong or UK for a new camera?

ljbnotts

Hi everyone,

Sorry if this is in the wrong place. Please move if it is.

We are travelling to Hong Kong and Malaysia in March 09 and me and my OH want to buy new cameras. Are we better off waiting tilll we get to Hong Kong to buy or will we get a better deal in the UK?

Any thoughts?

Thanks.:j

phatbear

HK will probably be cheaper but you have to consider the implications of international warranty, not all electrical goods come with it therefore if your camera goes wrong when you get back to the UK you may not be covered and therefore you would need to shell out for a new one.

frugallass

do you have a make / model in mind?

I agree with phatbear about the warranty - can you afford to take that risk?

richardw

IMHO Find the best deal in the UK on genuine equipment, in HK and elsewhere there are plenty of fake bits and acessories, not worth the risk.

fergual2

I picked up a canon G7 in Hong Kong a couple of years back was about £50 cheaper than UK (on a £310 uk price pound camera). But I got a few extras like a case/spare battery,larger/fast sandisk memory card/mini tripod etc thrown in which made it more attractive deal.

Did a bit of research before I went and found recommendations on web for this shop as reputable.

Wing Shing Photo Supplies Co., Ltd.
G/F, Shop 55-57 Sai Yeung Choi Street South, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
G/F 91-95 Fa Yuen St. Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
TEL: 2396-6886 FAX: 2395-2130

I recommend if you go this route buy the camera early on in your stay so you can try out in case of any issue and return to shop straight away.

The thing as said before is international warranty can be limited. It is only 6 months for Canon for example plus I had to go Canon Cust Services in Kowloon to get this stamped. So if you can live with lower warranty and stick with a reputable outlet you can't go wrong.

btw I still have the camera I bought and it is has been perfect!:T

jyonda

I think you could probably find some very good deals from a UK supplier at the moment which would make any savings not worth the risk. Keep checking the electrical section of hotukdeals and the shopping section here for photo bargains and discount codes.

If you are looking for a small point and shoot then I can recommend the Panasonic TZ5 or the TZ4. The TZ4 has a slightly smaller screen, lower resolution and won't record video in HD but it's still got the more important features like Intelligent auto and face recognition which make it a good point and shoot.
I got a refurbished one off Ebay for £90. I paid 3 times that for a Sony which isn't anywhere near as good.

TBeckett100

i would consider HK is a long way for a refund if it stops working

rlc22

We were in HK last April and found that the prices weren't significantly different to the UK.

Plus the exchange rate isn't as good now, so that will have further eaten away at any potential savings.

As it goes though - we did get a camera over there, but mainly because by the time we'd decided to get a new one, we didn't have time for it to get delivered for us before the holiday. We went to one of the camera shops on HK island recommended by the Lonely Planet guide.

McAzrael

Not Kong Kong I know, but I bought a camera for my brother a couple of years ago in America; an Olympus one with an international warranty. It did break down. I posted it to Olympus over here (in Surrey I think) and it came back a couple of weeks later fixed. No fuss, no hassle. I wouldn't bet on getting that from the big shed electrical retailer I bought it from even if it was local.

malamala

We bought a camera while we were in Hong Kong. The savings as said before, was not that great. I'd say, about 15% cheaper because they don't have import tax and VAT.

However, the shops there were top notch, they have nearly every new models available right in front of you! We could not resist trying them out and finally bought one. Haven't got any problem with it.

But I have been warned to avoid some shops in tsimshatsui, better stick to the one recommended above or those big chain stores if you decided to buy cameras or other electronic goods there.

Sergio1982

fergual2 wrote: »

I picked up a canon G7 in Hong Kong a couple of years back was about £50 cheaper than UK (on a £310 uk price pound camera). But I got a few extras like a case/spare battery,larger/fast sandisk memory card/mini tripod etc thrown in which made it more attractive deal.

Did a bit of research before I went and found recommendations on web for this shop as reputable.

Wing Shing Photo Supplies Co., Ltd.
G/F, Shop 55-57 Sai Yeung Choi Street South, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
G/F 91-95 Fa Yuen St. Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
TEL: 2396-6886 FAX: 2395-2130

I recommend if you go this route buy the camera early on in your stay so you can try out in case of any issue and return to shop straight away.

The thing as said before is international warranty can be limited. It is only 6 months for Canon for example plus I had to go Canon Cust Services in Kowloon to get this stamped. So if you can live with lower warranty and stick with a reputable outlet you can't go wrong.

btw I still have the camera I bought and it is has been perfect!:T

I recommend this shop, I bought a Nikon 55-300mm lens there in August. Expected to pay £75 but was surprised to find out it was only £50. Alternative is Fortress - electronics chain with branches all over HK. To echo another poster avoid the Nathan Road shops with no name.