Camera Shops

[Babs]

Any ideas and recommendations?

[marTTyn]

Depends what you want to buy?

http://www.camerapricebuster.com/ is a good start though!

[Babs]

Cheers for that - I'll check it out!

I'm after a DSLR

[alkip]

http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/ for used Canon and Nikon stuff

http://www.lcegroup.co.uk/

That's 2 of the most popular, I recently got a DSLR, 2 lenses and a battery grip from MPB and the service and products are excellent. Have a look over on Talk Photography for some others

[Evening Star]

London Camera Exchange? You have to be kidding, just like Jessops, rip off merchants.

I tried them in Guildford to do a trade in on a lens and the offer they made was nothing short of derisory/insulting, I could do better on Ebay.

Try Amazon, but make sure you link to it via Nectar if you have a Nectar card or find a store that offers cashback like Quidco.

[Babs]

Amazon is the cheapest so far!

[KBPhoto]

I'll second Camera Price Buster if buying new.

If after Canon there is a decent and official Canon refurb agent on eBay - I've used them and was very happy with what I got.

[Evening Star]

Another one is Martins Camera Shop.

If you want to look for lenses later, try Onestop Digital. Based in HK, I've used them several times & had no problems at all & they refund VAT if you get charged it too.

[marTTyn]

Watch out for grey imports...

[Babs]

Where are they likely to be sold and what's the difference?

[marTTyn]

Grey imprts crop up quite a bit now. If the price looks too good to be true, it normally is.

Well worth speaking to the sellers first to find out.

If you bought a grey import and had problems, you will struggle with the warranty.

There are a few stories of imports being less reliable, although i dont know if there is any truth to it.

Pop the company name into google, see what crops up, or post on here and im sure someone can help.

[Evening Star]

I've imported several lenses and there's no difference in them at all, the warranty should be covered internationally, but there are some exceptions.

I've never had to use any warranty with any of my lenses from Onestop, but then again they're looked after very carefully in padded (neoprene) bags and cleaned with air dusters & lens cloths each time before & after they are used and then kept in a case!

[marTTyn]

Lens warranty is different, certainly with nikon...

Nikon will cover lenses internationally, but not the body.

Not sure about canon.

[JLneonhug]

If you find a decent place share the love I was originally thinking of waiting till a US or Asia trip before buying one. Quick look, amazon us is about £475 for the Nikon D5100 (£75 saving), and this importer from hk which includes local warranty apparently is at £500, (£50 saving) - http://www.digitalre...-55mm/MTE1MTA_A

A bit more digging and found SLR Hut: http://www.slrhut.co.uk/, seems to be cheaper than the above.. Again an import company but reviews seem ok.

Sidenote - When people buy body only and separate lenses which one do they go for? I find the 18-55 quite good as an all rounder but i assume there is a better all rounder choice?

[Evening Star]

Digital Rev may offer a reasonable price, however I found them to be poor, in speed & overall experience. They won't refund the VAT like Onestop either.

If you're thinking about buying a camera abroad don't forget that you will probably have to declare it and get stung the import duty & VAT, so will probably work out more expensive.

Another way around some steep prices is to look for vouchercodes and use them in conjunction with a loyalty card, at the time of typing this if you have a nectar card registered online, you can gain double points, now whilst this may not sound attactive, you buy a £1000 DSLR, you will get 2000 pts, that's £10 back, OK, not a lot, but better than nowt.

You can use that £10 for groceries or use it towards something else. Hit it right and you can rack up the savings quickly.

[Babs]

I had found SLR hut, and the prices were very good, will save me £300 on what I want. But I'm a little hesitant...

[hertsnminds]

Find a bricks and mortar shop with a good price then get John Lewis to price match them and you get the deal price with a very good after sales service.

The downside of ordering something like a DSLR from online only traders is the faff if you have to return the product or get it repaired.

[marTTyn]

SLR Hut add VAT After checkout...

What is is you are looking to buy babs?

[Babs]

Looking at the Canon EOS 7D, with the 18-135mm lens (I've heard it's not brilliant, but it'll do for now), and then maybe getting another lens or two, some filters, bag, card etc!

Ideally I'd like to go to a shop and get them to price match, or at least give me a favourable deal. Else it'll be Amazon, as they're the cheapest.

[Loz]

Who would you actually be buying off? Amazon or a third party through them? Just the only worry I'd have is if something goes wrong, who do you contact? Make sure it's a proper camera shop or something! Have you been in to a shop to try out the cameras yet Babs? Deffo sure you have picked the model you'll be happiest with? (not that I know anything about Canon so cant really advise!! Lol)

I'm almost definitely going to buy a D800 within the next few months, so if anyone knows anywhere that they are less than £2399, that would be useful! (Unlikely, but useful......) Just need to decide between D800 and D800E once they are released on 22nd and people start putting up examples... can't wait!!

Edited 19 April, 2012 by Loz

[Babs]

Yeah, went to a local, tried the Canon, and the Nikon you recommended, plus a Sony. The shop seemed to be pushing the Sony really hard for some reason? I preferred the Canon out of all of them. Unfortunately, the price was about £300 more!

[Loz]

Maybe because they don't sell many Sony in comparison?! lol! Or maybe the person you spoke to just liked them..... a lot les lens choice though. I don't like how Canons feel myself, nor do I like the menu or lack of external controls (compared to most Nikons)

Have you had SLRs before? Just wondered why you were jumping in at the deep end with a higher end one? Not that it's a bad thing!lol

[Babs]

Yeah that was the worrying thing, and it felt so light - the guy in the shop seemed to think that it feeling like a child's toy was a good thing! The Nikon was decent, and reading the reviews it was quite close - the bit that swayed it for me was the Canon's superior video ability. If this isn't something you'll use then it's a pointless feature. I, however, will make use of it so it made sense to go for the best.

I know it's jumping in the deep end a little, but I didn't want to spend £500-600 only to want/need to upgrade in a short time. I want a camera that can teach and challenge me as well as grow with me. And the lower-end cameras all feel a little small in my bear claws

[Loz]

Yeah I was never bothered about the video thing, however the D800 does 1080 videos so that could be a new challenge haha!

Oh there is always room to upgrade, as I've found out!! Lol!

[harryweld]

If your buying from Amazon direct then that’s ok but if you’re buying through Amazon Market Place be careful and read the sellers small print. A lot of cameras on market place grey imports into the UK then sold on, or even shipped to you from abroad to you. You see things in the terms on conditions like covered by dealer warranty or 14 day delivery, so read and make your own mind up.

I’m thinking of upgrading to a 7d myself but missed out just before Christmas. Curry’s had an online deal on and if you combined it with quidco it was around £940 for the body only. I’ve been kicking myself ever since