Buying cameras in Japan

Mr. Grieves

I'm going to be in Tokyo in July and I've been considering buying an entry-level dslr. I'd only do it if I could make a decent saving over buying online from Ireland, and I could get an international guarantee.

Has anyone here ever bought gear in Japan? It's very hard to find out prices cause all the websites are in Japanese, but I found this:

http://www.mapcamera.com/sho/search.php?MODE=M_VIEW&ACT=A_DETAIL&map_code=3300803002643&class=03

It's a Canon 400d with kit lens for 50,000 yen, about 310 euro, as far as I can tell. Seems like a good price cos I won't be paying postage etc.

Any advice?

Glowing

We were in Yodobashi last year and got a really good deal on a Canon Ixy10 - it's HUGE!!! (not the camera, the shop!). There are a good few branches around too - and you'll find a huge range of not only entry level stuff, but serious professional gear too.



There is also a huge place, Bic Camera under the Yurakucho station ....

Tokyo is GREAT!

leinsterman

... isnt Akihabara the place to go in Tokyo for anything electrical ...

Glowing

leinsterman wrote: »

... isnt Akihabara the place to go in Tokyo for anything electrical ...

Yeah I believe so - but we actually went and for some reason, couldn't seem to find anything as good as Yodobashi. Actually I think there is a Yodobashi in Akihabara ......

Mr. Grieves

I'm looking forward to just browsing a few of these massive shops!

I looked at Yodobashi too. It's not as cheap as that other link I posted, but I can't be certain that camera is new. Babelfish tells me:
"It is good elegance The medieval times when it is used politely the non-defective item"!

It seems like the secondhand market is enormous over there.

Fionn

i've a niece living in Japan (not any of the major cities) but she said it wasn't as cheap as HK for lots of stuff.

BanzaiBk

Yodobashi was the source of my best camera/computer crap/pmp deals in Japan. If anything it's worth just having a look at the shop, it's huge!, and you're certain to find something that tickles your fancy. I tried the Akihabara thing and didn't enjoy it as much.

Chocolate Tpot

The camera you indicated is second hand and comes with a 6 month warranty from the selling agent. Here is the best site for new electrical goods in Japan.
http://kakaku.com/item/00500211033/

The address for the cheapest offer at this time is NISSHIN PAL CO., Ltd,Ooya Building 2, Soto-Kanda 3-2-9, Chiyoda-ku, , Tokyo 101-0021, beside JR Akihabara station, here is a map. Price for this is 54,198 Yen.
http://www.nisshinpal.jp/html/company.html

BTW Yodobashi has this camera for sale at 67,900 yen. You also get 10 percent of cost back in points for use in Yodobashi, so cost is effectively 10 percent less.
http://www.yodobashi.com/enjoy/more/i/58182137.html
English service is very good in Yodobashi and they are everywhere, but they are a little expensive. Be sure to get tax free shopping receipt, as a tourist you are entitled to it.

Mr. Grieves

I'd heard Hong Kong was cheaper, but I thought if the prices were close the saving on postage might make it worth it.

Chocolate Tpot, thanks for those links, the prices look good. I'll have to see if there's an international guarantee with those. Do you think secondhand is a good idea if I could find something really cheap? It'd leave me with more money for lenses!

Finally, how does the tourist receipt work? Would I get a tax-free price or claim the tax back later?

Chocolate Tpot

Well, you dont get a big discount for second hand gear in Japan. The price falls only a little from the new price and you are taking a risk, so my advice is dont buy second hand. (the web site offer you indicated has no box for that camera for example).
The standard guarantee is one year for Japan only. You can pay 5% of item cost and have the product guaranteed for 5 years in Yodabashi, but again only valid in Japan.
For tax see
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/ttp/sg/09-TouristAttractions/MediumIndex/07-Shopping/E-Tax-fre.html
Good luck.

maxheadroom

bedlam wrote: »

Not really any more. With large chain stores like Yodobashi and Bic Camera opening all over the place a lot of stores in Akihabara are finding it hard to compete. If you want something very specific, second hand or seedy (hentai etc) Akiba is the place to go other wise there tend to be better deal around.

I've been doing a bit of research into this (I'll be in tokyo at the start of May) and from what I've read online, Yodobashi will sometimes pricematch kakaku.com if you bring in a printout of the item you're looking for. Also, if you bring your passport to the shop with you, they should give you the tax free price there and then.

Mr. Grieves

So do other brands have a full international warranty? I was thinking that Canon might use different model names in different regions for a reason.

What's the story with warranties on Canon stuff bought from Hong Kong ebay shops then?

maxheadroom

Mr. Grieves wrote: »

So do other brands have a full international warranty?

Nikon camera bodies don't have an international warranty. Nikkor lenses do.

You could always buy a mack warranty though, you should still save a pile of money compared to prices here.

Fionn wrote: »

i've a niece living in Japan (not any of the major cities) but she said it wasn't as cheap as HK for lots of stuff.

Comparing between kakaku.com and ygdragon.net, the prices seem roughly equivalent in Japan and HK at the moment

mathias

Just a quick question about menus ... do the cameras in japan have english menus ?
The last time I was there , some of the models I looked at did not have that option. Just throwing the question out there , I dont know for sure about Canon and language options ...

12bore

I just got back from Tokyo yesterday. I have two new lenses (nifty fifty and a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8, about €280 for both) and spent a good few hours wandering around Yodabashi and Bic Camera. The range of photographic gear they carry has to be seen to be believed. It's unreal. You can get your hands on most of it as well, lots of demo models of everything.

Prices were pretty good, I used Kakaku.com and babelfish. My brother lives in Tokyo, so I ordered over the internet and got them delivered to him, it worked out a bit cheaper than buying in Bic or Yodabashi, even taking the tax-free discount in to account. But compared to this country, everywhere is pretty cheap, and you don't have to worry about high postage costs or getting stung for vat/customs.

I bought a 400d (Digital Kiss X in Japan) last time I was there, easy to set the menu to English. Manuals and handbooks are in Japanese, but you can download an English manual off the Canon site. It has a Japanese only warranty, but I'm not too worried about it, the brother is going to be living there for a good while.

Incidentally, I found that branded printer ink was less than half the price as here.

If you need a hand with translation or anything, pm me. My brother is pretty fluent in reading and writing Japanese, and his wife is Japanese.

Tokyo is a pretty amazing place to visit.

Third_Echelon

I bought my Canon EOS Digital Kiss X (400D) in Akihabara last year and it was a lot, lot cheaper than Ireland.

Got the standard kit lens with it and a 55-200 mm lens with it as well. They threw in a bag and memory cards as well.

Some very good deals to be had there.

Yodabashi is just amazing as well. There are demo models sitting out of everything basically.... You could get lost for hours in there