Best Digital SLR Camera??

[jetlagger]

Hi Everyone,Thanks for all the input, advice, recommendations & unbiased opinions on this ongoing thread!Well, after much deliberating recently, much research, & at the very least, confusing at times, as I am no DSLR pro! I have decided to "bite the bullet" & have acquired a Canon 60D, combined with a TAMRON 18-270 lens. This should suit the majority of my specified requirements when in use.I searched high & low for the best quality, & reasonable pricing.There are some cheaper options for buying out there, but certainly wary of the "grey imports" and ordering from websites.I settled on buying from my local TED's Camera store, where the advice & honest service won my vote. Also certainly feel better supporting local Australian businesses, the Canon warranty gives me peace of mind for an apparatus such as this, & could always drop the store by if I needed any help... Nice!
Anyway, I look forward to my next adventures with my cameras in tow & will post some hopefully exciting & impressive images on AFF when the appropriate time allows.
Cheers,jl

 

[djfuzz]

Good on you! Enjoy the camera, it's a great one.

As an aside, there's no reason to be 'wary of grey imports'. Any serious warranty service requires sending the camera away, and local warranties can readily be purchased for cameras purchased overseas anyway. IMHO the scare talk is more about local retailers protecting their turf, which is fair enough, but you should be aware of all the options. FWIW, I've only bought one camera o/s because local dealers have sufficiently come to the party price-wise most of the time. I fear I may need to do it again soon, though. Had no issues with service when I purchased from an online importer, but I'll concede that's just one data point.

 

[casanovawa]

Yeah i bought my previous Panasonic camera from DWI in Hing Kong... It was half the price of shops like JB Hifi and Hardly Normal here, so the thing could have broken and i bought a whole new one for the price of buying it here... My Canon 60D i bought from a place in Malaysia, still think i got it for several hundred dollars less than here so i for buying from overseas...

What do people think about buying lenses off eBay from people you don't know that may be a few hundred dollars cheaper than from places even like DDE or whatever in Singapore??

 

[mr_osborne]

Yeah i bought my previous Panasonic camera from DWI in Hing Kong... It was half the price of shops like JB Hifi and Hardly Normal here, so the thing could have broken and i bought a whole new one for the price of buying it here... My Canon 60D i bought from a place in Malaysia, still think i got it for several hundred dollars less than here so i for buying from overseas...

What do people think about buying lenses off eBay from people you don't know that may be a few hundred dollars cheaper than from places even like DDE or whatever in Singapore??

My camera and 2 of my 3 lenses came used from trade me (Our version of Ebay), and I'm pretty happy with it all...
The camera had 2/3 years remaining from an extended warrenty... I guess it's a trust thing... I inspected both the lenses before purchasing, and they seemed fine...
I sortof have an internal value I place on new, and NZ New, so I look at what it will cost me. I have a good relationship with one camera shop, who will usually match other prices, and have offered to match amazon for me before. But I also get free advice, so I would happily pay more to get it from there, but I won't pay twice as much...

 

[jetlagger]

Yeah i bought my previous Panasonic camera from DWI in Hing Kong... It was half the price of shops like JB Hifi and Hardly Normal here, so the thing could have broken and i bought a whole new one for the price of buying it here... My Canon 60D i bought from a place in Malaysia, still think i got it for several hundred dollars less than here so i for buying from overseas...

Mmm.. Interesting!
Anyway, I managed to secure a great negotiated price, surprisingly enough.. better than any of the grey imports & better than HKG & SIN where I often work & shop.. There is a certain element of movement in the OZ retailers pricing levels, if they are serious about doing business they will, & also manage a profit & satisfy customers as well..

 

[deejo77]

Jetlagger - I can get the same set up for $1520 - without any negotiation - I haven't even rang the store or physically gone in - how much short am I on the price?? Just want to know my wiggle room

 

[jetlagger]

Jetlagger - I can get the same set up for $1520 - without any negotiation - I haven't even rang the store or physically gone in - how much short am I on the price?? Just want to know my wiggle room

Keep going south with that price! .. Under $1500 with the accessories, or call Mr Fong in HKG!

Cheers

 

[rzzo]

jetlagger the TAMRON 18-270mm is a great walk around lens, I have used that in the past the zoom is really good for travel!

I just bought a Canon 6D from DWI, I can recommend this for travel as it's lightweight, small (for a DSLR) has GPS and also WiFi so you can view and control it from your iPhone etc.

 

[rzzo]

Does anyone have any recommendations for good lightweight / small tripods for traveling?

 

[jetlagger]

jetlagger the TAMRON 18-270mm is a great walk around lens, I have used that in the past the zoom is really good for travel!

I just bought a Canon 6D from DWI, I can recommend this for travel as it's lightweight, small (for a DSLR) has GPS and also WiFi so you can view and control it from your iPhone etc.

Nice, pleasing news.
Yes, the TAMRON 18-270mm lense is great & happy with my 60D. I'm interested in the 6D review, sounds appealing.
I just acquired another Sony compact yesterday, so I'll trial it over next week in the desert.