Importing from Japan to uk.

[MTH 4]

After lurking for a number of years I finally have some questions that aren't "My God! How do you take great photos like that??".

 

I've recently taken the plunge (pun intended ) and bought a D80 to replace my old Canon S45 point and shoot. Now I need a housing.

 

I used the S45 with YS-120 Duo strobes (using a Matthias Heinrichs ttl adaptor). I have been thinking about getting the Sea&Sea housing and ttl II adaptor. In a recent (ish) topic John Bantin said that he really liked his Sea&Sea housing for the D200 and it was possible to save money by importing from Japan. I had a quick look online and found the cost of housings to be substantially cheaper in Japan even when factoring in import duty and tax (saving of up to 30%).

 

So, does anybody have any experience of importing a DSLR housing from Japan? Any problems if you have? Can anybody recommend any Japanese retailers?

[Islandbound 1]

I am in Japan, well Okinawa but its still Japan! What are you looking for?

[pmooney 6]

This subject is a can of worms.

 

On one hand you can save a few dollars by going through the private import process and accept that you will be going it alone in terms of local support / warranty for your purchase.

 

On the other you can support your local dealer ( who knows they may even be one of the sponsors ) and enjoy all the benefits that come with being able to deal with someone in your own language and timezone.

 

You probablly won't appreciate the difference or convenience of local support until you need a fast answer or some emergency or after hours help.

 

My advice is to consider your needs carefully and buy accordingly.

 

My 2 cents

 

Peter

[MTH 4]

I'm looking to buy the Sea&Sea DX-D80 housing and the i-ttl adapter II.

 

So far I've bought the Nikon 60mm lense and I'm thinking of getting the Sigma 10-20mm at some point for top side photography.

 

I'm going on a number of holidays this year including an 11 day trip on Komodo Dancer in September so I'm going to concentrate on Macro to start with (as this is my main diving interest). I haven't worked out which port I'll need yet .

 

Mark

[MTH 4]

Thanks for the reply Peter.

 

In general I try and support local shops if they provide a service that I use. When I bought the camera recently I bought it from a shop because the shop provided the opportunity to try different cameras and the difference from web prices was acceptable.

 

On the housing front, I understand the warranty aspect and I have to put a value on that and having a shop that provides a good service is important. However, the housing in the uk is >£1500 compared to less than £900 in Japan, even adding in import costs and tax only takes this figure up to ~£1050. A difference of ~£500. Add on the cost of a i-ttl adapter and port etc and the saving starts moving towards £1000. That’s a lot of money .

 

Mark

[james 0]

Hi Mark,

 

You should "what if" the purchase as well. Some possibilities:

 

What if you flood one of your bulkheads and need to get it replaced? Who will you get to do that?

 

What if the hotshoe wiring needs to be modified to work with your cords and TTL converter? Who will do that for you? What if you order it one way from Japan but it comes w/ the wrong bulkhead? What will you do, send it back?

 

Who will you get your zoom and focus gears from in the future when you get new lenses?

 

What about yearly o-ring service? Send it back to Japan?

 

Just something to think about.

 

Cheers

James

[pmooney 6]

Hey James - we'e on the same page. Deserves a coolaid the next time we catch up.

[james 0]

Peter,

 

Sounds good.

 

Don't get me wrong, there are times when you just have to do it yourself. Back when I had a UK-Germany housing and there was no US support I had to do a lot of international shipping. It was worth it at the time.

 

I think it depends a lot on the person and their needs.

 

Cheers

James

[Paul Kay 62]

Not so sure of your maths. Import duty is 5% + vat of 17.5% + couriers charge of typically £12~25 gives around £1125 + bank transfer charges unless you can pay by credit card + carriage from Japan (insured which I would suspect will be minimally £30~50) and your saving isn't as great as you figure, although it is still substantial.

 

Direct imports are pretty common now but ..... I'd also say that any problems with the housing and you are effectively on your own unless the supplier in Japan is extremely helpful, and cost of shipping a warranty repair would soon negate any saving.

 

I'd echo the other comments, although servicing shouldn't be a problem in the UK.

[nandu 0]

Hi!

 

I live in the Canary islands (Spain) and I have a Sea&Sea Housing for a Nikon D200 that I bought in Japan. No problem and a very good service.

 

The company is http://www.uwdigitalcamera.com/En/default.php and the person of contact is Yuzo. He answers rapidly by e-mail.

 

A housing is not in the habit of giving problems. It is different if it was a Nikon camera.

 

Regards

 

** Sorry my english

Edited April 18, 2007 by nandu

[pmooney 6]

Hi!

 

I live in the Canary islands (Spain) and I have a Sea&Sea Housing for a Nikon D200 that I bought in Japan. No problem and a very good service.

 

The company is http://www.uwdigitalcamera.com/En/default.php and the person of contact is Yuzo. He answers rapidly by e-mail.

 

A housing is not in the habit of giving problems. It is different if it was a Nikon camera.

 

Regards

 

** Sorry my english

 

 

And exactly the point - Yuzo is great and he is cheaper "until that problem happens and you have to ship back for repairs" - if you are lucky enough not to have this great. If your doing it more often - well you made the choice and will quickly become a shipping and customs expert.

 

Try explaining to Yuzo that your going away next week and that it just has to be there in perfect order next week.......

 

Don't get me wrong Yuzo tries but is often limited by the local support he is getting also.

 

Sounds like it all comes down to local support !!!!!!

 

My 3 cents

Edited April 18, 2007 by pmooney

[jander4454 15]

I, and many of my friends, have used Yuzo at www.uwdigitalcamera.com to supply Inon lit (flashes, lenses, etc) and his service is great. Better, faster and more reliable than anyone else I have dealt with. Best so far was 4 days order to delivery - that's Japan to Scotland.

[pmooney 6]

How was his turnaround time on returns and repairs.??

 

I should say this is not a witch hunt against Yuzo or any other grey market supplier - rather just a examination of options , causes & effect of the potential problems associated / commonly encountered with the private import process.

Edited April 18, 2007 by pmooney

[nandu 0]

And excatly Yuzo is great and he is cheaper until that problem happens and you have to ship back for repairs - if you are lucky enough not to have this great. If your doing it more often - well you made the choice and will quickly become a shipping and customs expert.

 

Try Explaining to Yuzo that your going away next week and that it just has to be there in perfect order next week.......

 

Dont get me wrong Yuzo tries but is often limited by the local support he is getting also.

 

Sounds like it all comes down to local support !!!!!!

 

My 3 cents

 

The local support is very important, but the price also.

 

For 10 years I have been making underwater photography, never I have had problems with the housings: Ikelite, Subal and Sea&Sea now.

 

Ikelite I bought it in the U.S.A.

Subal in Germany

and the Sea&Sea in Japan

 

[pmooney 6]

James ,

 

I remember just having to do it on my ow n - its become my business now and I deal with these isues in particular - broken items / warranty returns / asistance with items that i did not sell...... and the customers were the cost as repairs / support need t6o be paid for especially when the repair centre is the saviour using their resources / time / knowldge to benefit of someone who chose not to be a customer to save a few dollars.

 

End of rant.

 

I now respectfully withdraw from this thread.

[nandu 0]

I, and many of my friends, have used Yuzo at www.uwdigitalcamera.com to supply Inon lit (flashes, lenses, etc) and his service is great. Better, faster and more reliable than anyone else I have dealt with. Best so far was 4 days order to delivery - that's Japan to Scotland.

 

For Spain it is the same: 6 days order to delivery.

 

From Spain at least 3 weeks with luck!.

[davichin 18]

Sounds like it all comes down to local support !!!!!!

 

When you have it.... This is something that has been discussed several times and it seems like some people (mostly UK and US) have knowledgeable local shops (Steve at ocenaoptics, Ryan at Reef etc...) and most of the rest don´t (like my case) even though we (the Canary Islands), for example, have a big UWP community that shares its gear/tech knowledge by friendship or by forums like this one. I buy everything overseas (Yuzo included) and I just don´t imagine having a nearby shop where to get/try/see anything beyond olympus compact cameras or epoque DS150 strobes (and very pricey) where the salesman knows anything about it...

[Charles Stirling 0]

Yes a good can of worms subject .

 

I've bought both from the UK and overseas (USA and Singapore). The UK is an expensive country to run a business it's not just our duty and VAT which puts up our prices but high UK overheads mean margins need to be higher then elsewhere. But, buying overseas mean our dealers have less custom so need to charge even more to survive. Then from a customers view, we have no real competition which might push prices down.

 

Pitfalls: The UK dealer might not like you after. This is not too much different than if you had gone to another dealer, except we only have one for each housing manufacturer.

Parts and service, depends on the dealer some are much better than others. If the dealer is good then more reason to stay local, if only average then less. Parts from anywhere can be a problem (hence my posting of my needing to borrow or hire a 40 mm Extension Ring for a Nexus housing).

 

Pluses: Can save money, sometimes a lot.

Sometimes the only way as dealers here often don't carry large stocks and items can take months to be restocked as in my recent order for a Nexus housing for a D200 from Singapore.

 

I would say support your local dealer if possible, if it's significantly cheaper overseas first see if your local dealer can do better as it might be a good bargaining point. I've not had problems with my overseas purchases nor with the UK ones except for stock levels.

 

Charles Stirling

[John Bantin 101]

My original post (on another forum) about buying from Japan was in response to someone in the UK enquiring about buying a Japanese product (Inon) from the USA. That made no sense at all.

You pay your money and make your choice. I bought my Sea & Sea D200 housing from the UK professional dealer. I got it in three days and I was able to use it on the fifth. However, a friend who was not under any time pressure ended up paying exactly half price after carriage and duties buying from Mr.Yuso. So you could in theory buy two and keep one in your cupboard in order to give yourself fast after-sales service.

I bought my optical dome port from Japan because the UK distributor told me they were not going to import it. I deal with Subtronic in Germany because the UK dealer takes months to get things done.

If you are getting good service from your local dealer and are prepared to pay for that, why not? Every deal comes with a plus and minus side to it. Some people pay for personal shoppers. I have been tring to buy a new car but have not had the time to do it. Maybe I need a personal car buyer!

As for supporting your local business. e-mail me and I'll tell you how you can support mine!

[pakman 0]

My situation is slightly different. I went with Yuzo for most of my u/w camera goods. But then I'm just in Hong Kong so shipping is less and there is no import duty into HK... But it wasn't just the price... When I asked the various official Sea & Sea dealers in HK what happens if I need servicing on the housing, they all said I would have to ship it to Sea & Sea in Japan to be repaired and tested at my own expense (shipping cost that is)! Well that made my decision easier... My guess is that the situation would be different with UK and US Sea&Sea dealers... But then you pay for that local service...

Edited April 19, 2007 by pakman

[Nunomix 0]

The TTL converters have been having many problems so you might want to consider importing this equipment. I have been having probems with my TTL until now and still not resolved. Having bought the housing locally has been priceless in this case with one strobe replaced in one day and abrand new housing just before my trip to Honduras.

[MTH 4]

Naively, I didn’t expect this to be so contentious a topic .

 

Clearly there is a large difference between the price in Japan and the price in the UK. My maths is fine Paul but I guess I should have included more detail (price in Japan 196000yen +£40 P&P with 5% duty and 17.5% vat gives £1063, add on the couriers charge of say £25 for dealing with the duty etc give a grand total of £1088. Compare this to UK price on the web of £1595 excusive of P&P. The difference is £508. There are few loose ends like charges for a credit card payment and UK P&P but I think this is close enough for a first approximation).

 

However, Peter and James make valid points; service (both quality and time) and reduced risk have value. We all have to make our own decisions on whether these services are value for money and that answer will be different for different people.

 

If you are professional photographer then service and time could be worth more than the whole of your kit never mind a piffling £500 difference. On the other hand the additional £500 could mean additional months of saving for someone on a low income or even rule it out all together. I’m sure most divers fall somewhere between these two extremes, diving is a moderately expensive hobby after all.

 

I’m not sure yet where I stand on this. I can afford the additional money but do I think I’m getting value for money, hmm? I think I will follow Charles' advice and see if the UK supplier can improve on the prices shown on the web. If the difference is less the decision may be easier or more difficult .

 

I thought about developing my own in housing ttl circuit ( I work in R&D electronics) but life is just to short. And it may end up like my home-made 100W torch which used high capacity Lithium Ion batteries, but that is another story.

 

I thank everyone for their advice and useful comments.

 

Mark

[vannar 0]

Here Is yet another angle!

 

I live in Northern Sweden (North of the arctic cirle)!

 

When I decided to take the leap over from a compact to dSLR and started investergating the market I quickly realised that Sweden was to small of a pond for dSLR underwater photo equipment (there are a few small shops, but these keep a very low profile and does not keep these expensive products in stock, Im also not sure about their knowledge about service etc.)

 

So the only reasonable option for me was to look into importing my own equipment.

 

Since Sweden is a part of the European union and importing from another EU country is very easy I first tried to find what I wanted in europe (UK has a few great shops, and there seems to be a few good shops on the EU mainland aswell)

 

I then started researching the global market, starting with the sponsors of this page and I found a few great shops in the US.

 

But then I stubleled over Yuzo´s shop in Japan I realised that it made economic sense to buy Japanese products from Japan.

 

I realize the benefits of supporting your local dealer and that in the long run you would probably benefin from it in many ways. But If your local supplier is located in another county many thousands of kilometers away, I see nothing wrong in trying to find the best price when buying and the expect to have to spend a little time and money the day you need to service or repair your equipment...

[poetazzo 0]

i'm in similar situation of vannar. I live in toscany and near my home there is only one dSLR shop...

i bought my fantasea housing (at good price) and a ys-90 (at bad price) from it... some time later i need the macro port for the housing and after lots of phone call and visit to the shop they told me that they was unable to provide me that item...

retourning home i registered in the fantasea site and ordered the port... it arrived within a week.

then i bought the ys-110 on ebay, than i bough a sigma lens in the shop mentioned before, then some accessories in the fantasea site and tomorrow a dome port in a german site...

the support offered by "real people" in a shop near home may be great thing but a little shop can't provide variety of equipment and variety of price and i don't think that there are lot of big shop with 10-15 different housing for each model of dslr camera around the world