topic Re: international lenses in EF & RF Lenses

international lenses

fatcat — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 05:44:24 GMT

what is the difference in buying a lens that states it's an international lens. How is the quality is it comparable? The price is lower, just wondering if any of you know? thz, L.

Re: international lenses

diverhank — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 07:08:47 GMT

@fatcat wrote:
what is the difference in buying a lens that states it's an international lens. How is the quality is it comparable? The price is lower, just wondering if any of you know? thz, L.

I believe that there is no difference in quality. The only difference is that Canon USA may not honor the warranty and may refuse to fix the lens if something goes wrong.

Re: international lenses

fatcat — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 07:29:10 GMT

good to know thanks. That would explain the deep discount. I suppose contacting Cannon would be the next step to confirm that prior to purchasing one. DARN, I was hoping for better news than that. ty for the info.

Re: international lenses

ScottyP — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 09:33:43 GMT

The term is "grey market". The lens was made by Canon for non-US markets.

They will ill not likely tell you they will cover it if you call in advance bit I have read they usually cover it anyway.

I have never bought a Canon grey market lens though I have bought a Sigma Art 35mm lens on grey market. I have also never had to use a warranty on any lens so I don't know. The 1 year warranty is not very long. Unless you are shooting daily as a pro it seems it would be hard to really wear one out that fast, and if a lens is bad from the moment you buy it you can just return it to the seller if it is at least a good seller.

But it that's only my feeling on it. I've had about 7 lenses and the oldest is about 5 years old.

Re: international lenses

Waddizzle — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 09:44:04 GMT

@fatcat wrote:
good to know thanks. That would explain the deep discount. I suppose contacting Cannon would be the next step to confirm that prior to purchasing one. DARN, I was hoping for better news than that. ty for the info.

A wise man once said that you get what you pay for. Me? I would never cough big dolars for something with no guarantees. What happens it is malfunctioning, and needs warranty service? It's a risk some poeple can accept, but not me. It's an individual choice, and the circumstances of each purchase scenario are different.

Re: international lenses

ebiggs1 — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 14:03:35 GMT

Miss Liz,

Now for the straight skinny on it!

There is no difference in the lenses. The difference is that Canon USA did not import them. There will be no Canon USA warranty but Canon in Japan will warranty it. The only difference is the Canon USA warranty card. Canon USA will service it but it will cost you for the service.

It may not have an English manual.

I personally don't buy grey market. I have been a CPS member for a long time so it doesn't make sense for me. Canon USA has been good to me over the years so I am happy to buy the real deal.

Their can be some issues wiht other brands if you buy a grey market version. I believe it is still Sigma, Tamron and Tokina's policy that they will not service one even if you pay for it. It was their policy at one time. Nikon won't service them either.

Re: international lenses

kvbarkley — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 14:31:06 GMT

The policies are all over the place - even from the same manufacturer:

The Online Photogropher on Grey Market

The online photographer: More on grey market

Re: international lenses

ScottyP — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 19:11:47 GMT

If I was a member of Canon Professional Services I would not stray from the USA version. If the warranty was lifetime, or maybe even 5 years rather than just 12 months I would be more into how the warranty works. If I were a pro and was mort likely to break one in the 12 month warranty period maybe.

As as none of this applies to me I'd buy grey market if the discount was steep enough and if the seller had a good reputation. Problem is I seldom see enormous price differences on lenses (bodies are a different story) and the price differences at a big place like B&H are tiny.

Re: international lenses

RobertTheFat — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 19:46:20 GMT

@ScottyP wrote:
If I was a member of Canon Professional Services I would not stray from the USA version. If the warranty was lifetime, or maybe even 5 years rather than just 12 months I would be more into how the warranty works. If I were a pro and was mort likely to break one in the 12 month warranty period maybe.

As as none of this applies to me I'd buy grey market if the discount was steep enough and if the seller had a good reputation. Problem is I seldom see enormous price differences on lenses (bodies are a different story) and the price differences at a big place like B&H are tiny.

I believe the reason for the small discount at B&H is that they substitute their own warranty, which is comparable to Canon's. Of course they have to use a 3rd-party repair shop instead of Canon's service arm.

Re: international lenses

ebiggs1 — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 20:59:36 GMT

" I seldom see enormous price differences on lenses ..."

Scott you just aren't looking in the right places!

I will tell you that being a CPS Member, a Gold member, has more advantages than just the warranty. Using grey market and using CPS perks seems a bit disingenuous to me. But that is just my opinion.

Re: international lenses

fatcat — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 21:40:56 GMT

Hey Biggs,

So what is the CPS membership, you pay for that? or whats the buzz on that.? You buy so many lenses and become a member like best buy? I know the pro, but would it pay for a hobbyist? Seems on amazon anyway (roll the dice with who you buy from on there because they seldom publish negative reviews, I know because they refused 2 of mine (negative reviews) for camera stores) but some of the lenses we discussed earlier were about half price as "international". So I will go look up what someone else posted regarding the "grey market" lenses. And all the knowledge about this is appreciated. It never seems to fail, when I ask a question on here I really get schooled! I appreciate ALL the knowledge. I just hope I don't sound too ignorant sometimes when I ask because I have a million more to come. lol All you guys have been around this stuff for a while, and for me, a few months. Things are VERY different these days. It's so wonderful to be able to tap everyones knowledge base, and then be able to make an educated decision based on facts.

I agree buying something that expensive w/o a warranty is risky. With my luck, it would break 2 days after it expired anyway, lol Shipping to Japan is NOT cheap either! I think ALL companies should repair their own products, regardless of "WHO" shipped it here. Good companies shouldn't care as long as it's their product you're using, they should be the expert that can fix it, in my opinion. If they loose out on $3-400. per item say, in the grey market, it's worth it to them to try and protect that profit margin and discourage that. So I understand their reluctance to warranty also. But if the warranty only lasts 12 mo. you're outta luck after that. anyway, unless, one has the "Gold" membership. Guess I'll have to go look that up too. Do allot of ppl here have that?

Okay thanks, L.

Re: international lenses

diverhank — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 22:02:35 GMT

@fatcat wrote:
But if the warranty only lasts 12 mo. you're outta luck after that. anyway, unless, one has the "Gold" membership. Guess I'll have to go look that up too. Do allot of ppl here have that?
Okay thanks, L.

Here's more info on CPS membership.

http://www.cps.usa.canon.com/about_cps/about.shtml

It's designed for the professionals...even though, being professionals for CPS membership is measured by the amount of professional equipment you own, not by your ability to make a living via photography.

I used to have silver CPS membership (I qualified for platinum) but I let it slip. I guess I've been lucky. I have needed no services of any kind ever. I have retired Canon equipment that still perform perfectly.

You pay for gold and platinum and in return you receive repair discounts, free equipment checkups, cleaning and free equipment loans (you get to borrow cameras and lenses to try out for free - you pay shipping).

Re: international lenses

fatcat — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 22:27:39 GMT

CPS--got it thanks, a bit of a cut above my league in that club.....lol But that surely seems like a great idea for pros, or someone making YT videos. How cool to be able to borrow equipment, sort of try b/4 you buy. It's almost worth it to sign up for a yr. just for that esp. if you were in the market to buy some new stuff!

Thanks everyone for all the great input again. You ALL are AWESOME!

Re: international lenses

ebiggs1 — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 23:14:20 GMT

"Hey Biggs,

So what is the CPS membership, you pay for that?"

CPS is geared towards the pro that makes living with his camera. I mentioned it solely because I wouldn't think it right to take advantage of their service and not use gear that Canon USA sells. I doubt anyone that has replied to you, except me, has made or makes their living with a camera. However, CPS doesn't ask so anyone can join. Silver is free, Gold and Platinum is fee based.

Re: international lenses

fatcat — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 00:30:52 GMT

actually I went to the info site, thought I'd try signing up for the free one (silver) just for kicks, and they DO ask what your professional affiliation is, how much gear you own, whats your specialty, landscape, advertising, ect . They also ask who you work for, independent, free lance, newspaper, ect.... I stopped there since I am such a novice, and don't work for anybody, don't have a specialty or make any money at it...yet.

I know You're a professional, and I respect your opinion. I think that CPS a great deal for a pro. I would really enjoy those perks for maintenence if I had allot of equipment. Not to mention the ability to try out new gear. That is a great thing to try out some lenses or even some of the new cameras they come out with. Makes you an expert when some novice like me asks a bunch of beginner questions. In my case, if I can't even fill in the blanks on the registration so I may as well forget about it for now, free or not. No maintenance or loaners on the freebie membership, just the newsletter and membership.

Re: international lenses

RobertTheFat — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 01:49:57 GMT

@fatcat wrote:
I agree buying something that expensive w/o a warranty is risky. With my luck, it would break 2 days after it expired anyway, lol Shipping to Japan is NOT cheap either! I think ALL companies should repair their own products, regardless of "WHO" shipped it here. Good companies shouldn't care as long as it's their product you're using, they should be the expert that can fix it, in my opinion. If they loose out on $3-400. per item say, in the grey market, it's worth it to them to try and protect that profit margin and discourage that. So I understand their reluctance to warranty also. But if the warranty only lasts 12 mo. you're outta luck after that. anyway, unless, one has the "Gold" membership. Guess I'll have to go look that up too. Do allot of ppl here have that?

Probably. I do.