sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

If you buy grey market through Amazon you have a return period, where if there is a problem you can simply return it for a refund. Additionally, many grey market sellers will offer a reasonably-priced warranty service that will provide 2 or 3 years of warranty (generally repairs would be done at a service center that they contract with). I haven't purchased any grey market cameras, but am thinking it is probably not a bad idea in general - how often do you have new electronics malfunction?

insman1132 Loc: Southwest Florida

According to statistics, there is a 97% chance you will not need any of the repairs warranted by the mfg one year warranty period on a new camera. So the odds are seriously in your favor.

ggab Loc: ?

I am a Canon shooter.
When I buy used or Grey Market, unless there is some warranty from the seller I buy a 3rd party warranty.
I have had to use it twice and not for a Canon lens but a Tamron.

Most sellers of Grey Market Canon Camera gear that I see offer a 1 year seller warranty. As mentioned, I have never had to use it for my Canon gear.

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

Blind trust right up to the time it need some work because some percent do have issues. it's a fact of mechanical life. It's your risk and glad it has worked for you so far. Because of the cost in general, even the few bucks you get off for gray, I want the warranty.

travisdeland Loc: deland, FL

I recently bought a 5DSR from a Hong Kong dealer-$1800 vs $3600 in this country.There is absolutely no problem getting Canon to work on the grey market cameras-period. You just don't have a USA warranty. The camera was a complete Canon product-manuals, battery, charger, strap, etc. One thing to be prepared for, though, is unless you know Asian language, you may have trouble getting through the menu to change the language to English. Fortunately, my 7DmkII has the same menu structure, and identical button layout. These cameras only have a 1yr warranty, anyway, so just hope you get through the first year-you'll be paying for things afterward, any way you purchase. For the money saved, I'll happily send it in for repair, if needed.

Rsardisco

I had a grey market A-1 back in the day. When I took it to Canon, they explained the policy, but since I had a USA power winder attached, they considered it all under warranty and fixed it for free

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

You're right about the 5D Classic no longer being possible to have Canon repair. They no longer have the parts to do so. You might be able to get something fixed by an independent repair shop.

That's the difference between "factory repair" and independent camera repair shops... The factory repairs virtually always require replacement parts. Instead of fixing things, they just replace them with new. Independent repairers might instead fix things.

For example, the 20D through 50D cameras has a common problem with a sticky shutter button. Finger oils, dust and other "gunk" would get into them. At first, they'd just act sluggish. Then as the problem got worse they could even fail to trip the shutter entirely. Now, all that was really needed was a proper cleaning and re-lubrication of the switch, which is what most independent repair shops would do (there's a trick to do it without disassembling the camera, but it's better to take it apart and do it right). However, if you sent a camera with that problem in to Canon Service, they'd replace the switch with a new one instead.

Another example, if you sent in a camera that needed it's light seals replaced, a "factory service dept." would get a precut part from the shelf and install it... but if those ran out you'd be out of luck. If you instead had the work done by an independent repairer, they'd simply make new light seals out of generic materials that are widely available and can be bought for that purpose.

Sorry, but you're incorrect about a "shutter problem" in that camera. During the early part of production, the 5D C was recalled for another common problem: the mirror coming loose. It was originally just glued in place.

During the recall it was fixed by adding some small metal clips that secure the mirror in place. If your camera has had that recall fix done to it... or if it's one of the later production units which had the same thing done right at the factory... you'll be able to see little metal tabs along the right and left edges of the mirror, securely holding it in place.

Here's an article about the 5D C recall that includes an illustration showing how the mirror looks after the "factory" fix was done to a camera: https://petapixel.com/2015/05/13/canon-warns-the-original-5d-may-suffer-from-mirror-separation/ If you happen to have one of the cameras that wasn't fixed, don't worry. If the mirror ever comes loose, I'm sure an independent camera repair shop would be able to reinstall it... at the very least they could re-glue it, but some experienced with the repair may even have a way of adding securing clips, similar to the factory fix. If you ever have a 5D C mirror come loose, just be careful not to drop or lose it. Best not to handle it at all, if possible.

I recall seeing exactly two 5D C with "mirror separation".... And one of those was a display model in a "big box" store that looked like it had been beaten up pretty badly.

None of the subsequent Canon 5D-series cameras had this problem, so I guess Canon learned their lesson. (I seem to recall that a later model had a light leak issue with some of the first production models... but that too was fixed. I'm not certain, but it might have been 5D III. There's probably some info online, if you care to search.)

This might relate to the original question about buying gray market.... because Canon USA is under no obligation to do recall fixes for free on gray market cameras that aren't covered by any warranty, should a similar situation occur. However, I know they did so on some cameras in the past... They honored the recall and did it for free even on some gray market purchased cameras. Canon Service Dept. is more than fair, in most cases. Besides, the recall fixes were quick and would have been relatively inexpensive, anyway.

Let's see...

5DS-R brand new w/1 yr. USA factory warranty........ $3699.
5DS-R refurbished w/1 yr. USA factory warranty....... $2959.
5DS-R used w/90 day store warranty, 8+ condition... $2400.
5DS-R brand new, gray market, no warranty............ $1689.

You know, $2000 saved would buy a lot of repairs, if needed in the first year!

dc3legs Loc: Tucson

For what it's worth, today on Craig's List I'm seeing several Canon EOS 5D Mk IV kits with the EF 24-105 f/4L is II USM lens claimed brand new for $800 here in Arizona today: two are in Tucson and another in Show Low.

bajadreamer Loc: Baja California Sur

That may fall under the heading, "Too good to be true".

dc3legs Loc: Tucson

Agreed

ballsafire Loc: Lafayette, Louisiana

Thanks for all your information but what does the "C" stand for in 5D C? Thanks.

travisdeland Loc: deland, FL

stands for Classic-the first version

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

What is the source for this camera, dealer or third party used?

travisdeland Loc: deland, FL

not sure who the OP is looking at as far as purchase, but I used E-Infinity on Ebay. The purchase went quickly, and documentation was provided at every step. Hong Kong to Florida via FedEx, in 5 days from the time of purchase. The camera actually came with a 1yr seller warranty-I purchased an additional drops/spills warranty for 3yrs($120). The Ebay listing had the 5DSR for $1710. As mentioned earlier, the only caveat I ran into was the language setting in the camera. On power up, it was in an Asian language. fortunately, having my 7dmkII to use for reference helped with navigating a menu in a language I didn't understand.

James Van Ells

Check on the Canon web site for refurbished cameras. I bought a 7DII and saved hundreds over a new one and it came with the same warranty as a new camera.