RRS Loc: Not sure

Go and buy a BMW in Canada or one that was imported into the USA, not the one where you fly over to Germany and bring home and guess what. When to take it to a certified BMW dealer they will tell you that there is no warranty and you will pay for all repairs, no matter how new the car is. Where have you been, cameras have serial numbers and I don't care what receipt you have when the numbers don't add up you will receive your camera back in the same condition that you sent it in. You sound like a very unethical person.

HelenOster Loc: New York

Or.......you contact the authorized dealer directly and ask them to match the affiliate price.....

RRS Loc: Not sure

There's some truth in what you say but why do so many wildlife and bird shooters prefer crop cameras. Reach is why! Take that 18mp camera with a long prime and shoot the same shot with a Canon crop (1.6X) and look at the results. To get the same size image with FF you will have to crop. Now your FF (cropped) is now down to 8 mp and you still have 24 with the crop camera. What you almost have to do is to get closer with the FF. Pictures where you can get as close as you want to then there is no question in my mind that the FF wins hands down. It's a trade off.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

I've never bought anything from eBay, but I have from Amazon. Generally, you are safe buying from Amazon, however some items come direct from Amazon, and others ship from another vendor and Amazon merely acts as an agent for them. So if you choose Amazon, pay attention to where and who the item is coming from. That way you eliminate the grey market problem.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Right Helen!! Within reason, most reputable dealers will price match with other authorized dealers, including B & H, BestBuy, ... Apples to Apples. When I purchased my Canon 5D MIII, (2013) I bought it from Amazon because they offered 18 months interest free credit. I needed the time - did not have the money. That worked for me. Have purchased many items from B & H, Profeel and others. I always shop, but also do so at authorized dealers.
Here's the list for Canon: http://downloads.canon.com/dealer/canon-ad-3-2-17.pdf

Mark

HelenOster Loc: New York

I was actually referring to the affiliate price eg the prices offered by Canon Price Watch, Greentoe and many others. They are simply affiliates (of Adorama, and I guess other retailers as well).

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Todd, thank you for calling that error. It was a year and a half that I met the Canon shooter. Last fall he ran a workshop where he was using the new 5D. Told me he returned both of his earlier bodies, 5D MkII and 7D MkII. He was very happy with the new version, said he didn't need two when one would do. The MkIV is one sweet body.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I did understand that Helen. I'm just confirming.
Mark

londonfire Loc: NY to NC

The way Canon changes their socks I'm sure there's a Mk.V only a few months away. Wait and buy the IV then.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I'm not so sure about changing socks. Canon 5D MIII issued in March 2012 - 5D M IV December 2016. Those socks would be pretty ugly! LOL
Mark

markjay

Yeah yeah yeah.....
Its good to hear that a place like Adorama (which is a good retailer) is defending the grey market tactics and jumping in to say that the camera manufacturers will kjnow immediately what serial numbers came from what stores.

Well - I have news for you. They dont. Or they simply dont check.
No one in a repair shop looks at anything more than the receipt.

My sister bought a Canon camera in an authorized shop in China - where the prices by the way are about 1/3 off the standard retail in the US. (There is no price fixing in China and competition is fierce). Thats right - a $3,000 camera can be bought for about $2,000 in China. And its not just Canon - its all manufacturers being heavily discounted. Some Japanese brands have company owned stores in China and even they heavily discount. The Canon company owned store actually does not discount - but they say it is a "showroom" and not really there to sell.

She had a minor problem 6 months later in the US. She did what I suggested and bought and returned a camera in the US. She then took the receipt to an official repair place with her China purchased camera - and they fixed it with no questions asked.

Yes - if they took the time and tried to research serial numbers - maybe they could have asked some questions. But they probably would have concluded that the retailer on the receipt had purchased some grey market product and sold it, and would not have blamed her since she had a valid receipt from an authorized retailer. So I'm sure they still would have fixed it under warranty.

So yes - stop the price fixing in this US. Do what you need to to work around the games played by the manufacturers. And the big retailers are complicit as well. Sure - B&H has occasional sales. But they are still under pressure to fix prices most of the year. Did you ever wonder why B&H can discount some products so heavily, and cameras not at all ? It is NOT because they dont want to discount. They are forced into playing the game of the camera manufacturers.

All this regional pricing and warranty game is nothing but an attempt to skirt the price fixing laws in the US.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

What does this mean?

The original 5D was marketed from 2005 to 2008... 5DII from 2008 to 2012.... 53III from 2012 to 2016.... and 5DIV was intro'd less than 6 months ago.

5D-series models have had a four year "shelf life"... similar to the 1D-series models. Based on past history, we shouldn't expect a Mark V until 2019 or 2020.

This has been the case with other Canon, too. Original 7D was intro'd in 2009, saw five full years of production, and was was superseded by the Mark II in 2014. And 6D was intro'd in 2012, is rumored to be updated to a new Mark II version sometime this year, which will be about five years of production.

Four or five years is a relatively long production history for a DSLR.

Would you prefer less frequent updates? Is so, then perhaps you should buy a high-end Nikon. Nikonians were whining and complaining for some years about how slow the company was to update the D300 of 2007. It only saw a mild update with the D300S in 2009.... Didn't finally see a "serious" update with the D500 until the middle of last year... a good 8-1/2 years after the series was first introduced.

Canon, Nikon, Sony, Oly, Pentax.... They all update their entry-level cameras frequently... every one to two years.

It's a competitive industry... with everyone playing "catch up" with the other guy.

But, after all, DSLRs are computers and it's a fast evolving and constantly changing industry. Software versions rarely go three years.... Adobe Elements has seen a new version issued every year, almost like clockwork.

So, what's your preference? Slower innovation and less frequent purchases? Or do you want to be able to take advantage of the newest tech and features?

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

It is a sweet piece... it was and remains my second choice in Canon cameras...
I recalled that only because I was camera shopping at the time it appeared...

Best,
Todd Ferguson

Hip Coyote

I've used Greentoe on two occasions and have been very satisfied with the purchases.

PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Gee no ethics needed here, huh ? As already identified, the serial number determines the warranty coverage - not the receipt. And as for the car warranty, if the warranty is not specifically transferable and stated on paper that it is, the warranty may NOT be good on the vehicle you are purchasing. Depends on what the dealer's agreement with the manufacturer is.

As far as buying from Ebay, I have purchased my last 2 cameras from them and have never had any problems with the cameras needing service. KEH, Adorama and B&H Photo all sell on Ebay !! Think about it - if you have a reliable seller (more than 2,000 previous sales) and 90% of their reviews are over 4 stars, chances are that there are no worries. Make sure that the shutter count is not too high - depending on price, I suggest under 40,000 - and if you are really concerned about service, get the extended warranty through Ebay. Most information I have seen is that Canon expects their shutter to hold up through 180,000 shutter activations. KEH is also a good place to buy from with used equipment. Before you purchase, ask for the serial number to identify if its gray market. I believe Canon's web site still has a page where you can enter a serial number and it tells you what market is is linked to. Some market versions ARE more inexpensively made even though they have the same name - cheaper plastic parts instead of metal are used in certain cases. Gray market lenses are famous for having plastic mounting plates.

A long time ago, I bought a gray market Xti used on Ebay. I used it for years and sold it to a friend who still is using it regularly and 2 of his kids used it for photography classes in highschool ! Certainly there is less potential 'danger' buying brand new from a good source like Adorama and B&H but you also are going to experience the rather immediate depreciation on the equipment just like an automobile that loses 20% if its value when you drive it off the lot. Personally, I would rather have the $200 - $400 in my pocket for new glass than just have a camera body alone ...

Good luck with whatever you decide