[Matty]

I was looking in an old camera shop today looking for stuff, but im concerned about buying used lenses and equipment, so it got me thinking about what others do, where do you get your gear from?

[SDK^]

I buy all my cameras from reputable dealers - i.e. Park Cameras.
It might cost a little more but the service offered makes it worth it.

All of my lenses have been bought from an e-bay shop based in Hong-Kong (Digital Rev). They offer a world wide warranty or full cost replacement and postage back to them. I have never had to use this service because the lenses have been the best quality.
All future lens purchases will be from Digital Rev

[Steep]

Back before I found internet shopping I used Jessops mail order mostly but that was long ago. My most recent purchases have been either through eBay or from 7dayshop.com.
eBay is getting expensive these days, I can almost always find what I want for the same or less elsewhere. I would never buy anything significant locally as the prices can be shocking.

[digitalfailure]

I've only ever bought cameras and lenses from high street retailers to date.

The ability to try the gear and get a feel for it and compare it to other products is worth the little extra on it's own.
And to make it an even nicer experience, I recently managed to buy a faulty L series lens :eek: I took it back to the shop and got a replacent with no questions or bother of sending it back in the post.

[Digital SPG]

What you need to do is find someone who has a decent camera they never use and then buy it from them :wink:

If not I get just about everything on-line. E-bay has some very cheap new gear. There is an obvious risk but I weigh that against the savings. If it is just a few quid then i'll go to the high street if it is tens of pounds or more then I have no worries about buying on-line.

Which camera shop Matt? was thinking of looking for some second hand filters. At least you can visually see if they are in good condition.

[The Edge]

I bought almost all of my nikon gear used and never had a problem. I think as long as you buy from a dealer you are OK as they will check it all very thoroughly before buying it in.

[Liberalis]

Where do you buy gear?

From Fungus, he has a huge lock-up of the stuff!!!!

Ohhh you mean Camera gear ... Sorry

:lol: :lol:

[Digital SPG]

Now they will all want some :roll: :P

[Matty]

*snigger* i was trying not to say anything like that Kris!

Steve there is one in maidstone, go up from argos, turn left and its along there, also the little photography shop in west malling, imaginatively titled West Malling Photographic.....old guy in there looks like Richard Harris preparing to be in Harry Potter, lots of gear but lack of Canon EF gear yesterday.....he does have filters etc though

[Matt]

When I had the Fuji S2 The lenses all came from Hongkong (HKsupplies).
When I moved over to Canon The Fuji/Nikon kit was sold at a profit,
Which meant after buying all the replacement kit I had a free 12 months of photography.

Most of my current kit is UK sourced from Warehouse express

I've also had the Odd item from 7Day, but haven't used them since it took nearly 4 weeks for some lenses to arrive.

[jewel]

"From Fungus, he has a huge lock-up of the stuff!!!!

Ohhh you mean Camera gear ... Sorry "

Tisk, Tisk, I hope your not saying what I think your saying, hmmm
jewel

[Steve]

Most of my equipment has come from Jessops but massively reduced in cost due to price matching. I will not pay much over the odds for anything but do value a local return point should any of it develop faults. For that I am willing to pay slightly more than Ebay prices but not the usual high street extortions. I have some equipment from 7 day shop due to price and some from Ebay also but this has mainly been smaller accessories like batteries. I have also bought equipment from Warehouse Express and found their service to be excellent although their prices can be almost comparable to high street stores for some items.

[silkstone]

My equipment has come from all over the place, but after recent experiences I will go along with Steve's recommendation to buy locally if at all possible. It may be my imagination, but quality control problems seem to be on the increase, and there is a huge advantage in being able to swap something at a local store. It's been said before, but remember that www.cameras2u.com is part of the Jessops Group, and Jessops will almost always match their prices.

I buy photo paper and inkjet cartridges from 7dayshop, and memory cards from either a US-based eBay supplier or www.photo-scotland.co.uk who I have discovered recently. They seem very competitive and mail out the same day.

[Steep]

You're not wrong silkstone, the first thing to go as prices fall is quality control. It's the same throughout industry, we expect to be able to pay the cheapest price but the difference has to be made up somewhere.

[Arkady]

Warehouse Express - cheap and reliable - also no problems with duff kit - my first portable HD failed and they replaced it by return post with no questions asked.

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/

[seberri]

I buy all in germany they are the cheapest in europa for camera and lenses

[Matt]

Originally Posted by SDK^

I buy all my cameras from reputable dealers - i.e. Park Cameras.
It might cost a little more but the service offered makes it worth it.

All of my lenses have been bought from an e-bay shop based in Hong-Kong (Digital Rev). They offer a world wide warranty or full cost replacement and postage back to them. I have never had to use this service because the lenses have been the best quality.
All future lens purchases will be from Digital Rev

I know someone who got a faulty lens from Digital Rev. It took about 3 months to get a replacement from them.