[R2D2]

Originally Posted by shajufx

I am confused, because B&H site mentions the same product in 2 titles; 'USA' and 'Imported' and the prices are different. The lens that I got from B&H does have a warranty card that mentions "Warranty applicable only for USA". That was shipped in February 2010, so I dont know if things have changed now.

If they clearly specify warranty is applicable to the USA, then it makes more sense to buy gray market. People pay extra for the warranty and support. I purchased my first film SLR and some some basic lenses in the US . All items had international warranties. See this Nikon USA link :

USA warranty honored in other countries?


----I quote---

"The Nikon USA warranty on film cameras, lenses, and speedlights will be honored by Nikon-authorized service centers outside the United States as long as you have the yellow copy of the Nikon USA warranty and your sales receipt from a dealer in the USA. The key to the validity of the warranty is a sales receipt from the country in which you purchased the equipment. If you purchase equipment in another country where the Nikon Worldwide Warranty applies, copies of the sales receipt and this warranty are necessary to obtain warranty service in the USA. Buying the equipment with a Nikon Worldwide Warranty in the United States is not recommended because that warranty is not valid in the USA without a sales receipt from an overseas dealer, and it is not valid outside the USA with a sales receipt from a dealer in the USA.

Please note that the Nikon USA warranty we supply with our sport optics products (binoculars, fieldscopes, spotting scopes, etc.) is valid only in the USA. The same is true of the Nikon Digital Imaging Limited Warranty we supply with digital cameras and film scanners."

--End quote--

This should clarify any confusion you have over the Nikon US warranty. To recap - lenses, film SLRs and flashes have internationally valid warranties, DSLRs do not. The same policy is applied here by Nikon India.

Rgds

[chethan.ram]

I will be soon buying a DSLR, I am finding it difficult to choose between Canon 550D and Nikon D90. 550D and D90 users, please share your reviews. Thanks in advance.

[rajatsingh78]

I don't know your source of information, but I have it in an email from Nikon India, Gurgaon about this, I specifically mailed them asking what will be covered under warranty (lens/body), they told me that all Nikkor lens are covered under international warranty, while the body is covered by the warranty only in the country of purchase, if you want the email I can forward it to you..just drop your email address in a PM to me.

Originally Posted by shajufx

Wrong. If you buy from US, you might have only the US warranty, not valid in India. Or you might get the international warranty by paying extra. I got my 35mm 1.8 shipped from B&H US and it has only US warranty.

Chethan - To be honest Canon and Nikon users are more choice driven individual, its like asking on a sports car forum about which car is better Ferrari or a Lamborghini. Users will generally defend the brands they use. I was in the same confusion a couple of days back, but then upon searching over the internet eased things out, simply search, weigh and choose. This is the best solution I can offer. BTW I contacted a couple of wildlife photographers in India, two of them suggested me to go for Nikon for their rugged build quality. So after reading a lot on the internet and the recommendations by pros I decided upon D90.
Choose wisely...

Originally Posted by chethan.ram

I will be soon buying a DSLR, I am finding it difficult to choose between Canon 550D and Nikon D90. 550D and D90 users, please share your reviews. Thanks in advance.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by rajatsingh78

Chethan - To be honest Canon and Nikon users are more choice driven individual, its like asking on a sports car forum about which car is better Ferrari or a Lamborghini. Users will generally defend the brands they use. I was in the same confusion a couple of days back, but then upon searching over the internet eased things out, simply search, weigh and choose. This is the best solution I can offer. BTW I contacted a couple of wildlife photographers in India, two of them suggested me to go for Nikon for their rugged build quality. So after reading a lot on the internet and the recommendations by pros I decided upon D90.
Choose wisely...

Chethan, I was about to say the same! Its like asking I have to choose between coffee and tea, and let me know which one is better! I am personally a Canon person and hence would opt for the same. In fact as you guessed earlier I plan to get a 550D very soon!

Rajat, I talked to similar guys who vouched for Canon!

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by chethan.ram

I will be soon buying a DSLR, I am finding it difficult to choose between Canon 550D and Nikon D90. 550D and D90 users, please share your reviews. Thanks in advance.

Apart from analyzing the pros and cons, try to actually hold and use the camera (demo piece) and see which one you relate to. I see that you are in Bangalore - there is a Canon lounge near Brigade Road and Nikon lounge at Whizz.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by rajatsingh78

I don't know your source of information, but I have it in an email from Nikon India, Gurgaon about this, I specifically mailed them asking what will be covered under warranty (lens/body), they told me that all Nikkor lens are covered under international warranty, while the body is covered by the warranty only in the country of purchase, if you want the email I can forward it to you..just drop your email address in a PM to me.

I have already provided links to Nikon India and Nikon USA sites..PLUS copied and pasted the relevant clause all in the hope it will end any confusion. Hope we can now stop debates on this point.

[shajufx]

Guys, whatever I have posted on the warranty part is from the personal experience of buying not from any links or rumors or someone's opinion. And I have mentioned in my first post itself that the pricing is different in the country specific warranty and international warranty at least on B&H online shop. I purposely chose the US warranty listed item thinking I could save more than the grey price here, but the shipping and custom duty killed the purpose.

So, I am not debating here but just posting what I have gone through in real life, and I am not going to get an International warranty now by agreeing to what you guys are telling or by reading the links . Please understand the difference of 'debate' and 'real-life'.

Note: Forgot to add, I have bought 7 lenses and 2 bodies in the last 18 months, not a single one has neither of the warranties

[naveenvenkatesh]

Originally Posted by R2D2

3D DSLRs? Hmm..so let us all of us be prepared be shell out TWICE the mount of money for 2 lenses of each speed and focal length!



If you are learning photography as nearly all of us here on this forum are, buy your lenses in steps/instalments.

A wideangle is a must if you want to shoot landscapes. Don't go in for dedicated i.e. prime WA just yet. Buy a zoom. A good WA zoom I've heard of is the 18-200 AF-S VR DX. But not sure if it fits in your budget. Other sources in the US are Adorama and B&H Photovideo.

Cheers!

The 18-200mm is about 700$. This is a bit above my budget. Is there any other good WA zoom lens i can pick up at about 500$ range?

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by shajufx

but the shipping and custom duty killed the purpose.

Note: Forgot to add, I have bought 7 lenses and 2 bodies in the last 18 months, not a single one has neither of the warranties

shajufx I am curious, how much did u pay as customs duty i.e. as a %age value of the lens you ordered from B&H?

I am surprised at the experiences that you had with the warranty for your kit. Were they all intentionally grey market units or were they country specific warranties? Everything Nikon product I have bought (exception is 1 lens) has been with a warranty. My experience has been quite the opposite of yours.

[naveenvenkatesh]

Originally Posted by shajufx

When are you returning ?
Mind buying a 50mm f/1.4 for me too ? Seriously. But before that I would prefer to compare the price difference, because 99% chances are getting grey product here for the US price. I assume you have the kit lense 18-55. You can sell it and buy a Sigma 10-20 or Tokina 11-16 and the 50mm f/1.4. All the rest could be added later.

Sure. I can pick one up for you as well. The 'Plan' is to leave by this month end and return by end of December. But the decision hinges on the customer. They are yet to say YES. But i have been told to prepare to leave by this month end or first week next month nevertheless.
I will keep you updated. Just pray that the customer says YES

I don't want to sell the kit lens just yet.

[shajufx]

My purchase was 35mm f/1.8G from B&H which was US$199 in Feb 2010 which is around 9k INR approximately. I was happy to see that price because grey here was 12k and MRP was 14k. I underestimated the custom and shipping. Finally when it came to my door-step I had to pay some Rs.3000 as duty in cash (UPS Express I think). Add the shipping and total net cost came to 14200 something which is way over MRP here. I had posted the complete break up in this thread itself the next day. I was not bothered about the warranty anyway, because otherwise I would have picked up grey from here which anyway doesnt have any warranty.

I also bought 18-55, 55-200, 70-300 (all VR versions) and Tamron 90mm 2.8, all from grey outlets here. None had any warranty. All of them are sold now without much depreciation. Now I have only Nikon 35mm, 18-50 f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8 both from Sigma. The 70-200 has a warranty card, I dont know how it came in the box, because that again was grey buy.

I was not bothered about the warranty part at any time or situation but was more bothered about the price difference , may be it sounds stupid.

Naveen, thanks for the good heart, and I would be buying within a month mostly. Thats why I was keen to know when is your return

[naveenvenkatesh]

Originally Posted by rajatsingh78

Since D3000 is not a full frame camera, technically a 50mm lens would give results like the 35mm lens on the same camera (pros here please correct me if I am wrong). Having said that still go for 50mm, AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D costs just $120 on Amazon.
For 70-300 I will recommend the following -
Sigma 70-300mm F/4-5.6 DG OS for $380 (this is has auto focus & optical stabilization)
Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6G AF for $130 (Auto focus but no vibration reduction)

The 50mm will do for most of your needs, it has got rave reviews for indoor and low light conditions, some people even say that its so good that it out performs some $1000 worth lenses.

Note - All Nikkor lenses are under international warranty, I have emailed Sigma to know their warranty status in India and will keep you posted.

Hey thanks. I will be buying 50mm f1.8.

For zoom lens, i am looking at about 70-300 or 55-300. Which one would be better?
Also, Sigma 70-300mm F/4-5.6 DG OS (this is has auto focus & optical stabilization) is 599$ on the official site. Can i get it for 380 as you mentioned elsewhere? Do you have a link?

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by naveenvenkatesh

I don't want to sell the kit lens just yet.

Good decision , To the new users to DSLR I would say make the maximum use of kit lens , Probably kit lens is the only one you will need in the beginning.

There are lots of things to learn while shifting to DSLR from P&S and only after learning those basics one can appreciate why some lens is considered better then kit lens.

Also the price you will get for kit lens will be almost same if you sell it now or 1 year later.

[naveenvenkatesh]

I would like to know if there is going to be a lot of difference between 55-300mm and 70-300mm.
I have short listed Nikon and Sigma for both. I see that 50-300mm is cheaper than 70-300mm. Or am i missing something here?

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by naveenvenkatesh

I would like to know if there is going to be a lot of difference between 55-300mm and 70-300mm.
I have short listed Nikon and Sigma for both. I see that 50-300mm is cheaper than 70-300mm. Or am i missing something here?

One aspect would be the other lens that you (will) have. If it is, as you mentioned, 18-55mm, then I think either 55-300mm or 70-300mm is going to be problematic. Some sort of range overlap is needed I think. I am not an advocate of changing lenses often while shooting (lots of issues like dust, damage to mount, danger of dropping etc).

The Nikon one, is it AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED (4.3x)? If so, earlier posts say that it is a good lens, but questionable sharpness beyond 250mm. Effective use may be only till 250mm. Jayesh also told me the same, in fact he was discouraging me from going for it. Not sure if the same issue is present in 55-300mm.

Cost-wise, Nikon 70-300mm (29K), Nikon 18-55mm (7K) together reaches 36K. You need to consider whether you can opt for AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II now (49K). Opting for this lens will save lots of headaches later. This lens would be the only one you need apart from a wide angle, not considering specifics like macro/birding etc.