Buying a DSLR in SE Asia, advice please.

dulpit

Hey, so i'm currently touring SE Asia, and will be passing through both Bangkok & Singapore (i'm ultimately heading for Australia) and would very much like to purchase a DSLR on my way..

The question is, where? Is Bangkok cheaper than Singapore or vice versa?

Also, has anyone ever bought a camera in Asia? Any problems??


Any help or advice would be very much appreciated, thanks!

Pinarello

Forget about Bangkok,it's really expensive.I was there 5 years ago on the way home from Australia.I wasn't into cameras at the time but wanted to buy an ipod.It was dearer to buy there than here in Ireland.Your best bet would be in Singapore airport or if you can stop off in Singapore for a day or two.

nilhg

The only likely problems would be with warranty and documentation, some companies (Canon?) will only warranty gear for the region it's purchased in whereas others (Olympus certainly and probably most of the others) will give worldwide cover.

Documentation in the box may or may not have an English version, but if not you can always download one from the net.

I bought an Olympus lens in Kuala Lumpur, it was about 66% of the price here, after some negotiation, the shopping centre we went to specialised in electronics and camera shops and had more choice in one level than all of Dublin.

dulpit

I suppose the thign with warranty will affect me regardless, as i'll be in Oz for the next year or so before coming home, and i'll be buying one sooner rather than later...

I think i'll put my hopes on Singapore, by all accounts it's amazing for electronics (plus they speak English which is a bonus...)

Fionn

I was there in December last and i was looking for a Canon G9 but couldn't get one for a better price than say Calumet or some of the e-bay shops, eventually got a G10 in the Duty Free part of Heathrow on my way home it was way cheaper than any of the Singapore shops, but that was a compact, I wasn't really searching for prices on DSLR's to be honest but from what I did notice Orchard Road (main shopping district) seemed to be a little dearer than other places, Sim Lim Towers (Little India) is an electronics dream - about 6 stories of everything electronic. I was told that Mustafa Centre was the place to go for cameras - never made it there so i cant say what the prices were like. Chinatown had a good few Camera outlets too, seemed to be slightly better prices on some stuff there.
One thing to be prepared for, when you step off the escalator (if you get that far) expect to be harried and hounded by the lads vying for business, seemed to me that they were all talk and not much into bargining and eventually it was a turn off to go into a lot of the shops!

pic of Sim Lim Towers interior
good luck

mikeanywhere

If you buy electronic gear, don't forget to get a plug adapter too as it wont be our 3-pin plug on it

CabanSail

I don't think BKK has ever been a place for Camera Gear. Good for clothes though.

Unless things have changed a lot lately then Singapore & Hong Kong are good places to shop. I have also heard that Dubai can be very good if you know where to go.

If you are looking at Singapore then have a look at Club Snap, which is a Photography Forum based there. They have posts there as to what the current prices are around town. I did have a problem with one of their favourite suppliers (Lords) but that was because they will tell you bt email what you want to hear rather than what is the actual situation.