Canon eos 7d

[nicaev]

Good afternoon.
Once again I am looking for some advised. I have decided to upgrade from my 1000D to a eos 7D, the only problem that I am facing is where to buy it from. I started looking at prices around £1300 but have found some that are less than a £1000 have been told that most of these are imported from Japan. The issue I have is with the warranty 1 company is offering a 3 yr warranty return to store others are only offering 1 yr return to store, I spoke to someone from my local canon retailer who advise me that the imported camera's have different software than the uk model is this the case, if so what would be the problems I would face if any. Would it be more beneficial to me to pay a little bit more and have a UK warranty.The reason for my upgrade is for the 8 frames per second shutter speed and the ISO settings are far useful to me because I can't use flash photography in the trampolining club my daughter attends so would this camera be of any benefit.

Thankyou for reading this hope it makes sence.

Nigel.
P.S.
I have also decided that I will purchase a new Canon 70-200mm either f2.8 non IS or F4 with IS any advise on these 2 lenses or should I go for the sigma 70-200mm f2.8 with Os

Thankyou

[wavemachine]

Are these UK based companies you are dealing with?

I would be very surprised if it was not upgradeable via firmware although I found this thread that shows the Japanese version as only supporting 2 languages.

WIth regards to lenses I guess it is what you are going to do with the camera, the sigma is a good lens but the canon F2.8 is better in build and optically. I own the non IS F4L and wish I had the IS version from time to time especially when the light is fading however it is a cracking lens and my favorite.

I have used the Canon F2.8 non IS MK1 and one thing I will say is it is very heavy so as a walk about lens you will know you are carrying it so if you are not shooting in low light much if it was me then I would lean towards the F4L IS.

If you do need the low light handling and you are going to shoot handheld then you are going to need to keep your shutter speed to match the focal length taking the 1.6 crop factor in to account to ensure sharp images if you are shooting handheld which will probably mean upping the ISO if you what to keep the ISO as low as possible then I would go for the Sigma or save a bit longer and get the F2.8 IS.

The one thing I did not mention over F4 to F2.8 is the extra bit of blurring (DOF) you will get for isolating subjects which is another consideration.

[nicaev]

The camera company's are uk based and have been trading for a number of yr. Thanks for you reply I probably will go for the sigma 70-200mm f2.8 os or maybe I will get lucky on ebay and a canon

[KeithT]

Firstly, all Canon cameras are imported from Japan. The problem is buying grey imported goods that were destined for other countries. Eack country of imported origin has a code within the serial number to say which country it was intended for. That is why there are discrepencies in warranty. This doesn't happen with lenses, as they usually have International warranties. The problem with grey import cameras is that they will need to go back to the country they were first destined for to be repaired. That is why you will have to send the camera back to the shop you have purchased it from and not directly to Canon UK as you would if you bought a non-grey import. It depends whether you trust the supplier of your grey import to honour the warranty they give. I would personally pay the extra money to get the UK warranty and peace of mind, but that is personal as I say.

[BeckH]

Hi, I've bought two cameras from HDEW who seemed to be the cheapest reliable suppliers. I know thatthey import the cameras, hence the price. They are in the UK but you would have to return the camera to them for any service work. I so far have had both my 5Dmk2 and my7D working fine ( though this could be a bad thing to note). I have also just bought a lens from them. Cheaper and safe; what more could you ask for?

In the past I have imported a lens from Hong Kong which worked fine, but I got an import bill although for customs purposes the lens was described as repaired.

Becky

[OldBoy]

Mifsuds have it for £1,147.00 if that's any help. I can recommend them as they give great services.

http://www.mifsuds.com/acatalog/Canon_SLR_Cameras.html

Scroll down for the 7D.

[OldBoy]

Originally Posted by BeckH

In the past I have imported a lens from Hong Kong which worked fine, but I got an import bill although for customs purposes the lens was described as repaired.

Becky

You mean you cheated the government out of due tax! No wonder the country's in a mess.

[nicaev]

Keitht.Thanks for your thoughts I will go for uk model like you said piece of mind.
the only issue I have is which lense to purchase either the 70-200mm f2.8 non is or the f4 with is. It would be used for indoor sports(trampolining) plus outdoor ahthletics and some wildlife, the indoor would be hand held with no flash and athletics with a monopod most of the time, any thoughts on these lenses. I am getting confused about the technical side of photography. I have even thought about the sigma f2.8 os.I have asked this question before still not sure which way to go.
sorry if I am boring some of you readers I will get there hopefully

[KeithT]

Hi nicaev. A friend of mine has had the 7d for about a year now. Recently, he sold his EFs glass and replaced it with L series lenses. He now has the 17-40 L as his walkabout lens and the 70-200 f4 L IS. He is absolutely over the moon with both these lenses on his 7d, and coming from a guy who has used Carl Zeiss and Leica lenses in the past and won't put up with rubbish, that is a good recommendation. Don't forget that the 70-200 f4 L IS has a four stop image stabiliser, and the capability of shooting at fairly high ISOs these days almost negates the extra stop of the faster lens. The only benefits I see with the 2.8 are possibly a better dof separation and a brighter viewfinder when shooting in low light. If it is worth the extra cash for those two points then go for the 2.8 (which is also a lot heavier to carry. The f2.8 is 1490 grams and the f/4 IS version is 760 grams - so almost half the weight.

[nicaev]

good afternoon.
I beleive now with the photography that I am interested in I think that the f4 IS would suite me better, I maybe jumping the gun a little considering I am no professional but would like to be able to take better pictures of my daughter and some wildlife a tripod would work well for me on some occasion If I feel that I have improved then I will buy another lens to suite my needs,my uncle who is a semi-pro has advised me to buy the sigma f2.8 os its almost the same money as the canon f4 I like the the canon though so I think I will stick with that for now
thankyou for you reply you have helped a lot
Nigel.
next thing that I am looking at is a portrait lens any ideas