Nikon prices in Japan - any info?

[rondal]

A friend of mine is going to Japan in a few days and offered to do

some shopping for me there. I am currently planning to upgrade my

system, anyway, and have been considering purchasing the following

Nikon products. The prices listed next to them are the cheapest I

have been able to find for new items on the Internet. All of these

are being sold by U.S. vendors. I live in Europe, but have not been

able to find prices here that can compete with those in the

U.S.<p><ul><li>FM3a body, black ($469.99)<li>AI-S 45mm f/2.8P, black

($349.95)<li>AI-S 50mm f/1.2 ($429.95)<li>AI-S 85mm f/1.4 ($699.95)

</ul><p>This tall order would amount to almost $2000. I was wondering

if someone here knew what these products cost in Japan, and whether I

could save a pretty buck on them. Thanks for responding.

 

Oh, and if you feel inclined to comment on my choice of hardware,

please do so.

[john_n._wall]

There are lots of discussions about buying camera gear in Japan. On photo.net, see<br>

 

<a href="http://www.tky.3web.ne.jp/~kxa/camera-japan.html">http://www.tky.3web.ne.jp/~kxa/camera-japan.html</a><br>

 

Or use Google to look up some other sites. For representative camera prices in Japan, see <br><a href="http://www.yodobashi.com/">http://www.yodobashi.com/</a><br>

Yodobashi Camera is one of the great camera stores in Tokyo, although not the only one. The prices at Yodobashi Camera are roughly comparable to prices in NYC -- no bargains for Americans, necessarily, but perhaps for you. Definitely worth a trip anyway, because these stores are huge and are a camera gear lover's dream. Some Nikon gear for sale that is not available in the USA, as well. Hope this helps.

[robert_vanlane]

http://kakaku.com/sku/price/105035.htm

The best site for finding the lowest prices in Japan

Here is the link for Nikon Lenses.

 

You can print it out and show it to the camera store and see what the best price they can give you(warning....they wont match or beat those prices). Kakaku.com is a listing of discount shops (the places with cheapest prices have no stores just offices and warehouses)

 

 

The shop I usually order used cameras and lenses is Fujiya

This is a link to the used Nikon lenses

http://www.fujiya-camera.co.jp/chuko_zaiko_kekka.phtml?key_maker=2&key_search_category=5&key_rank=0&key_price=0&key_price_option=0&key_keyword=&key_keyword_option=and&key_distinction=0&print_count=100

 

 

Thanks

 

Robert VanLane

[rondal]

Thanks, John and Robert, for your quick and helpful responses. The Yodobashi and Kakaku links are in Japanese, but I will try to make sense of them. Thankfully, the item names are in English.

[rondal]

Hmm. I checked out your links. On all pages so far, a new black FM3a body with worldwide warranty costs over 100,000 Yen, which is roughly $940. That's twice as expensive as this item costs in the U.S. Go figure.

 

Anyhow, arigato, and so much for buying in Japan.

[akira]

Hi, Ronnie,

 

The price of an FM3A you might have found at the Kakaku.com is actually the price of the body with a 45mm f2.8P lens.

 

However, if you could buy Nikon equipments (suppose them new) at the price you mentioned in the original thread in the U. S., I, living in Tokyo, would want to ask you to buy them there :-).

 

As for the choice of this set of equipments, I would appreciate your taste. Ascetic, compact and versatile.

 

Regards,

 

Akira

[rondal]

Hello Arika,<p>thanks for writing.<p>Yeah, I guess I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions that quickly. The translation service on dictionary.com helped me to differentiate between "black" and "silver", but I did not realize that the stated price actually included the pancake lens. Nevertheless, these two items purchased together only cost $769.95 on B&H (www.bhphotovideo.com) - a difference of $170.<p>Yes, all of the prices I mentioned above are for new items. <a href="http://store.insdigitalworlds.com/yhst-3945695779427/nikonfm3abody.html">Here's the black FM3a body for $469.99</a>, if you're interested.<p>Regards,<br>Ronnie

[akira]

HI, Ronnie,

 

Thank you for your recommendation.

 

Recently I also checked out some prices of different items at some web shops in the U. S. and they seemed pretty cool. In near future I will try to get some from them.

 

Thanks again.

 

Happy shooting!

 

Akira

[rondal]

Well, the body price is fantastic, but I wish those lenses were a bit cheaper... if you happen to hear of any "insider" tips in Tokyo in the next two weeks, please let me know. I can e-mail my friend while he's there and he can pick some stuff up for me. The problem with buying equipment in the U.S. is that having it shipped to Europe will probably involve local import taxes.

 

All the best,

Ronnie