tate_jackson Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 i was surfing thru KEH's website. They have a number of used Nikon F5's for sale. Some marked USA and some marked Imported. Is this a big deal if I'm buying a used camera out of warranty? Will repaired cost more on an "Import" vs. a "USA" Camera? thanks Tate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd peach seattle, washi Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 There seem to be very few places qualified to work on F5's in the USA. Nikon USA says they won't touch an imported model. You might ask KEH if they will do repairs (if needed) outside of their own short warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_h._hartman Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Yes, Nikon USA will not repair them nor sell parts, special tools or software to independent repair shops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Just like there are gray-market cameras, there are gray-market parts, tools, etc. etc. I too would check with KEH and see whether they have a way to repair those gray F5s. I would like to think that a large used store such as KEH would stand behind the used equipment they sell. (I understand that once in a while, a KEH rep would travel to Asia and buy up used equipment for resale in the US. Those are clearly non Nikon USA equipment.) Otherwise, we have discussed many times about alternatives to Nikon USA repair, which is very expensive anyway. You can always ship items back to Nikon Japan for repair, although that is clearly not as convenient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemini_joseph Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Most likely you won't have any problems with F5. It's a tank. I guess KEH will have some return policy. You can inspect your camera within couple of days and see if everything is working fine. I bought mine used and never had a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User_276104 Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 I'd like to add one thing to the topic of this post - How could a used F5 buyer be certain he/she isn't getting an older model with the battery drain problem? There hasn't been much said about this since digital topics dominate the forum. Also, for what it's worth, I bought a used F4s from KEH last spring that turned out to be an import. It wasn't designated either way on the website. No problems whatsoever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonydirk Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 I may be wrong, but my understanding is that Nikon USA will not provide warranty service on import/gray....but will provide service at a cost. Perhaps I'm wrong... Either way....B&H Photo/NY has suppliers that service import F5's (and other gray market Nikon equipment)...and they're VERY reputable. Cheers, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_lofquist Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 APS (Authorized Photo Service), formerly Nikon Authorized Service, will service any Nikon/Nikkor equipment. If it is under Nikon warrenty, they will bill Nikon for the repairs. Otherwise you will pay the standard charges. It makes no difference if it is a USA import. Once a camera has been sold to a second owner, the warrenty is not transferable. APS is in Morton Grove, IL (a suburb of Chicago). Try (800) 406-2046 or (800) 645-6687. www.authorizedphoto.com I have used them twice. Each time the service was swift and efficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aguilabrava Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Ask KEH what's the warranty they offer on each, Imp. and USA. Any model you get will be repaired by KEH under warranty, because Nikon USA warranty doesn't cover used cameras since this warranty is "non-transferable". The advantage of getting the USA model if you live in the USA is that if you ever want to get it repaired by Nikon USA they will repair it and charge you accordingly, but as others have already said, they wouldn't repair any "imported" camera even if you pay them, but there are many places that will, cheaper than Nikon USA, with OEM parts (that they import themselves), and they have all the tools, software, etc., how do I know this?, because I own a "grey" Nikon F5. Now, you will be buying a used camera, USA or not, and they at KEH will give you a warranty, so if I was you, I would base my decision on the price difference between the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aguilabrava Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 ***How could a used F5 buyer be certain he/she isn't getting an older model with the battery drain problem? There hasn't been much said about this since digital topics dominate the forum.*** I've never heard this before... There are not new or old Nikon F5's, because they are all the same, and they are all "power hungry", but that can be re-adjusted by taking the camera to any Nikon F5 camera repair facility. Digital topics dominate the forum?. Wrong!. For every "digital" related post, there are at least 10 film related posts. There are more film photography forums in this website than anything else... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik_loza Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Devil's Advocate position: Who cares about a warranty? The F5 is a top-of-the-line camera and rarely develops any problems. Wasn't there just one documented to 1,000,000 exposures? I purchased mine used and really could care less about USA, Grey, warranty, or otherwise. I checked it out, it worked fine when I got, and that's good enough. To me, that's why you purchase a camera like this in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 When the F5 first came out in late 1996, there was a battery consumption issue. Apparently something was wrong with the battery meter and it considered batteries exhausted even though there was plenty of juice left. Nikon correctly that problem pretty quickly. I bought my F5 at the end of 1997, a little more than a year since it was first introduced, and my F5 hasn't had any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitz_molo1 Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 Sounds like a very bad business from what Nikon USA is doing. They are all came out from the same factory. I cant see why they wouldnt touch it, you are paying for it to get it repaired. Its just like any other F5 that is out of warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 Why is it so difficult to understand that Nikon USA and Nikon Canada wouldn't fix gray-market imports? It is all a scare tactic for business survival and we have discussed it over and over. In the US, products imported through the official Nikon USA channels are more expensive and Nikon USA gets its cut; they need to pay for advertisting, including some big name photographers such as Galen Rowell before, those nice $5.95 Nikon Product Guides they mail to some of us for free, etc. etc. Gray-market products bypass Nikon USA and are cheaper, and stores such as B&H that sell them provide their own warranties. If Nikon USA were willing to fix them for a fee after the warranty expires, there would be no difference between buying Nikon USA or gray. In that case who would be so stupid to buy the more expensive Nikon USA products? And Nikon USA would go out of business. Now Nikon USA manages to generate the impression that gray products cannot be repaired; people are scared and are willing to pay higher prices for Nikon USA products. The same situation happens between Canada and US since prices are considerably higher in Canada. Some Canadians mail order or just cross the border to buy from the US, but Nikon Canada refuses to repair Nikon USA products. It is simply a matter of business survival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_h._hartman Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 The fault lies squarely with Nikon, Tokyo Japan. Nikon USA is a subsidiary of Nikon Tokyo Japan. The market is worldwide now and Nikon should wake up the fact that this is the 21st Century. If they don�t I predict customer protection laws will eventually be rammed down their throats. Nikon can�t even properly proofread their full product guides. I would think they would be ashamed of all the errors. Nikon USA needs new management badly. This is speculation but I think Nikon, Tokyo Japan is attempting to create a "Worldwide Nikon syndicate." Here is more speculation: I think China will be the next big camera producing nation and they will launch their own brands and Japan will loose market share just like Germany did not so long ago. It�s not the Nikon engineers that micturate me off it�s the management. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_h._hartman Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 The Nikon subsidiaries are...<br> <br> Canada<br> Czech<br> Finland<br> France<br> Germany<br> Hong Kong<br> Hungary<br> Ireland<br> Malaysia<br> Russia<br> Singapore<br> Sweden<br> Switzerland<br> United Kingdom<br> USA<br> <br> If Nikon keeps up their "The customer is always last" way of doing business they will pay for it in lost sales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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