damon_harrell

The best color correction filters for underwater video are made my a company called UR/Pro. Just about every housing manufacturer uses their standard Blue/Green water filter. You can check them out at http://peg2.ntsource.com/urpro/ . These are absolutely necessary for good quality underwater video.

Good Luck!

1) All the items purchased are warranted by Mamiya Japan for one year. I assume that I would need to return the equipment to Japan for service. Considering the amount I saved though, I would probably just pay for service if it is needed. There are extended warranties through companies like GE that can be purchased as well, although some of them require you to buy the warranty at the time of purchase. Not all of them though.

The blurb posted above from the Mamiya US website doesn't really apply, because you are allowed to bring back "gray market" merchandise for personal use. The US customs website states: "... passengers arriving into the United States are permitted to import one article, which must accompany the person, bearing a counterfeit, confusingly similar or restricted gray market trademark, provided that the article is for personal use and is not for sale." This can be found at: http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/travel/travel.htm . Of course, Mamiya USA still will not honor the Japan warranty.

2) I did not notice the pricing on Broncia specifically. I did notice that only the cameras that were made in Japan were cheaper. Hassleblad, for instance, was just as expensive as the US. The other thing I noticed was that film cameras were cheaper than the US; digital cameras equal.

3) I did do some comparative shopping in Akihabara. I found Yodobashi to have everything in stock, and have the best prices. They have a web site: www.yodobashi.com , but it is in Japanese. If you buy from Yodobashi, don't buy everything at once. They have point cards which give you 10% back on all purchases. It takes one day for your point card to be activated, so you need to come back later to get the full savings. I bought the 180mm lens the following day for approximately $450.00 because of the point card.

I just returned from a business trip to Japan, and fortunately for

me, I read some of the treads on this site regarding overseas

pricing on Mamiyas. I wanted to share my experience with you.

I went to Yodobashi Camera in Shinjuku (Tokyo) and purchased a

complete RZ67 setup. This included: RZ67 Pro II body with waist

level viewfinder, AE Prism, 220 back, 50mm ULD lens, 110mm lens,

180mm lens, mirror up cable, and 3 rolls of film. All of this cost

$4249.00 in US dollars. B&H would have come in somewhere around

$8000.00. Mamiya is definitely cheaper in Japan!

Thanks, Damon.