Hong Kong Lenses

futureal33

futureal33

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I have just found a website, SimplyElectronics...

Their prices seem almost too good to be true... the item in particular I am looking at, I have spent all day trying to find the cheapest place for it and managed to find it for £339.... then I stumble across SE and they have it for £280!!

Anyway...

I phoned Sigma regarding the company and the lens, and the Customer Service rep advised me to stay away from asian import lenses, and to stick with UK ones...

Is he just trying to get me to buy it from one of their retailers, or is there a valid reason why you shouldnt buy a Hong Kong imported lens.

Ps - as a side note, he told me that they charge £35 to recalibrate a lens (if it was not performing correctly) but that on a new UK lens this would be free, but not free on an imported lens... Is there anything else negative about imports?

Thanks :)
 
If it's a grey import Sigma won't honour the worldwide warranty. There is a list of official uk sellers on their web site, also amazon are official outlets.
 
Taking this into consideration (pulled straight off Sigma's website), would this suggest that the quality of the lens would be identical no matter where you bought it from, and the only difference is the warranty?

Where are Sigma lenses made?
All Sigma products, lenses, cameras and flash units are manufactured exclusively by Sigma in Sigma’s own factory in Aizu, Japan. No Sigma Corporation product - lens, camera or flash - is manufactured outside of Japan. This is very unusual these days, as most companies have at least some of their products produced outside of Japan because of cost considerations.
 
Yes the lenses are all made in the same factory, it's only the warranty that's affected.
 
I have had the same reply from Sigma UK and all they are doing is trying to protect their distributers from loss of sale. I often buy lenses from HK shops without any worries and infact one sigma lens was a third less than exactly the same as the UK version. As for warrantee if you have camera/ lens insurance for it then your ok anyway.

Realspeed
 
Would Sigma UK perform work on the lens, should there be an issue with it?
Obviously there would be an associated fee with this, whereas if I bought a UK lens they would do it free (as long as was within the warranty window right?), but Sigma UK wouldnt refuse to touch the lens or anything would they?
 
futureal33 said:
Would Sigma UK perform work on the lens, should there be an issue with it?
Obviously there would be an associated fee with this, whereas if I bought a UK lens they would do it free (as long as was within the warranty window right?), but Sigma UK wouldnt refuse to touch the lens or anything would they?
Click to expand...

No you would just have to pay for the work. Sigmas web site has a list of set service/repair fees which would give you an idea of what to expect.
 
futureal33 said:
I have just found a website, SimplyElectronics...

Their prices seem almost too good to be true...
Click to expand...

If I were you I would do a search on them in the shopping / suppliers section on here ;)

If you actually want to receive your bargain from Hong Kong I would stick with either Onestop Digital or Digital Rev, both have an excellent reputation.
 
futureal33 said:
I have just found a website, SimplyElectronics...
Click to expand...

I would save yourself potential aggro and forget you did;). Plenty of info available.

As for Sigma lenses, after my experiences I certainly wouldn't spend a day looking for one:lol:. If you must buy one, accept that they have a higher rate of issues than other brands so it depends how much you value your time to sort anything out and any costs incurred. It may of course be perfect and you save some cash. Every lens manufacturer makes duds now and again so no company always gets it right- Sigma just seem to like being at the top of that list.

Maybe Sigma should outsource lens production- I hear Nikon aren't bad:naughty::lol:
 
There's been several hundred posts on SE on avforums; I'd avoid them personally, but if you do use them pay with PayPal (see the avforum thread).

I've used onestopdigital who are excellent IMO.
 
If its imported from HK you may have to pay VAT and import duty as well, so it could end costing as much as a UK lens
 
Sigma wont honour warranty without a "VAT" receipt. I had that problem with a flash I bought off a reputed seller here in the forum. Even with his receipt, Sigma didn't honour warranty. Don't want to discuss any further details about it...

Its the same story with Tamron, so if you want warranty, buy lenses in UK that has gone through proper channels. By doing this, we help the country boost economy, and the government have something to spend on assylum seekers, people who come here with 5-10 children who can't even speak English, criminals who come here and kill our law abiding Citizens and still granted to stay here for humanitarian grounds, etc.
 
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OK thanks for the help so far... I am still a little confused...

I am trying to buy the Sigma 17-70 OS and also the Sigma 30mm F1.4 lenses.

The 30mm 1.4 is well known for having focus issues and has to be sent back to Sigma for recalibration on the lens. If this is under warranty they do it for free... if not they charge £35 for the service.
However, if I buy the lens from Digital Rev or Onestop... it seems to me (and please correct me if I am wrong) that my warranty is with THEM, not Sigma.... and I would need to return the lens to them for either a refund/replacement... when all I want doing is a simple recalibration..

Am I missing something here?

Basically... If I buy from Digital Rev or Onestop and need the focus adjusting on my lens, what do I do?

Cheers for the help :)
 
futureal33 said:
what do I do?

Cheers for the help :)
Click to expand...

Buy from the UK :thumbs:

Remember Sigma's quality control is the end user ... those 'great lens if you get a good one' recommendations should tell you something.

You may spend a bit more, but you will have peace of mind should there be an issue with the lens.
 
With everything i hear about sigma`s needing to be returned for focus adjustments i would personally but from the UK, but just to make it confusing for you i bought a new tamron lens a few weeks ago from a HK seller for less than they go for second hand on here. Now im unlikely to get any warrenty with buying it second hand on here and i wasnt willing to spend the extra £100 buying it from a UK shop so to me i`ve still got a bargin and if worse comes to worse i`ll just send it back to HK for warrenty issues.
 
I ordered it from dzone2 on ebay, had great feeback and the best price. I ordered it late friday afternoon and it was delivered monday morning.
 
If you decide to get it from the UK, there are slightly cheaper prices HERE.
 
If you buy Sigma UK you now get a 3 year warranty on all lenses so that adds some value. If you are definitely looking to buy I could have a word with our rep and see if I could get you a deal on both.

Let me know as Sigma are 10 minutes from our shop and we have a very good relationship.

Stuart
 
Also Tamron comes with 5 year warranty if you buy from UK stockists.
 
strobemonkey said:
Sigma wont honour warranty without a "VAT" receipt. I had that problem with a flash I bought off a reputed seller here in the forum. Even with his receipt, Sigma didn't honour warranty. Don't want to discuss any further details about it...

Its the same story with Tamron, so if you want warranty, buy lenses in UK that has gone through proper channels. By doing this, we help the country boost economy, and the government have something to spend on assylum seekers, people who come here with 5-10 children who can't even speak English, criminals who come here and kill our law abiding Citizens and still granted to stay here for humanitarian grounds, etc.
Click to expand...

Whoa, put down the Daily Mail.

I've bought from One Stop Digital before and will do so again. Great service.
 
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