Which 50mm?

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D_finni

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David
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Hey guys im after a decent 50mm for my 50D but dont know which to get my budget is roughly £100 as another option to make it cheaper if its worth it i do have the FD mount
Comments and Advice plz :D
 
At that budget the only option I can think of is the Canon 50mm f/1.8 II. It's a decent lens for the money.
 
Alastair said:
At that budget the only option I can think of is the Canon 50mm f/1.8 II. It's a decent lens for the money.
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Yeah thats what ive seen and can get the f/1.4 for around the same amount

Also something else i forgot to mention is that im going to Hong kong 6th Jan 2011 so should i wait till then and see what they have available over there as my budget will probably be bigger as well
 
Where can you get the 1.4 for around the same amount?
 
David,

Be very wary in HK. I go a couple of times a year, and most of the camera vendors that seem to be offering great bargains are a little "offside", you might say.

You can buy from real shops like Broadway - but the smaller shops with loads of neon Nikon and Canon signs are all in cahoots with each other - especially on Nathan Road Kowloon.

The way they work is generally to offer you a really low price on the item you ask for - and then attempt to switch sell to you. After giving the price, they will call the imaginary "warehouse" as they don't have the item in the shop - only the display model. Then they will report they can get it in an hour or a few days depending on the approach on the day. They then either try and offer an alternative, or sell you loads of other stuff to go with the item you want.

When the item finally arrives, they will tell you that the price given was for the "local" version, and they didn't have that one - so they brought the "international" version - which is now a lot more money.

I've wasted my time in these shops plenty in the past, and no longer bother with them anymore.

Not sure about the Canon gear, but Nikon UK do not warrant items bought in HK either.

The better deals, I've found, are on Sigma lenses over there, from the real high street chains like Broadway, or the small independant camera shots Island Side - they are mostly on a small road near Soho (from Central MTR, and head up the escalators towards the Peak - Soho is signed).

Cheers Mark.
 
braddersmd said:
David,

Be very wary in HK. I go a couple of times a year, and most of the camera vendors that seem to be offering great bargains are a little "offside", you might say.

You can buy from real shops like Broadway - but the smaller shops with loads of neon Nikon and Canon signs are all in cahoots with each other - especially on Nathan Road Kowloon.

The way they work is generally to offer you a really low price on the item you ask for - and then attempt to switch sell to you. After giving the price, they will call the imaginary "warehouse" as they don't have the item in the shop - only the display model. Then they will report they can get it in an hour or a few days depending on the approach on the day. They then either try and offer an alternative, or sell you loads of other stuff to go with the item you want.

When the item finally arrives, they will tell you that the price given was for the "local" version, and they didn't have that one - so they brought the "international" version - which is now a lot more money.

I've wasted my time in these shops plenty in the past, and no longer bother with them anymore.

Not sure about the Canon gear, but Nikon UK do not warrant items bought in HK either.

The better deals, I've found, are on Sigma lenses over there, from the real high street chains like Broadway, or the small independant camera shots Island Side - they are mostly on a small road near Soho (from Central MTR, and head up the escalators towards the Peak - Soho is signed).

Cheers Mark.
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Thanks Mark thats really helpful i always have been wary bout buying from HK as i know they do a lot of cheap and fake stuff but whenever you search for lenses on eBay most come from HK thats why i was unsure so is it better to get them imported from HK?
 
Your best bet is one of the major retailers - the offers may not seem as good as the small "dodgy" shops, but the exchange rate is excellent at present (12.5hkd=£1) and remember HK is duty free.

An example - I was there 3 weeks ago. Looking for a D7000, but they were not available at that time. Broadway (there are several on Island side, or Kowloon) said that the SRP would be 10,450HKD (£836). Further, they said it would likely have a street price of 9750HKD (£780). Out of interest I tried one of the "dodgy stores" also, and they quoted me 7500HKD, and asked if I could wait while they checked stock at their warehouse - a good illiustration of how they work.

Camera price buster shows the cheapest current UK price as (£950). That's still some saving, even from the reputable stores. eBay HK sites are currently selling this model at £882 cheapest. After all, the ebay sellers will be making a profit too!

For lenses, I found that the best value was on Sigma - I picked up a 24-70f2.8HSM from there this time last year for approx. £420. UK price at the time was over £700 from memory. There are still savings to be made on Nikon lenses also - didn't check Canon unfortunately.

If you need any more info, gimme a shout.

Cheers, Mark
 
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I lived in HK years ago and the best bet, for buying just about anything, was to take a Chinese friend or colleague with you. Is this an option?
 
MartynK said:
I lived in HK years ago and the best bet, for buying just about anything, was to take a Chinese friend or colleague with you. Is this an option?
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Very valid and true, but make sure they are Cantonese speaking rather than Mandarin - I made the mistake of asking a friend in Shenzhen (originally from Tianjin) to pop over for a few pints on one visit - his language skills did not go down too well when shopping!
 
Good point. Spoken Cantonese and Mandarin are mutually incomprehensible.

Actually, there were three prices in my day. The tourist price, the "expat" resident price and the local price. My Cantonese was fluent enough for most shopping, but I couldn't pass myeself off as a local very successfully! OTOH, I was a cop and usually had D/Sgt Fok Sai Hung with me, which discouraged scams.
 
No unfortunatly its not an option for me most of my friends speak japanese i think ill just pay that little bit more over here and know what im getting :) i dont want to end up getting conned with some knock off cheap thing
 
You won't get cheap knock off from either the established shops like Broadway nor even the "dodgy" ones - it will all be genuine gear. The major worry is warranty support. Some stuff like Apple gear (great pricing even at SRP) has worldwide warranty. Other stuff like Nikon bodies etc are not supported here. That's the main worry. If you check that before you go, you won't have any problems at all.

Knock off or fake gear is much more common in Shenzhen or Guangzhou. some of it is actually of surprising quality!! Hong Kong tends to be quite a bit big brand. It is a very affluent city. Only knock off stuff I've seen are the really bad copy watches traded by the street sellers at the bottom of Nathan Road - for top quality ones, go to Guangzhou!!

Cheers Mark
 
Im definatly gonna have a look in Broadway when i get there hopefully theres 1 close its a shame there website cant be translated very well
 
Where are you staying? Some HK Island side ideas.

Broadway
G/F & B/F, Hang Lung Centre,
Paterson Street,
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.
(852) 3427-9819

Broadway
Shop 714, Times Square,
1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay,
Hong Kong.
(852) 2506-1330

Broadway
Shop 012, Cityplaza, Taikoo Shing,
Hong Kong
(852) 2884-0324

Alternatively, there's also Fortress...

Fortress
Shop 418, 4/F,
Cityplaza,
Tai koo Shing, Hong Kong.
(852) 2568-2280

Fortress
SHOP 73, 75 & 76 ON BASEMENT, WINDSOR HOUSE, 311 GLOUCESTER ROAD. CAUSEWAY BAY
(852) 3907-0411

All of those are Island side - should be enough to go at. The one in Times Square is probably the biggest.

Ta, Mark
 
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So, Island side, if a tad far on. Best bet is Times Square in Causeway Bay. Easy enough to tube and walk, but its not right outside the MTR station, so maybe better to grab a cab - will cost you about 2 quid from Quarry at a guess.

Ta Mark
 
braddersmd said:
So, Island side, if a tad far on. Best bet is Times Square in Causeway Bay. Easy enough to tube and walk, but its not right outside the MTR station, so maybe better to grab a cab - will cost you about 2 quid from Quarry at a guess.

Ta Mark
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Nice thanks Mark ill definatly look into it when i get there :) im just unsure what to do for now haha
 
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