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I would NOT do it. First of all, you won
I hear you loud and clear on the fraud issue. the warranty on the other hand might not be such a big issue since I am contemplating moving there eventually or at least have friends who would be able to make arrangements. I just wonder if it
Any chance you
An awful lot of electrons were terribly inconvenienced in the making of this post.
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Memostothefuture
you may want to try amazon.com China site. it says the TS-E24mm 3.5L II is not in stock now but you can order now and they will email you when it's available. it will be sold directly by amazon.com.
the price is 13099RMB, about $2062(13099/6.35=2062), I have noticed that it's available in amazon.com U.S site selling at almost the same price. so maybe it doesn't need to wait too long. not sure if there is any tax or duty since i have never ordered anything from that site. you may want to contact them first, anyway, good luck!
Meanwhile, I've found my Hong Kong price comparison website: price.com.hk
It's all in chinese, but you can navigate it easy enough from pictures and a few english words, try the drop-down menus too. Look for the orange ? (warrantied) instead of the blue ? (grey market).
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Unfortunately, the one lens I couldn't see there is the TS-E 24 II (But i do remember seeing it in a window last time I was there).
The 85 f/1.2 II you can get under $15500, but even a conservative HK$16000 is €1550, fotokonijnenberg.nl is €1960
Even that savings by itself is paying your ticket from Shanghai to HK. Still, Shanghai shops can't be much more expensive, just more risk of dodgy stuff, Hong Kong is fairly good for genuine stock.
Just make sure you have a Multiple Entry Visa for Mainland China or you're not getting back to Shanghai after the shopping trip...
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and for random other comparisons:
24 f/1.4L II averages HK$13000 = €1250, fotoK = €1490
50 f/1.2L averages HK$12000 = €1160, fotoK = €1420
300mm f/2.8 IS II, HK$53k = €5120, fotoK = €6500
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damn, now i wanna go back to Hong Kong. I know the best place for deep fried squid legs near the camera shops too...
An awful lot of electrons were terribly inconvenienced in the making of this post.
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that trip to hong kong sounds really tempting but at least on this upcoming trip it would be very difficult to find the time. but it might still happen in the future if I do go back and end up staying there. (that