Great resource to keep in mind, Helen. Thanks for the link.

LensWork said:
My understanding is that Nikon USA will not service gray market Nikon equipment, in warranty, or out, even if you are willing to pay for the repair.

It may be useful to note that as far as I know, this company is a Nikon authorized repair center, and WILL service all Nikon units, including direct import: http://www.nikoncamerarepair.com/

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

HelenO@adorama.com
http://helenoster.blogspot.com

hehehe monty, we have similar situation in Poland, unless You buy Your equipment for Your company and can deduct VAT

hahaha ... for us here in Estonia, cameras and lenses purchased in the US are cheap grey market products. In the case of more expensive lenses (e.g. 300mm, 400mm f/2.8 or 500mm and 600mm f/4), the difference from one lens will already cover the travel expenses. That is of course provided that you forget to declare it accidentally in customs.

I think that the strangest use of terminology is: "world-wide warranty". I think that world-wide means that you can send it from anywhere in the world back to the coutry of purchase and have it repaired under warranty :D

I think that one perk with the high prices is a 3 year warranty on lenses and bodies.

henryp said:
First - there's nothing I know of which Nikon sells which is made in the USA. The USA vs imported (a/k/a "grey market") is about how the product reached the US retailer and how it's warranted and has NOTHING to do with where it was made or assembled.

The specific differences are discussed on our site at http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/GreyMarketStatic.jsp and http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/USGrey.jsp

Nikon USA has told us repeatedly they will never do repair work or service a "grey market" product, during or after the warranty. That means you cannot send them your 4 year old gadget and expect to pa them parts + service.

I wonder if Nikon USA aren't just serenading you there Henry. I can't see Nikon Japan giving out a one year world-wide warranty and allowing one of it's distributors to set policy on whether they do repairs under warranty or not. What you said about rebates and other local distributor backed promotions including the second year Nikon Warranty we get here in Europe (I don't know if you get that in the USA) is normal policy, but absolutely no support - even when paid for - is daft and bad business on many levels.

In my professional life I was responsible for setting after sales policy for a company that is part of a large corporation ($20bn). I also set up a worldwide chain of company trained repair centres and struggled with some particularly difficult CEO's in the USA who tried to dictate policy to me.

If I had a grey market import (which I don't) that failed and the local distibutor would not repair it either under warranty during the first year or out of warranty for normal payment, Nikon Head Office would have to explain to me why that is with the threat of the answer being plastered all over the internet. If I was them I would settle it faster than the time it took me to type this.

First - there's nothing I know of which Nikon sells which is made in the USA. The USA vs imported (a/k/a "grey market") is about how the product reached the US retailer and how it's warranted and has NOTHING to do with where it was made or assembled.

The specific differences are discussed on our site at http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/GreyMarketStatic.jsp and http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/USGrey.jsp

Briefly, US-warranted products are warranted by the manufacturer or official importer/distributor. Nikon USA for example. The US-warranted item is almost always more expensive, eligible for manufacturer's rebate programs and so on. The imported item is less expensive, not eligible for rebates and warraty coverage, if any, is provided by the retailer who may also offer after-market or third-party extended warranties from Mack or SageMax or the like.

Nikon USA has told us repeatedly they will never do repair work or service a "grey market" product, during or after the warranty. That means you cannot send them your 4 year old gadget and expect to pa them parts + service.

For the record, B&H sells "grey market" film cameras, lenses and speedlights. We do not sell and have never sold "grey market" digital cameras.

Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video

elopomorph said:
Can somebody please explain the USA and Imported carera bodies, and provide some insight. If I understand it correctly a USA nikon camera was made in the USA so it will most likely be a better quality product than the same camera as an imported model. Do the USA models have better warranties?

I am considering puchasing a camera body that is imported because it is cheaper.

the fact that product is made in USA doesn't equal it has better build ! jezz...
as for the Nikon it only means that one piece is imported by Nikon USA and the second one is imported by independent importer, i.e. B&H, Adorama. I have no problems with buying "grey market" stuff from big photo companies that import some of the stuff by themselves , as in most case if sth wrong with the product, they simply give You a new one instead of repair.

I have periodically looked at grey market items, but only at reputed places like Adorama or B&H. The only think I have ever bought grey market was the 35mm 1.8, and it was being sold at a premium over the USA model. Of course, the USA model had been out of stock from months and Adorama had the grey market in stock and I need it pretty quick since I live overseas and only make it back to the states periodically. I probably wouldn't risk grey market on an expensive piece of equipment though. One of the caveats in my case is that I live overseas, but buy everything Nikon USA due to the price differences. i live in the Middle East and bodies and AF-S lenses are sold here at a 30-100% premium over US prices. It is actually cheaper for my to buy things at Adorama or B&H and pay $200-300 for overseas shipping than to buy things here. But if I ever need to service something within the warranty period, I either have to pay out of pocket, so send it back with a friend going to the US, have it serviced, and have it delivered to a relative's house to be shipped back over here.

Just my 2 cents

On another note, its a little strange that AF-D lenses here are virtually the same price.

My experience is different. Nikon UK will honour Nikon Worldwide's one-year warranty, but the second year that you get through buying in the country you are in is not offered.

It isn't like buying from Ebay or whatever though, because Nikon UK still honour my two year guarantee less the 3 weeks that the previous owner had my camera body before I got it £200 cheaper at 500 actuations. No problems there, the warranty is not first owner only, it is one or two years from first sold. My equipement is all second hand and all registered with Nikon UK as in warranty.

With regard to buying from some of the dodgy dealers who strip the box and sell you those parts to make up the difference, most of the non-authorised Nikon dealers in Hong-Kong do exactly the same thing - you still get your camera a few bucks cheaper, but not much by the time you have bought your parts back, and they also say that you get two years warranty if you send it back to them but you had better use signed for delivery or they will say they never recieved it. My experience tells me that whole scenario just ain't worth it. I could tell a too long story about a Sony Hand-held GPS I got in the far East and all the assache I got from that but it is too long for here.

Before I bought off Ebay I got the seller to give me the serial number so I could check that it was from Nikon UK (Bv in Europe).

My understanding is that Nikon USA will not service gray market Nikon equipment, in warranty, or out, even if you are willing to pay for the repair. If you buy a gray market Nikon product it may come with a warranty from the seller (not a Nikon warranty), in which case if the item needs to be serviced, the work would be performed not by Nikon, but by the seller or a third-party repair facility.

B and H has a very definitive explanation of it on their site. They are an excellent dealer and I would happily trust their spin on the differences. They also will service most of the gray market items they sell, but I think you have to pay shipping both ways. Read what they have to say and then decide. For me the price difference is never worth the potential bother, but it could be under the right circumstances.

Consumer Reports generally rates both Nikon and Canon highly in terms of product reliability. That said, if something does go wrong with your gray market camera, it's not going to be under warranty under normal circumstances. A lot of gray market dealers (many of them, coincidentally or not, based in Brooklyn) will sell at a knocked-down price, but there's a series of catches. They may sell you ONLY the camera sans lens caps, eyepiece, body cap, manual, software, LCD cover, etc... they'll happily sell you those items separately (having first removed them from the box they came in with the camera). They'll also sell you a cut-rate service agreement, if you'd like, that you would've gotten for free had you bought the legitimate product. The savings you may've gotten on the front end will vanish like steam from a bathroom mirror if something happens to the camera.

So it's kinda like buying from eBay or Craigslist. Nobody's saying you can't, or even shouldn't, for that matter. Just go in with eyes open, and be well aware it's strictly Caveat Emptor.

Best bet: Bite the bullet and buy the legitimate product from a legitimate dealer. Nikon's site has a PDF that's got licensed dealers and repair centers from coast to coast.

elopomorph said:
Can somebody please explain the USA and Imported carera bodies, and provide some insight. If I understand it correctly a USA nikon camera was made in the USA so it will most likely be a better quality product than the same camera as an imported model. Do the USA models have better warranties?

I am considering puchasing a camera body that is imported because it is cheaper.

Just for your info...Non USA cameras and also lenses, flashes, etc. are called "Grey Market" Items.

USA means it was imported through Nikon USA and will be covered by the normal warranty. The imported (meaning imported, but not through Nikon USA) items will have more murky service options, since Nikon USA will probably refuse to service them. You can buy imported and hope nothing goes wrong—they're made in the same place.

Can somebody please explain the USA and Imported carera bodies, and provide some insight. If I understand it correctly a USA nikon camera was made in the USA so it will most likely be a better quality product than the same camera as an imported model. Do the USA models have better warranties?

I am considering puchasing a camera body that is imported because it is cheaper.