Importing lenses (specifically for Nikon)

[MonkeysUncle]

Hopefully I will get some good advice before buying good lenses.

Just bought a Nikon D5200 for a good price, but will have to get some nice lenses next. I had a look at the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX on Amazon. It was about $590 (about R6 800), with South African prices starting around R13 500 :wtf:.

So, some questions :

• Did/Do any of you buy lenses from Amazon or any other international retailer? If so, how is your experience (delivery/Tax wise)?
• Is it possible to actually get this lens cheaper than R10 000 in South Africa?
• Any online or brick and mortar stores where I can look for good second hand lenses in South Africa?

Any other advice would also be very much appreciated.

 

[fvdbergh]

Hopefully I will get some good advice before buying good lenses.

So, some questions :

• Any online or brick and mortar stores where I can look for good second hand lenses in South Africa?

Any other advice would also be very much appreciated.

If you are passing through Pretoria, you can drop by OutdoorPhoto in Garsfontein road. They usually have some used lenses in store, but the selection is limited, and you will most likely find things like the kit lenses. Still, it is worth checking them (or phoning them from time to time). You can also check their classifieds online (but obviously you will miss out on the brick-and-mortar part that way).

Other advice: take a look at the 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DX instead of the 18-200. Short version: the 18-200 was a decent lens on a 6/8/10 MP body, but it no longer the first choice on a 24 MP body. You may want to look at other brands too: Tamron and Sigma might have a more recent lens in that range (I think Tamron has an 18-250).
You may also want to think hard about why you want such a "convenience zoom" lens. You can generally improve your image quality by using two lenses to cover the same range, but obviously at greater weight and bulk. The 18-300 mm is not intended as a wildlife lens, for example.

 

[MonkeysUncle]

If you are passing through Pretoria, you can drop by OutdoorPhoto in Garsfontein road. They usually have some used lenses in store, but the selection is limited, and you will most likely find things like the kit lenses. Still, it is worth checking them (or phoning them from time to time). You can also check their classifieds online (but obviously you will miss out on the brick-and-mortar part that way).

Other advice: take a look at the 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DX instead of the 18-200. Short version: the 18-200 was a decent lens on a 6/8/10 MP body, but it no longer the first choice on a 24 MP body. You may want to look at other brands too: Tamron and Sigma might have a more recent lens in that range (I think Tamron has an 18-250).
You may also want to think hard about why you want such a "convenience zoom" lens. You can generally improve your image quality by using two lenses to cover the same range, but obviously at greater weight and bulk. The 18-300 mm is not intended as a wildlife lens, for example.

I was actually thinking about maybe going for 2 lenses vs one lense. Thanks for the other tips.

 

[Jola]

Look at the prices on www.orms.co.za, that gives you a good idea about local prices.

I have often ordered Nikon lenses from overseas, this is usually because of the excessive margin required by the local Nikon distributor. With Canon it is usually not worth importing lenses.

There are no duties on lenses, but you have to pay VAT on 110% of the cost, excluding shipping. And then you have to pay the shipping and clearance fees.

Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Do your sums.

And remember the warranty issue.

If you do want to import, look at www.bhphotovideo.com. But people like Nikon SA have tried to get B&H not to ship Nikon equipment to SA, so you may need to use a dropshipper like www.stackry.com.

Or try www.adorama.com, they are not so restrictive. But Adorama are not as professional, they once described an expensive lens as "Camera Equipment", which increased the duties by about R2400. It was like pulling teeth to get that back, and I had to pay a R300 admin fee to UPS.

So B&H is safer, they are very professional.

 

[noxibox]

I was actually thinking about maybe going for 2 lenses vs one lense. Thanks for the other tips.

I wouldn't recommend using two lenses. It quickly becomes annoying having to switch lenses. Honestly unless a lens is genuinely really bad quality convenience trumps quality. Most of the time the lower quality is anyway only visible if you zoom to the pixel level or make prints the size of an aircraft carrier.

Consider, are you going to mostly use one range and only occasionally switch to the range of your second lens? Are you going to have the time to change lenses when you need the other range? Are you always going to have somewhere you can easily change lenses? If you find yourself changing often, have to do so on the move or in a hurry not to miss a shot you'll quickly regret worrying about quality differences you'll probably never even notice unless you're deliberately looking for them.

 

[MonkeysUncle]

I wouldn't recommend using two lenses. It quickly becomes annoying having to switch lenses. Honestly unless a lens is genuinely really bad quality convenience trumps quality. Most of the time the lower quality is anyway only visible if you zoom to the pixel level or make prints the size of an aircraft carrier.

Consider, are you going to mostly use one range and only occasionally switch to the range of your second lens? Are you going to have the time to change lenses when you need the other range? Are you always going to have somewhere you can easily change lenses? If you find yourself changing often, have to do so on the move or in a hurry not to miss a shot you'll quickly regret worrying about quality differences you'll probably never even notice unless you're deliberately looking for them.

Thanks noxibox. The bolded part is actually my problem, and why I looked at this specific lens. I will be using it mostly for landscape photography and would like the option to zoom.

 

[bwana]

I wouldn't recommend using two lenses. It quickly becomes annoying having to switch lenses. Honestly unless a lens is genuinely really bad quality convenience trumps quality. Most of the time the lower quality is anyway only visible if you zoom to the pixel level or make prints the size of an aircraft carrier.

Not so much these days when they're packing in the MPs - what's the point in getting a lens that is only able to deliver say half the resolution of what the camera is capable of?

As for changing lenses - as long as you don't subscribe to this guys method it shouldn't take more than a few seconds.

[video=youtube;ineSsjwIAqI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ineSsjwIAqI[/video]

 

[fvdbergh]

Consider, are you going to mostly use one range and only occasionally switch to the range of your second lens? Are you going to have the time to change lenses when you need the other range? Are you always going to have somewhere you can easily change lenses? If you find yourself changing often, have to do so on the move or in a hurry not to miss a shot you'll quickly regret worrying about quality differences you'll probably never even notice unless you're deliberately looking for them.

Actually, yes. If I am indoors, I am not going to need a 300 mm focal length. At any rate, I mostly shoot in aperture priority mode, so I prefer a shorter zoom range with a fixed aperture --- this is the real "convenience" in my opinion.

Also, you do not need to "have somewhere to change lenses". If you have a sling-style bag it is easy to swap lenses on the go (loosen rear cap on the lens in the bag, take other lens off body and place it in the bag, move rear lens cap onto recently removed lens, attach new lens to body). If you are concerned about switching lenses because of dust, you can rest easy. Most zoom lenses will suck in plenty dust when you zoom (unless you have the high-end semi-sealed lenses with stationary barrels), so you will have to clean your sensor even if you permanently keep your convenience zoom on the body.

Yes, I have missed shots because I had the wrong lens on the body at the time, but personally I dislike it more to have captured a shot with a too-small aperture, which is far more likely to happen with a superzoom lens.

 

[noxibox]

Thanks noxibox. The bolded part is actually my problem, and why I looked at this specific lens. I will be using it mostly for landscape photography and would like the option to zoom.

If it is mostly landscapes then you might need a much smaller zoom range to cover what you require most often. One option is get the standard Nikon kit lenses used, which you should be quite cheap, and give them a try. If you hate switching lenses you can flog them without losing much money.

Some people like changing to specialised lenses, some people have to, others choose simplicity and convenience. They make these wide range zooms for those of us who would rather cover the whole range we need most of the time, even maybe all of the time.

Not so much these days when they're packing in the MPs - what's the point in getting a lens that is only able to deliver say half the resolution of what the camera is capable of?

Who cares as long as I can quickly just take the picture I want to take. What's the point spending a lot of money on a lens I'll hardly ever put on my camera because I'm on the move or in other circumstances where it is troublesome to change lenses?

As for changing lenses - as long as you don't subscribe to this guys method it shouldn't take more than a few seconds.

It sure seems like a long time when I have people bumping into me or I'm busy maintaining my balance on a steep, slippery incline and my bag has now become entangled in the vegetation because I tried to get it off my back. Or I quickly pull over to get an interesting shot, grab my camera and then realise it's the wrong lens. A second later the shot is gone. And I'm thinking to myself why am I changing lenses when I could buy a single lens that covers both ranges?

Also, you do not need to "have somewhere to change lenses". If you have a sling-style bag it is easy to swap lenses on the go (loosen rear cap on the lens in the bag, take other lens off body and place it in the bag, move rear lens cap onto recently removed lens, attach new lens to body).

Until you're doing it on crowded streets or trying to get that bag into position in the bush. I did it for years and when I gave that up it was a breath of fresh air to just have the one lens that covers the range I use almost all the time.

 

[Progenix Oj101]

Don't you select your lens based on what you're shooting? Eg you won't have a 24mm lens mounted to your camera when shooting wildlife or sport, much like you won't use a 400mm lens for street photography.

 

[bwana]

Who cares as long as I can quickly just take the picture I want to take.

What does having a good quality modern lens got to do with the speed you can take a photo?

What's the point spending a lot of money on a lens I'll hardly ever put on my camera because

Would you use a cheap lens more often?

I'm on the move or in other circumstances where it is troublesome to change lenses?

Never said you had to have more than one lens.

You know many of the modern bridge camera have excellent optics and almost all the features of a dslr.

 

[noxibox]

The Nikon 18-140 is worth considering if you need a shorter zoom range.

 

[noxibox]

Don't you select your lens based on what you're shooting? Eg you won't have a 24mm lens mounted to your camera when shooting wildlife or sport, much like you won't use a 400mm lens for street photography.

Yes, if you're doing one thing. When you're quickly moving from needing one to the other you either have multiple cameras with the lenses already mounted or you go with a lens that has a wide range. There's a good reason why these lenses are made and are popular.

 

[MonkeysUncle]

Thanks everyone for the help/comment; very much appreciated. I decided to go with 2 separate lenses. I will get the Nikkor AF-S DX 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED, for now. I can still use the 18-200mm VR lens I got with the camera, until I get some extra moola

 

[Progenix Oj101]

Yes, if you're doing one thing. When you're quickly moving from needing one to the other you either have multiple cameras with the lenses already mounted or you go with a lens that has a wide range. There's a good reason why these lenses are made and are popular.

Like this guy?

[video=youtube;h-6kwdeuSgY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-6kwdeuSgY[/video]