Would you buy a grey market Nikon camera or lens?

haring

Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2011
Messages
287
Format
35mm
Have you ever bought a grey market Nikon camera or lens? Currently all my Nikon stuff is USA not grey market. The price difference is close to $1000 between a grey market Nikon D4s and its USA Nikon counterpart. It is just too tempting....

Did you have any problems servicing your grey market camera or lens? Did you find a third party service center after Nikon had refused fixing it? Are those third party service centers reliable? Are they more expensive than the Nikon USA Service center?

I just want to find out whether it is worth it to save $1000 now and service a grey market product in the USA.

Thanks so much!
 

CGW

Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2010
Messages
2,896
Format
Medium Format
Given Nikon's atrocious QC record of late, I'd say no, especially for a high-end body. Bought many gray lenses 10-15 years ago with no issues. Bodies? Never. There's also resale/trade-in value to consider.
 

L Gebhardt

Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Messages
2,363
Location
NH
Format
Large Format
I've bought a grey market teleconverter. It hasn't needed service, and with no moving parts I hope it won't.

I would never buy a grey market camera based on the number of issues the new ones seem to have.
 

johnm

Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2008
Messages
1
Format
35mm
I've bought a few gray market lenses in the past, about 10 years ago (20mm 2.8D is one of them) and haven't had any issues until recently when the aperture blades were stuck wide open due to some oil. I've had no issues getting the lens serviced quickly and cheaply at a local camera store. More complex and modern lenses may be a different issue, but I don't have experience with them.
 

herrbarnack

Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2016
Messages
7
Location
USA
Format
35mm
Just my opinion, but I wouldn't. You can save a chunk of money, but if you have a problem with the camera, it will become a headache to get it serviced.

Nikon USA will not service a gray market camera body or lens if it breaks - you would have to send it to Japan. Not only will they not cover a gray market item under warranty, they won't repair it even if you offer to pay for the repair.

As John M notes above, local camera repair people may be able to repair a lens. The type of repair John had done on his lens is something that any competent camera repair person should be able to handle. A digital body may need to go back to the manufacturer, depending on what the problem is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…