Any Woories about buying from the US

[rikerboy]

Hi

I am new to the world of camcorders and am looking to buy a Canon HG20.

The cheapest i have found it for in the Uk is about £600.

However i have found it for $670 on the B & H website (US) inclusive of FEDEX delivery. This equates to approx £447.

As you can see this is quite a saving.

Not knowing to much about camcorders can any tell me if this is a deal worth going for or if there are any inherent problems? The only things i can think of is that i would need a plug adaptor and the issue of warranty should anything go wrong.

I would appreciate any advice!


Cheers

[A n d r e w]

If HMRC work out what you're doing, you'll end up paying more than you would have just buying one in the UK. Not worth it to my mind unless you're going to be in the US in person.

Andrew.

[MarkE19]

Yep, there is a fair chance that customs will catch the camcorder on its way to you. if they do you will end up paying import duty and then VAT on the camcorder, postage and duty which could make it more expensive than buying in the UK.
As you say it is unlikely you could get the cam repaired under the warreenty should anything go wrong with it.

Mark.

[emocean]

There is also the issue with PAL the UK, amongst others, TV standard and NTSC the US version. This can cause problems with playback etc on UK TV equipment. I would say that you live in the UK you would always want a PAL camcorder.
Some US companies do supply PAL equipment but don't assume that it will be. There is 14% duty on camcorders and then 15% VAT on top of that. If you get away with the duty and get a PAL model it may be worth it but it still hassle if you have any warranty issues.

[MarkE19]

PAL vs NTSC is not so much an issue with HD. The only part of it that can matter is the refresh rates of 60 half frames per second for an American camcorder vs 50 half frames per second for one from Europe. Any HD TV will handle either, but you can get some issues with the refresh rates under electric lighting causing the picture to flicker.

Mark.

[zeroice]

i have the HG20 NTSC version and have no issues with playback on my HDTV/PS3, no matter the framerate. The only thing you can buy "local" is an extra battery with the CG-800 charger, due to the native UK plugs