HDEW cameras or John Lewis

Hi everyone

Just a quick question.

I am going to buying some kit, camera body and lenses etc, in a few months.

Do I use a main UK store, I use John Lewis as an example.

Or go for

HDEW Cameras an online company that imports their cameras from Hing Kong but sells them from their shop and provide a 3 year warranty.

I don't know which way to go but when I think about it all Canon cameras will be imported anyway.

A few views from various members would be appreciated. Both good and bad.

Thanks in anticipation

Andy Carter

I would go for the best price and if they were similar I would go for John Lewis. I have been surprised how often their prices seem to very good, but frequently they are sky high.

I have bought my cameras from UK Digital Cameras for years as they will trade in your old kit and give a good price. Have a look at their site.

Patrick

Thanks for the replies

The point about this is that Canon UK will not honour the Canon warranty on a Canon camera that was supplied into HK by them - they monitor the serial numbers. Only kit supplied into the UK (or possible the EU) qualifies for warranty work by Canon UK. So you are absolutely reliant on the warranty from the on-line retailer for any repair work, who may have to send it back to HK for any work that might be needed.

I have always bought from a real bricks & mortar camera shop. I'm lucky in that I have a seriously good one - an independent store - just a few miles away from me which has reasonably good prices and knowledgeable staff. For me, there's a definite benefit in having that shop in existence, so I buy my stuff from them. Maybe sometimes that means it costs me a bit more than the absolute minimum, but over the long term I think it's worth it. To be able to go into a shop, have them recognise you and know what you're using because you bought it from them, and being prepared to put themselves out if there's a problem - that's fantastic.

The point about this is that Canon UK will not honour the Canon warranty on a Canon camera that was supplied into HK by them - they monitor the serial numbers. Only kit supplied into the UK (or possible the EU) qualifies for warranty work by Canon UK. So you are absolutely reliant on the warranty from the on-line retailer for any repair work, who may have to send it back to HK for any work that might be needed.

 

I have always bought from a real bricks & mortar camera shop. I'm lucky in that I have a seriously good one - an independent store - just a few miles away from me which has reasonably good prices and knowledgeable staff. For me, there's a definite benefit in having that shop in existence, so I buy my stuff from them. Maybe sometimes that means it costs me a bit more than the absolute minimum, but over the long term I think it's worth it. To be able to go into a shop, have them recognise you and know what you're using because you bought it from them, and being prepared to put themselves out if there's a problem - that's fantastic.

Thanks Tom, great reply