Hello everyone,
I am finally making the transition from my old point-and-shoot camera, to a semi-professional DSLR style camera. I have been travelling a lot and I would like to get a nice camera that takes really good quality photos with a big zoom My point-and-shoot camera and phone camera are no longer adequate. I have found some very good deals online here in the U.S. for Nikon, Cannon and Fuji cameras (Amazon). I will visiting Tokyo for the first time later this year. Based on my research, it looks like Akihabara in Tokyo is an area filled with electronics stores. I am wondering whether I should just wait and purchase a nice camera in Tokyo. Will I get a better deal (accounting for dollar to yen exchange rate) and better quality camera in Tokyo? Will there be cameras in English that function well back in the U.S?
Will I be able to find other innovative electronics in Tokyo that I could bring back?
Any advice or suggestions will be much appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
Buying Cameras and Other Electronics in Tokyo?
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I would imagine that the strength of the yen against most currencies would make most shopping there pretty expensive. I am a keen amateur photographer living in the UK and have found that the prices of cameras in Asia seem to be on a par with those in England. I do however keep reading articles here about how much cheaper electronics are in the US and how lots of brits were travelling to the US to do their xmas shopping. On that basis I imagine you would do better to buy at home where you are likely to get better warranties etc.
Best place I visited for "innovative electronics" was the Sony building on Ginza. Some of the stuff on display was mind blowing! Could have spent the whole day there but my wife wouldn't let me play for more than a couple of hours!
You'll do better price-wise buying online in the US.
The other consideration is that there is a real learning curve to learn how to use your DSLR properly. My husband is a keen amateur photographer, and he has done a number of courses as well as a lot of experimentation to be able to learn how to take good photos.
So you shouldn't expect that just by purchasing a DSLR that you will automatically be able to take better photos - you also need to learn about apertures, exposures and depth of field.
Therefore you would probably be better off purchasing the camera before you depart and allow enough time to at least start to learn how to take better photos.
Ahkihabara is a fun place to visit and I have spent countless hours there over the years. I would however buy your camera in the US. It will be less expensive here with a USA warranty where the camera you get in Japan will have an international warranty which may or may not be covered here in the USA. Lately the only things I usually buy in Ahkibara are cartridges for my turntable which are considerably cheaper in Japan. I also agree that the new DSLR' s are very complex. The new Nikon D800 looks like the semi pro to beat now but is difficult to buy at this time.. If you are a Canon person the new 5D 111 would be the choice. My suspicion however is that you do not want a semi pro camera which is very very expensive even without the assorted lenses. The new Nikon 3200 with a VR 18-55 lens for $700 might be something for you to consider. It is a bout 1/5 the price of a semi pro DSLR and much lighter.
Get before you go both for the price (look online - Adorama maybe) and the learning curve. I always shudder when I see people in the departure lounge trying to work out how to use their new duty free camera. If its a once in a lifetime trip and they stuff something up..... nuff said.
I also suspect you don't need a 'semi-professional' camera. (eg Canon 5D MkIII) The quality of the glass is also very important. I use Canons and the 'L' series lenses are a lot higher quality than the consumer models. The downside is that they have a price tag to match.
What do you intend to do with your photos? This will influence the quality of camera you need.