To a great extent the practicality of such a scheme depends on whether you are a professional or a hobbbyist. That is, will you be relying on this camera to meet contractual obligations?

In general, I think that the Japanese camera plan is shaky regardless of your plans. But it's rediculous if you are a pro.

Just my 2 cents.

I would use the XL1s mostly to shoot short films mostly as I don't think I would ever work myself up to using it professionally.

Are you saying that a professional would probably need to use the warranty and wouldn't skimp on the price to begin with? Is that the 'shaky' part of the plan?

Yes. For professional applications I would suggest just getting the best price you can within Canada and biting the bullet on the exchange rate. Losing a lucrative job or, worse, getting hauled into court for breach of contract (because your XL1s was somewhere in a Japanese repair shop) would make the price differences look paltry.

Right. That is sensible advice.

I'm leaning more toward getting the best price I can in North America based upon the reaction I've received on this and other boards. Especially being new to this type of equipment I would want warranty protection.

I'm more used to computer hardware where if something isn't working I usually just throw it out and get a replacement.

I think I would be more upset if I were a hobbyist and something happened and the warranty was no good. At least as a pro, there is a good likelihood that the equipment will have paid for itself by the time any trouble occurs. I bought my XL used (no warranty, obviously) and it has made me a fist full of dollars, and if something happened to it now, I'd grit my teeth and buy another XL in a heartbeat, now that I know how much I use it. Probably would buy from an out-of-state dealer like B&H Photo (they're good) or one of Chris' supporting dealers. Very doubtful any of my local shops stock it, so we are forced to order it anyway, and if I buy from somebody in my home state I get stuck paying 6% sales tax.

About the Japan option, you've noticed that shipping for the initial purchase as well as for maintenance will be expensive and time consuming. You also need to consider that the very extensive internal menu system in the XL1S will be entirely in Japanese, which will represent a serious compromise in your ability to utilize the camera to its full capabilities. Hope this helps,

Right. I had searched around previously to see if this was configurable or could be somehow updated in English assuming that it was software but couldn't find any answers. If this is the case then I would not be going for the Japanese option. Thanks for the warning.

It probably *can* be changed from Japanese to English, but *how* is a completely different question for which I've never heard an answer.

Cha-Ching
 

Just bought the US version, full fit, NTSC for $3299.99 yesterday.

Talked to the store manager, Billy and confirmed it was US/ full kit.

I was looking at $3650 at B&H. With the money saved, I went for the MACK 4yr warranty for $399.00. This warranty is not on the site, only on the phone. You'll find the $299 version of it online. The extra $100 gets you a "no fault/idiot" version. Meaning if you drop it, it's fixed. Only cost is shipping to Allstar, they pay for the shipping back to you.

Normally I never touch extended warraties (cars, eletronics, etc.) but what the hell, I'm rolling the dice.

The extended warranty, especially the idiot proof one is definitely something I would get.

Let me know how your camera arrives as I'm interested in the reliability of this vendor.

I'm saving up to afford a North American price.

EDIT: I found the site you were referring to.

<<<-- Originally posted by Airchinapilot : The extended warranty, especially the idiot proof one is definitely something I would get.

Let me know how your camera arrives as I'm interested in the reliability of this vendor.

I'm saving up to afford a North American price.

EDIT: I found the site you were referring to. -->>>


It arrived in perfect condition and at a very attractive price.

Glad to hear this worked out; but please take any further discussion to private e-mail. On this board, we discuss the dealers who help sponsor the site, making it available for you to use. In fairness to them, I must ask that discussions of other vendors who do *not* support what we do here, be taken to private e-mail. Thanks for your cooperation,