Sony Nex in Japan Please Help

[bertil.david@wa]

Hi to all,
Here is my situation: i have just arrived in Tokyo for my first vacation in a couple of years. Saved money for a much desired Nex 5.
But all the stores are carying them with Japanese menus only. Except for a big chain store that sells an international version for an extra 250 dollars.
Does any one please have a solution? Knows a shop? Or any trick to install an international langage choice?
Thank you so so much in advance for your help,
Yours,
Bert

 

[xayraa33]

Buy a classic Nikon S2 in Japan and shoot film for your vacation snaps.
Sell the Nikon when you get home and buy the Sony Nex.

 

[flip]

Buy a classic Nikon S2 in Japan and shoot film for your vacation snaps.
Sell the Nikon when you get home and buy the Sony Nex.

Brilliant!

 

[PCB_RF]

But all the stores are carying them with Japanese menus only. Except for a big chain store that sells an international version for an extra 250 dollars.
Does any one please have a solution?Bert

Why compromise, Bert? Maybe this is your opportunity to learn the Japanese language. You're still young, it's not that hard. Your friends can start calling you Batto, or Beruto, or...?

From Kill Bill, Part 1:
Hattori Hanzo:
You should learn Japanese. Very easy.

The Bride:
No kidding? I heard it was kind of hard.

Jokes and snappy dialog aside, you may be out of luck. The Panasonic domestic Japanese G-series models couldn't change out of Japanese-language mode until the firmware was hacked. I don't know that Sony has done the same, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did. Might be their last chance to control gray-market imports in their important home market?

I'd suggest you google to see if anyone has figured out a way to change out of Japanese mode. I did a quick search and didn't find any answers....

Please don't let this spoil your time in Japan!

If you find your way to Kyoto, check out The Philosopher's Path (Tetsugaku no Michi), Honen-in (near Tetsugaku-no-michi) and Kiyomizu-dera. The abbot of Honen-in is very interested in photography, Dennis Hopper had a photo exhibition there some years ago. Honen-in and Kiyomizudera are my two favorite places to visit in Kyoto.

 

[ampguy]

It's probably very simple for someone to kick the menus into English, but you're probably going to have to be good at convincing or motivating them.

A Japanese colleague of mine once had a cell phone customer who always came in with their samurai sword, when they wanted their phone fixed fast, and that worked.

 

[porktaco]

rd-1x you dingaling

 

[coelacanth]

Wow. I didn't know Sony stopped putting English menu. I guess this is a scheme to control distribution channels, but shame on you, Sony. I'm sure there are lots of folks in Japan (not visitor, paying tax, living/working there) who prefer English menu. Obviously Sony doesn't need their business.

Now I'm with xayraa33. 😉

 

[Bill58]

You're probably SOL in Japan--not a very English friendly country.

 

[ampguy]

Hi Sug, I'm not sure either of us know enough about Sony's Japanese NEX packaging to really know what kind of "... move" they've done.

For example, the North American versions are bundled with grounded polarized 2 prong plugs, while domestic market Japanese kit is bundled with a non-polarized 2-prong ungrounded charger.

Sony (Japan) was a great customer of mine, and I haven't found them to engage in marketing practices that aren't followed by any other large Japanese multinational firm such as Toshiba, Fujitsu, Panasonic (Matsu****a/National), Canon, Epson, etc., and in some ways more progressive to enable their products to be available globally.

 

[coelacanth]

I did some research after reading this post, and it's reasonable to believe that Sony decided to go with only Japanese menu for Japanese market to prevent exports. In fact I heard the news that Sony stopped putting English menu some years back, but at that point I didn't think too much. Anyway, I think you get the point of my original post, right?

I have done business with Sony as my client (and had great experience), have several friends working for Sony (it's huge company as we know 😉), and I've owned several Sony products in the past. But that doesn't really affect my current buying decision.

I'm personally not a big fan of Sony in general lately, but I'm also considering NEX system in the future. I don't hate Sony but there are many practices/incidents that Sony has done in recent years (some are not really reported outside of the US) that make me think twice when I choose products. But again, that wasn't my initial reaction to this thread. From one consumer's point of view, it is inconvenient that they chose to put only one language. If I got back to Japan for a vacation, I might want to pick up their product, and I'd like to get one with English menu. It's inconvenient for users, and I just called that out.

BTW, I'd be very tempted to get the next NEX (7?) if it has built-in EVF. 🙂

 

[historicist]

I'm kinda surprised Sony even bother doing this because from what I can tell new digital cameras in Japan are pretty much the same price as they are in Europe, and more expensive than in the USA - at best the saving is quite trivial. When I was living briefly in Japan and lost my (Japanese) light meter, buying a replacement was more expensive than the cost in the UK.

Second hand film cameras seem to be the only area where there are bargains to be had in Japan.

 

[Mister E]

Here's a thought. Since Sony is such an awful company for restricting the localization settings on their cameras don't buy one!

Sometimes DFS, etc carry the international version, but their prices always suck. I'd never buy a Panasonic or Sony camera because of this issue.

 

[ampguy]

that sounds

that sounds

reasonable to me. Put your money where your mouth, er... hands are ...

Here's a thought. Since Sony is such an awful company for restricting the localization settings on their cameras don't buy one!

Sometimes DFS, etc carry the international version, but their prices always suck. I'd never buy a Panasonic or Sony camera because of this issue.

 

[flip]

Actually the learn Japanese advice is not so bad. When I first got here, I had a cell phone with only Japanese menus. Slowly, like a chimp in a lab, I learned the menus and got the job done.

 

[ampguy]

Hi Sug

Hi Sug

So what do you think about Panasonic?

Wow. I didn't know Sony stopped putting English menu. I guess this is a scheme to control distribution channels, but shame on you, Sony. I'm sure there are lots of folks in Japan (not visitor, paying tax, living/working there) who prefer English menu. Obviously Sony doesn't need their business.

Now I'm with xayraa33. 😉

 

[ampguy]

wow

wow

3 posts down (#10), your 2nd sentence states you did know this.

Wasuretta??

Wow. I didn't know Sony stopped putting English menu. I guess this is a scheme to control distribution channels, but shame on you, Sony. I'm sure there are lots of folks in Japan (not visitor, paying tax, living/working there) who prefer English menu. Obviously Sony doesn't need their business.

Now I'm with xayraa33. 😉

 

[maddoc]

Xayraa33's comment makes sense to me ... 😉 Actually, for burning some film, Japan is one of the best places left in the world.

As others have mentioned, buying here is not really of advantage, regarding the price (it is sometimes cheaper with the tax redemption for foreign visitors) and the warranty only valid in Japan.

About learning Japanese, why would somebody going for vacation to Japan and learn Japanese to a level that he will be able to read and understand the menus of electronic gadgets ? 😕

 

[Frontman]

I don't know if I would second the "learn Japanese" option. I live in Japan, and I'll be the first to say that learning Japanese is not easy.

You can learn to navigate the menus on your camera with a little practice, regardless of the language. The menus are generally a little intuitive, so figuring them out won't take too much time.

In most cases the prices of new camera gear are much higher in Japan than in America (and are roughly similar to European prices). Price fixing is rampant in Japan. All movie theaters charge the same price for movie tickets (1800 yen, or about $20), and the prices for regular goods vary little from store to store. The only time you find good deals is on closeouts, or the chain stores which sell outside the large metro areas.

In Tokyo Kitamura Camera seems to offer the best prices, and a couple of their shops (such as the one in Nihonbashi) have an outlet center were you can get reasonable prices on some items. I often shop at Kitamura because they also sell used equipment.

 

[ampguy]

a little flexibility

a little flexibility

In camera and guitar places around Tokyo, I'd usually go for a 10-15% discount.

The key gestures and phrases that helped me were, to pull my wallet out and count my cash, then say "saa, muzukashi desu" "chotto takai da na" "motto yasui onegai shimasu??"

It usually worked.

I don't know if I would second the "learn Japanese" option. I live in Japan, and I'll be the first to say that learning Japanese is not easy.

You can learn to navigate the menus on your camera with a little practice, regardless of the language. The menus are generally a little intuitive, so figuring them out won't take too much time.

In most cases the prices of new camera gear are much higher in Japan than in America (and are roughly similar to European prices). Price fixing is rampant in Japan. All movie theaters charge the same price for movie tickets (1800 yen, or about $20), and the prices for regular goods vary little from store to store. The only time you find good deals is on closeouts, or the chain stores which sell outside the large metro areas.

In Tokyo Kitamura Camera seems to offer the best prices, and a couple of their shops (such as the one in Nihonbashi) have an outlet center were you can get reasonable prices on some items. I often shop at Kitamura because they also sell used equipment.

 

[maddoc]

In camera and guitar places around Tokyo, I'd usually go for a 10-15% discount.

The key gestures and phrases that helped me were, to pull my wallet out and count my cash, then say "saa, muzukashi desu" "chotto takai da na" "motto yasui onegai shimasu??"

It usually worked.

... "okyaku-sama, sumimasen desu kedo, tokka desu. waribiki dekinai." is the usual reply if you are not Japanese and are not regular customer of the shop. 😉 ["Customer, sorry, but that is already a discount price. I can't reduce the price anymore"]

In some shops you can be lucky though, especially if they are interested in getting stuff quickly sold.