Buying ZI from Japan

L

LightWave

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I'm itching to import a ZI body and a Zeiss Sonnar 50mm ZM from Japan to US. Does anyone know if I will need to pay import duty and how much? It's selling for only US$1159 in Japan. About US$320 less expensive...

BTW, I'm new to rangefinder...
 
Mmmmmm. Drool......

In future -please- such links should carry a mandatory GAS attack warning/disclaimer at a minimum!
 
I bought my ZI and 50mm Sonnar from Matsuiya Store and can recommend them. Shipping was very fast, the items were well-packed, and there were no duties due. Noriaki communicates very well in English. However, the new items come with a warranty in Japanese, and will need to be returned to Japan for warranty service. If you are willing to take this risk they do offer really great prices.

- John
 
Carzee said:
Mmmmmm. Drool......

In future -please- such links should carry a mandatory GAS attack warning/disclaimer at a minimum!
Click to expand...
Sorry, I had a bad case, and I know it's contagious.

I just wanted to make one more comment about why I chose to buy from Popflash. I talked to Josh there two days ago and told him that I was concerned about the rangefinder alignment. He was already aware of the issue and said that they check (and adjust) the alignment before they ship. This was exactly what I wanted -- to save a potential return trip for alignment. That's just my two cents.
 
I was hoping that it'd be a worldwide warranty like Canon... What are the common problems of ZI and the ZM lens that may potentially need repaired within the first year? I'm planning to buy the ZI body and a Biogon 35 f/2 ZF. Maybe also a Sonnar 50 f/1.5.
 
I've read a lot of the threads here on the ZI, and there have been reports of cameras arriving with the rangefinder being off at infinity focus. This can happen due to cameras being jostled during shipping, and just falling out of adjustment over time etc. That seems to be the major issue, and that doesn't bother me too much. But please do a search here on the ZI, because there has been a lot of discussion about the camera.
 
As Bullwinkle noted the ZI can RF alignment problems - pretty much at the same rate as any rangefinder camera. Search the threads if you are looking to find things to worry over. I have not seen or heard of any problems with the 35mm Biogon - it looks like an awesome performer. There are several threads on the 50mm Sonnar. The lens has a front-focus "problem" - earlier units perhaps more than those recently delivered. Check out the front-focus thread and you will find that many posters have sent theirs back to Zeiss for correction. I am happy with mine as it is.

- John
 
I would not buy a camera abroad. First warrenty stuff is a pain in the butt, but most of all if customs sees it and wants to charge you a large lump sum for it then you are screwed and would have been better off buying it there.

That said those things are a lot cheaper here.
 
Map camera

Map camera

I bought a new ZI body last summer for 114,000 yens (about 950 US$) in Tokyo at Map camera. Unfortunately, I think they are not used to shipping abroad (they only speak very little english). Anyway, here is the link :
http://www.mapcamera.com

Francois

PS: of course, if you buy some stuff in Japan, you get a japanese warranty.
 
Just want to follow up with my own post. I ended up buying from popflash because of my worry with the potential alignment problem with the ZI. Just receive it the body and lens yesterday and I'll try to see if the alignment is off this weekend.
 
The Zeiss ZM lenses seem in general to have a lower incidence of focus problems than some of the current Leica lenses, particularly the 35mm Summilux and Summicron in comparison to the Biogon 35 f2. I took the bayonet off my ZM Biogon 21mm and swapped it for a 28mm one with no problems (checked focus on a chart before and after). I would not dare to do that with any of my Leica lenses. I did this so that if it has a 6 bit code on the bayonet, it activates lens recognition on an M8. Duty in the EU from Japan and HK seems a real lottery nowadays. The number of times you have to pay it is dropping steadily as the volume of Internet trading increases. When I first started to buy stuff over the net in 1995, I paid duty every time. Now it is down to about 1 in 10 or less.

Wilson
 
Zeiss Ikon for $1040 in Japan

Zeiss Ikon for $1040 in Japan

Anybody read Japanese? Or live in Japan? Look at this,
http://www.mapcamera.com/spe/sps_new.php?group_id=493


Zeiss Ikon body sale for about $1040 and seems 10% further discount, if buy before 9/30. I've been very tempted and sent a email to them, the quick response from Map camera seems a pre written message( in English) in which I was asked to register at their website first and thy do ship to USA. The web is all in Japanese. I tried to do so with web dictionary but still can’t figure out some of its content to the end. Anybody can help?
  • Is it a credible store in Tokyo?
  • Is it offered 10% off the sale price before 9/30?
Thank you!

Roland X
 
Roland X said:
Anybody read Japanese? Or live in Japan? Look at this,
http://www.mapcamera.com/spe/sps_new.php?group_id=493


Zeiss Ikon body sale for about $1040 and seems 10% further discount, if buy before 9/30. I've been very tempted and sent a email to them, the quick response from Map camera seems a pre written message( in English) in which I was asked to register at their website first and thy do ship to USA. The web is all in Japanese. I tried to do so with web dictionary but still can’t figure out some of its content to the end. Anybody can help?
  • Is it a credible store in Tokyo?
  • Is it offered 10% off the sale price before 9/30?
Thank you!

Roland X
Click to expand...

I just took a look at the Map Camera website. They're offering a free Kenko MC Protector filter when you purchase selected items, and an extra 10% on items offered as trade-ins.

I've purchased several lenses over the years at Map Camera. They're always been very professional and very reliable. Highly recommended.

Jon
 
Roland X said:
Anybody read Japanese? Or live in Japan? Look at this,
http://www.mapcamera.com/spe/sps_new.php?group_id=493


Zeiss Ikon body sale for about $1040 and seems 10% further discount, if buy before 9/30. I've been very tempted and sent a email to them, the quick response from Map camera seems a pre written message( in English) in which I was asked to register at their website first and thy do ship to USA. The web is all in Japanese. I tried to do so with web dictionary but still can’t figure out some of its content to the end. Anybody can help?
  • Is it a credible store in Tokyo?
  • Is it offered 10% off the sale price before 9/30?
Thank you!

Roland X
Click to expand...


Roland,
From Bay area, u should be able to get a copy of either Asahi or Nihon Camera magazine from any Japanese book store, in it, hundreds of camera store ads. Most of the store sales persons don't speek English, but they're, most of the time, very reliable.
If you're making a trip there, then buy something there, cameras in Japan are not cheap.
I was in Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo, went to several big stores, I only bought some made in Japan SD, CF cards, since I have a Pentax Dslr and a Xti w all the lenses I want/need already. Had an eye for D80, what a beautiful camera, but, got to save some money for Hokkaido kani, north Japan sea crabs that is...
Good luck!
 
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