Buy Canon here or in Australia?

[Winston]

Originally posted by lazyfiddler
Hey Winston,

Many thanks for the info on Compaq and the office address in Adelaide.

Also thanks for highlighting the IT show coming soon. Yes... will likely get the notebook then.

Could u advice me some more? What do u think of Acer? I am actually narrowing down my choice notebook from these 2 brands.

Err....Personally I would not recommend Asian brand unless it's Fujitsu, Toshiba.
That includes Acer, Whitebox, Mitac, FOSA..and the other taiwanese brands.
(Like I said, it's PERSONALLY, so some people may disagree with me)

Being in a tech support environment has made me, fearful of Acer's and it's sister company, Benq's products.

IBM, Compaq, HP, DELL, Toshiba are pretty good.

Oh and one thing to note.

Driver support is VERY important.
Sometimes your laptop may come with Windows XP Home bundled and the manufacturer will give you a CD with the drivers.

But as years go by, Microsoft will come up with newer OS and hence you will need new drivers for your laptop to use the newer OS, like modem drivers, network card drivers, display drivers...etc

Some of the taiwanese branded laptops..their website is so lousy that they only give you drivers for only ONE type of OS only (the OS that it is bundled with) and no more drivers for other newer OS. so you cannot use newer OS with the laptop.

a few Years back, I was attracted by the low price of this Mitac laptop and was almost going to buy it, but I decided to take down it's model number and check the website.

the website was lousy and only had Windows ME drivers and no Win2K drivers.

I was put off by the website's support and drivers update and went for a Thinkpad instead.

Check the manufacturer's website and you will find the better brands like IBM, Toshiba, HP and Compaq (now they are one)..etc have better website, easy to navigate and they continue to provide driver support even for laptops that are out-of-production for a few years.

I hate to see the manufacturer indicate, "Sorry there are no new drivers for this model as it is out-of-production"

My friend's old Lexmark printer did not have Windows 2000 drivers and when he called the company, they said his printer was very old and not going to release any drivers for it. and suggest he buy a new printer!!!

A perfectly useable printer, cannot be used just because the maker decide not to make windows 2000 driver and force them to upgrade.

HP's old deskjet printers and Espon's old Stylus Pro printers are still supported by Windows 2000 and XP to date.

 

[matthew]

Originally posted by lazyfiddler
yikes!! So is it true about the taxing part? Oh no! I will be lugging my camera and lens and tripod and notebook along when I go there!! Does it mean they will tax me???

Basicly if they has any suspicion at all that you might intend selling the device while here, they will hit you with 10% GST and any other applicable duty on the item. Having all the orginal packing (even if opened and used) will often get them into 'lets see what we can collect mode' it appears from reading orther forums about Australian customs.
They also look at every thing, so while you camera or/and laptop might get through on it's own, if you say have a little walkman CD player new in its box, they will get suspicious and fully tax you for every thing (unless it's obviously old).


Due to the relatively high tax and duty rates, there is an 'underground' of people going overseas, buying cheap tax free goods and then trying to import them as personal goods tax free, when their intention is to sell them not keep them.

The Australian customs have a web site - I think the easiest thing to do would be to plan ahead and have the camera/laptop months ahead so there is no question that they are 'new'.


As for price differences, 12 months ago I travelled to Singapore for a week and purchased a Minolta D7i. At the time it was $A1000 cheaper in Singapore. The difference in price paied for my Holiday away!.

 

[james m]

another thing to consider is the exchange rate

1.00 SGD = 0.884786 AUD

or

1.00 AUD = 1.13022 SGD

so at the moment those SGD are going to get you less AUD. So considering how stuff is more expensive here in OZ it may be better to buy in Singapore.

The 10D is around SGD$2,700

If you were to buy a 10D here at the AUD$2900 b18 mentioned you will need to convert SGD$3,277 to buy.

james m ....

 

[lazyfiddler]

Hi Matthew,

Thanks for the info. Hmm.... I will be just carrying the camera and those associated accessories, notebook and tripod. No packaging boxes at all as I want to travel as minimally as possible given that I am going over to study. Also makes it easier for me to move around should I switch accomodation type.

By the way, how much do those Japanese cars cost over there in Australia? I maybe getting a used one, perhaps a 2-door Toyota RAV4 or Suzuki Jimny.

 

[lazyfiddler]

Hi Winston,

Thanks for taking the time to type out your info. Much appreciated.

I will keep your advice in mind. Will drop by at the Singapore IT show from 5 June to 8 June to see whether I can get my notebook then.

I checked out the Compaq website. It seems that Compaq does not bring in the Presario 3000 series which I check from CNET is kinda groovy for my needs.

 

[lazyfiddler]

Originally posted by mysteriousjimmy
another thing to consider is the exchange rate

1.00 SGD = 0.884786 AUD

or

1.00 AUD = 1.13022 SGD

so at the moment those SGD are going to get you less AUD. So considering how stuff is more expensive here in OZ it may be better to buy in Singapore.

The 10D is around SGD$2,700

If you were to buy a 10D here at the AUD$2900 b18 mentioned you will need to convert SGD$3,277 to buy.

james m ....

Hi Jimmy,

Yea... I know the rates are working 'against' me now.

But no choice. Adelaide beckons in July! So I guess I will lose out on the exchange rate at the moment.

Will definitely be getting the 10D in Singapore before I arrive in Australia. Really hope to travel to Melbourne and Sydney in December during the university vacation to do some serious photography!

 

[james m]

Originally posted by lazyfiddler
Really hope to travel to Sydney in December during the university vacation to do some serious photography!

Well if you make it to Sydney you will have to get in contact with me for a mini Sydney SEED

 

[lazyfiddler]

Originally posted by mysteriousjimmy
Well if you make it to Sydney you will have to get in contact with me for a mini Sydney SEED

Hey hey... that will be a fabulous idea! Will definitely look forward to it in December! Also hope to visit Waverley Cemetery to do some shoots there. Heard the scene there is awesome!

 

[matthew]

Originally posted by lazyfiddler
Hi Matthew,


By the way, how much do those Japanese cars cost over there in Australia? I maybe getting a used one, perhaps a 2-door Toyota RAV4 or Suzuki Jimny.

Dunno, i'm a rebel - I don't own a car

There are a couple of private seller web sites that might give you an idea of the current market.

http://www.tradingpost.com.au/ is the web version of a long established private trading paper.

2nd hand everything there....

 

[lazyfiddler]

Originally posted by matthew
Dunno, i'm a rebel - I don't own a car

There are a couple of private seller web sites that might give you an idea of the current market.

http://www.tradingpost.com.au/ is the web version of a long established private trading paper.

2nd hand everything there....

Hi Matthew,

Thanks for the link!

 

[b18]

Minus the GST ...
so S$ 2900 for the 10D locally here.

but if you are only snapping for fun ie. non-business, buying in Singapore is a wiser choice

=bob=

Originally posted by lazyfiddler
Hi Jimmy,

Yea... I know the rates are working 'against' me now.

But no choice. Adelaide beckons in July! So I guess I will lose out on the exchange rate at the moment.

Will definitely be getting the 10D in Singapore before I arrive in Australia. Really hope to travel to Melbourne and Sydney in December during the university vacation to do some serious photography!

 

[james m]

Originally posted by b18
Minus the GST ...
so S$ 2900 for the 10D locally here.

=bob=

Yes, but you still have to pay the GST when you buy locally. Not sure how claiming it back works.

Can that only be done when you leave the country and is there a time limit?

 

[jOhO]

wow so many "aussies" here!! i feel rite at home, spent 12 years there doing high school and then uni (brisbane)

back in singapore now but will be going back to visit my family in mid june! anyone gonna be in bris/syd/melb? i'll be going to all three cities in a one month time span. gonna snap till i drop!! :bsmilie: :bsmilie:

 

[b18]

If you buy it within 30 days of leaving Australia .. you can.
Or even some shop can do it for you considering you are an overseas student.

[ the DFS in Gold coast gave me tax free for Oakley bag when i went there last summer. Maybe I looked like a tourist ]

=bob=

 

[b18]

Originally posted by jOhO
wow so many "aussies" here!! i feel rite at home, spent 12 years there doing high school and then uni (brisbane)

back in singapore now but will be going back to visit my family in mid june! anyone gonna be in bris/syd/melb? i'll be going to all three cities in a one month time span. gonna snap till i drop!! :bsmilie: :bsmilie:

That's what happened if you study in UNSW and met many Singaporean and Malaysian friend

Mid June .. I might be around doing a Manly photo-walk.
Do mail me if you are here.

=bob=

 

[james m]

Originally posted by jOhO
wow so many "aussies" here!! i feel rite at home, spent 12 years there doing high school and then uni (brisbane)

back in singapore now but will be going back to visit my family in mid june! anyone gonna be in bris/syd/melb? i'll be going to all three cities in a one month time span. gonna snap till i drop!! :bsmilie: :bsmilie:

Well if you make it to Sydney you can get in contact with me for a drink or some snapping

 

[james m]

Originally posted by b18

That's what happened if you study in UNSW and met many Singaporean and Malaysian friend

and come to ClubSNAP to meet new Aussies friends

Originally posted by b18

Mid June .. I might be around doing a Manly photo-walk.
Do mail me if you are here.

=bob=

can anyone get in on the Manly photo-walk???

What will you be doing, just around Manly beach or something like the walk from North Head to Shelley Beach then on to the Spit

 

[Watcher]

Originally posted by lazyfiddler
Will definitely be getting the 10D in Singapore before I arrive in Australia. Really hope to travel to Melbourne and Sydney in December during the university vacation to do some serious photography!

Melbourne? You must then go to St Kilda Rd, St Kilda beach, Portsea and Great Ocean Rd.