Cost of calibrating Tamron lens


whitekop

New Member
Hi all, I intend to get a Tammy 17-50 VC in my next trip to Hong Kong next month. The price is cheap. However, my concern is should I need a calibration of the lens in the Singapore authorised agent, does anyone know how much it will cost? This is a deciding factor in deciding whether to buy it or not. Hope to hear some inputs from seniors here who have got experience.
 

Why not just call them and ask?
 

Buy it local for the warranty. Unless the savings is very very significant, imagine the cost if the local agent needs to send the no warranty lens to japan for servicing and the workmanship + labour.

But if you visit HK often, then not really an issue.
 

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Why not just call them and ask?

Hi, I have tried that many times, but the person in charge never available to answer. That's why I hope to seek clarification from anyone in CS who have done it before, i.e, done calibration without warranty.

The price difference is close to $200-$$300, so I just want to weigh the pros and cons before I buy.

More inputs are greatly appreciated! :)
 

Hi, I have tried that many times, but the person in charge never available to answer. That's why I hope to seek clarification from anyone in CS who have done it before, i.e, done calibration without warranty.

The price difference is close to $200-$$300, so I just want to weigh the pros and cons before I buy.

More inputs are greatly appreciated! :)

Based on my last encounter on Tamron 17-50 non VC Canon mount
60$ if they calibrated in Singapore
up to 250$ if they send it to japan
 

The price difference is close to $200-$$300, so I just want to weigh the pros and cons before I buy.
$200-$300 for such a lens? Are you sure that you compare the right models? I have heard about a street price of about $900 for the VC version. The non-VC goes for slightly above $600. In this price range savings of what you mentioned sounds a bit too much... or too good to be true.
Personally I never needed any calibration. Tested my lens and it's spot on. What throws off the focus more often is dim light and other distractions to the AF sensor.
 

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Well... I got my copy of the VC version at 602 SGD on ebay, from a HK buyer.

It came with shop warranty. But the person in contact also promised that in case of need, I just have to send the lens to local agent for warranty, and send the invoice to the shop afterward. They will refund me fully. Not sure to which extent the shop is gonna keep its words though.
 

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if you like to save and still get the lens without calibration is to buy a good 2nd hand one which you can test it out before the transaction....

or test it out with your camera at the shop loh.
 

I got my TAM17-50 VC 2months ago in HK. After convert back about S$650. You can get it even cheaper now as HK dollar is dropping recently (1:5.9). And about the warranty, you can choose to exchange the local hk warranty to international warranty, where international only 1 yr while their local warranty is either 3 or 5 yrs ( i cant remember). Some shop dun carry the international warranty card, but u can change the warranty to international at HK TAMRON office, which i think is troublesome and wasting of time. I tested the lens at shop n everything is ok, no calibration needed. Really save me a lot as compared to buying it in sg.
 

Wa...thats really a good price for a VC version.
 

$200-$300 for such a lens? Are you sure that you compare the right models? I have heard about a street price of about $900 for the VC version. The non-VC goes for slightly above $600. In this price range savings of what you mentioned sounds a bit too much... or too good to be true.
Personally I never needed any calibration. Tested my lens and it's spot on. What throws off the focus more often is dim light and other distractions to the AF sensor.

Hi Octarine,

you see it correctly, it is $200-$300 difference. It literally means I can buy a VC at the price of a local non-VC. If given a choice, which will you buy in this case. ;) Of course if take away the pricing, I am still leaning towards the VC version, as I got shaky hands...

The non-VC price between HK and SG difference not that much.
 

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I got my TAM17-50 VC 2months ago in HK. After convert back about S$650. You can get it even cheaper now as HK dollar is dropping recently (1:5.9). And about the warranty, you can choose to exchange the local hk warranty to international warranty, where international only 1 yr while their local warranty is either 3 or 5 yrs ( i cant remember). Some shop dun carry the international warranty card, but u can change the warranty to international at HK TAMRON office, which i think is troublesome and wasting of time. I tested the lens at shop n everything is ok, no calibration needed. Really save me a lot as compared to buying it in sg.

Hi mind to share the shop that you buy from? I hope that I can test it right the first time so that I dun need to worry about the calibration thingy.
 

you see it correctly, it is $200-$300 difference. It literally means I can buy a VC at the price of a local non-VC. If given a choice, which will you buy in this case. ;) Of course if take away the pricing, I am still leaning towards the VC version, as I got shaky hands...
The non-VC price between HK and SG difference not that much.
I have to admit I'm surprised to see such a huge difference here for a single model. Since I have never really missed the VC function and some tests indicate no further improvements compared to the non-VC I'm leaning towards the latter. On the other hand, the earlier non-VC models seem to have a design flaw that fatigue has highlighted recently. Really 50:50 for me. With the possibility of one more component to fail (VC) I guess I'd take the non-VC with local warranty. Only my personal choice.
 

Hi Octarine,

you see it correctly, it is $200-$300 difference. It literally means I can buy a VC at the price of a local non-VC. If given a choice, which will you buy in this case. ;) Of course if take away the pricing, I am still leaning towards the VC version, as I got shaky hands...

The non-VC price between HK and SG difference not that much.

Yes, but there have been reports that the non-VC version is actually sharper? :dunno:

In the end, you also have to consider 2nd hand value, when you want to sell the lens. Tamron local set gives you 3 year warranty. That is 3 full years of peace of mind. And if you do sell the lens within the 3 years, the lens will still sell well because it is still under warranty.

For an international warranty set, you only have 1 year. Do note that for different bodies, the focus might not be spot on. Lets say the lens is very sharp on a D3000, when fitted to a D300s, it might not be totally sharp. So take note of that. And as for the 2nd hand market, some buyers (me included) do look at warranty status. For any Tamron lens, once I see it is no longer in warranty, i will automatically assume it is more than 3 years old and value it as such, no matter if it is local or overseas set. And knowing how much a set overseas cost, I will also price 2nd hand sets of the same lens accordingly, if it is no longer on warranty, simply because if I can buy a new 1 yr warranty set for 640, why would I want to pay 600 for a used out of warranty set?

FYI
 

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Hi mind to share the shop that you buy from? I hope that I can test it right the first time so that I dun need to worry about the calibration thingy.

All the info is here la... For warranty sets look for the
hong_16.gif
symbol beside the price. Also note that the warranty sets are 5 year local HK warranty. If you want international warranty, you might need to go to Tamron HK to get the warranty cards exchanged.
http://www.price.com.hk/product.php?p=113448
 

Hi mind to share the shop that you buy from? I hope that I can test it right the first time so that I dun need to worry about the calibration thingy.


Hi, i got mine at man shing. Take note that not all shops carry the international warranty card, in this case u need to go down to Tamron HK to exchange it. So i suggest u go to the right shop to save your valuable time. (Dun spend most of your time shopping in HK, u will miss a lot of nice things ;))
 

imho, calibration is quite overrated..and overpriced..
Even with calibration, I believe it will not be perfect for the entire zoom range..
 

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