Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ulsanchris]

are digi cams cheaper in japan?
I"m doing a visa run there this weekend and am toying with the idea of getting one.

[jaebea]

I'm also really interested in responses to this thread.

Thanks in advance.

jae.

[Horangi Munshin]

I don't know about now, but back in September 2001, I bought a digicam in Japan. I could only buy Sony because everything else was only in Japanese. It cost me about 940,000won. At the time the same camera was going for 1.4mill in Lotte, a bit less (about 1.3mill) in some camera shops. I was living in Busan and bought the camera from a shop in Fukuoka.

Downside was no international warranty, but if I wanted to hop over to the same shop I'd get 3 years warranty from them.

[the saint]

I just bought a Sony Handycam DCR-TRV22 in Japan. It is one of the most popular models. I bought it at a regular electrical goods shop. I'm pretty sure you won't get the price much lower than that unless you buy over the net where you can usually shop around a lot more and might find one brand new for about Y60,000.

I paid Y67000 which equates to around W670,000 or thereabouts. It came with a year's warranty but obviously this is just in Japan.

How does that compare?

FYI, I am well pleased with it.

[peppergirl]

Yes, I think digicams are cheaper. And not only Sony cameras, also Nikon, Canon and Pentax cameras come with English menus.
The cheapest places to get them are Yodobashi or Bic Camera, they are huge electronic stores. If you get a point card (need to fill in a form in Japanese though... get a Japanese to help you maybe), you get minimum 10% and if you are lucky up to 20% of the price in points, which you can use immediately afterwards to buy other stuff (memory cards, extra battery, etc). The % of points you can get is usually marked on the price tag.
Oh, don't forget there is a 5% tax which is NOT included in the price shown! Beats the 21% VAT we have to pay in Europe though!!!


http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/list.jsp?DISP_CATEGORY_ID=361010&PARENT_CATEGORY_ID=36&BACK_URL=d_camera/index.jsp (only Japanese, but you should be able to make out the model and price in yen, and the % of points you can get)

http://www.yodobashi.com/c/89.html (also only Japanese)

[the saint]

Peppergirl's right about points provided you sign up for a card. It usually equates to about a 10% discount once you spend the points (can't spend them on what you are currently buying if you get my drift so no good for a one-off purchase). However, I would caution against expecting English anything.

Yes, my Sony digital camera came with a setting for an English menu (which the clerk in store knew nothing about. I discovered this by accident once I had bought it) but no, the Sony video camera had Japanese only.

One tip: you can usually download at least the manual in English from the company support website. Just go to www.[your maker].com and browse for support or downloads to find manuals. This is the way I have done it.

[peppergirl]

My parents bought 2 digital cameras in Japan when they were visiting me there a few months ago, so I esp. asked which brands of digital cameras had English menus. They bought Canon, these definitely have English menus, friends also bought Nikon and Canon, they all have English menus. I think Pentax digicams had too, not too sure about that... but the Fujifilm ones definitely did NOT.

Videocameras: Sony has special overseas models, with English menus (bought 2 on different occasions for friends back home - huge difference in price, partly because of the 21% tax in many EU countries), they have both PAL and NTSC versions, AND a world-wide guarantee. In Yodobashi and Bic Camera they have a seperate counter with the overseas models.

I wouldn't really advise to buy in Akihabara (famous area in Tokyo for buying electronics), as their prices are usually higher than the big electronics stores I mentioned before... the only advantage there is that they speak English.

[the saint]

Aaaahhhh, I learn something new...

[SuperFly]

Last year my wife went through duty free in Japan and bought a Sony DCR-TRV22 -- $900. I went to FRY's electronics and it was $750 for the same model. All menus were in Engrish.

[insert crying smiley here]

[the saint]

And I picked one up for around US$700 a few months ago at my local electronics shop (nothing big or fancy and no special discount).

It maybe duty free but when will the world catch on that the prices still suck in airports

[peppergirl]

Ah, as I was living in Japan it didn't apply to me, but if you are not a resident in Japan you can get out of paying th 5% tax by showing your passport. At least in Yodobashi and Bic Camera. According to a friend, if you buy duty-free in Yodobashi, they won't give you the points, but at Bic Camera you could get the 5% tax reduction, and still get 10% or more on your point card.
And I agree that duty-free at airports are NOT cheaper... Only cigarettes are cheaper then elsewhere.

[IconsFanatic]

ulsanchris,

Swing by Busan, visit the Nampo-dong market, figure out where the electronic goods section is, and buy a Japanese-made camera there.

If you buy Japanese goods from the "official" (aka "non-dodgy") shops in Korea, you pay a huge import fee. Look for the small shops.

Bought a digicam myself soon after arriving here for W500,000. Insisted on a Japanese camera; everything Korean seems to fall apart (fridge, mobile, air conditioner, digital audio recorder....).

[ulsanchris]

I glanced at a few cameras in Japan. The few models i looked at seemed to be the same price or more expensive than in korea.

[Joe Thanks]

[Cthulhu]

Digital cameras have become a lot cheaper back home too. I'm heading to Futureshop on Boxing Day to pick up a 4 megapixel Casio QV-R40 for CDN$299+tax. In Yongsan in September they wanted 320,000 for a no-warranty Canon A70 and 380,000 for one with warranty. Not sure how things compare with Japan but they're getting much better here compared to Korea.