you don't have to worry about speaking chinese.
all the major chain stores have people who speak english fluently

http://www.tincheungcamera.com.hk/


i personally would skip broadway or fortress.
they don't have good discounts.. and their cameras and lens are tested and played with by 106876845 customers.

sell your 550D.
get a 2nd hand Canon 5D. (not MarkII)
try to get the kit lens, EF 24-105mm L too.
with this combination, you can use for life.
oh and maybe u need to get a speedlite.


Edit:
tin cheung online prices are generally more expensive. if you call and ask (try to sound like a local), the price they quote will be cheaper than advertised online.
i just bought spyder calibrator from them.
online price is HK$5,145
called, they quote me HK$4,600
and i went to their shop in TST, final price HK$4,400.

[ Last edited by  kaka at 11-2-2011 11:09 ]

Rico bro. just in case you don't know already

http://www.dpreview.com/

is a top destination for camera geeks.

As previously mentioned tincheung is a good shop but I normally use prosource in SSP look for the tall bald guy and say the tall guy sent you to see if he can get a further discount or just compare prices, maybe you can ask If we can start a141 discount card !
Not worth buying from the big chains as their discount rates can it match he independents

i agree Tin Cheung in Mongkok is the best for cam and lens, much cheaper than Broadway and Fortress.

I use a 550D myself and I do think the best combination with this cam is the 17-55IS 2.8

The 24-105 is the best lens for the 5D but not good with the 550D cos with the 1,6x crop you lose lots of wide angle.

if you have 10k to spend, buy the 17-55Is 2.8 + a speedlite 430 (which is a most cost the 550D flash cannot be use the this huge lens haha) and a B&W slim C/P filter

I'm abit lazy to explain the mechanics, will let wikipedia do the job of summarizing for me -

A prime lens is either a photographic lens whose focal length is fixed, as opposed to a zoom lens, or it is the primary lens in a combination lens system.

A prime lens of a given focal length is less versatile than a zoom whose range includes that focal length, but is often of superior optical quality, lighter weight, smaller bulk and lower cost. In comparison with a zoom lens, a prime lens has fewer moving parts and optimization for one particular focal length. With a less complicated lens formula they suffer from fewer problems related to chromatic aberration.

Because their optics are simpler, prime lenses usually have a larger maximum aperture (smaller f-number) than zoom lenses. This allows photography in lower light and a shallower depth of field

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_lens

Thanks for putting RICO's mind at rest bro....

RICO's been scratching his balls for the past three days trying to translate aperture and iso into cantonese....

Thanks for the tip bro kaka...

I have heard about tin cheung camera....( It's in Mongkok Fa Yuen Street isn't it...)


Not again.... RICO bought himself the Lumix FZ100 bridge camera just before Christmas....I got pissed off with it because i had to buy an external flash for £130 poundand it was still useless indoors....  

The only way i could take the perfect picture indoors was to fag about with the shutter speed...( It's quite hard trying to stay still for two seconds...)

But since flogging the FZ100 on ebay i and investing in the Canon 550D... RICO is over the moon...No more need for flash....

The Canon 5D is a full frame professional camera isn't it bro....


RICO acting like a native....

No probs bro...

But somehow me saying in cantonese......

" AW DIL GAY DOR CHEEN AH... YOW MO PENG DEE AH..."


RICO's not too sure what the " SPYDER CALIBRATOR" is kaka...

I know Syder do a photography software then again they do jackets as well....

RICO would guess software but if it is then it is still a hell of a lot of money even with the discount...

I have been told that there's a camera shop in Hong Kong which does reviews on different cameras and lenses video style....

It's on the tip of my tongue but for the life of me i can't seem to think of the name....

Do you have a link for SSP bro..

So i gather you are a regular at that camera shop bro....Do you think he is a member of this forum...


Great sugesstion bro...RICO was thinking about redeeming the money which he has accumalated on this forum....


I would of thought that big chains are easier to haggle price with on the basis that they buy in bulk and the floor staff work on comission....

That's 2-2 when it comes to camera shops to buy from in HK but one is independent and the other one is a chain.....

I agree with you on your choice of camera...The Canan 550D is an awesome camera...( Very forgiving...)

But i read up on the specs on the Canon 5D....It only has 12.8 megapixels compare to the 18.2 on the 550D.....

But then again the 5D is a professional camera....

What do you think about the 5D bro...


I nearly bought the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM for £759 which is roughly 9490HK dollars...

But opted for the cheaper Tamron 17-50 f2.8 VC EOS for £357.99 which is roughly 4474HK dollars...

RICO is still wondering if the Canon version is worth that little bit more cash....

That's a bit of useless info bro....

How's about giving some personal input from a fellow bro who has recommended RICO to buy Prime lenses....

RICO has only been messing around with lenses for around a month and a half but i do own a Canon F1.8 50mm lense...

It's an awesome lense for the price plus it is perfect for indoor shooting.....Low aperture enables me to capture more light in me 550D's sensor hence being able to take pics at a faster shutter speed..

RICO also loves the depth of field this lense has...I am having a jolly old time fading the background....

the 17-55 IS 2.8 worth the money, it's the best lens for APS-C cam.
the only cons I have is the heavy weight and the 77cm lens hide the in-built flash

re the 5D,
it's depends what you are doing with your cam, FF is better for landcraft, landmark and group photo
the APS-C is many time better than FF with many lens cos with the 1,6x crop they only use the centre of the lens, no the border! so lens aberration...
Myself I'm very happy with my 550D and my lens (17-55IS 2.8, 70-200 IS 4, macro EFS60) don't think need to change to the 5D

for the lens review http://www.the-digital-picture.com is a very good website
but I also recommanded this one http://www.photozone.de , they test the same lens with FF and APS-C cam

I read on a uk magazine that in uk there are many website where you can rent lens for short time, maybe it's a good idea for you to try the lens first before buying especially a expensive lens which maybe won't suit you

and what kind of SD card do you use?

I recommanded the sandisk 8go 30mo/s or the new one at 45mo/s especially if you take photo in raw

that why the 5D with CF card is a pro cam not the 550D.

only the cam using CF can be consider as pro due to their high speed 60m/s and now 100m/s
in raw (more than 20mo for a photo) those rate make a huge difference, especially when you use the continuous shooting mode

I always wonder if second hand cameras from the places you mentioned would come with some warranty issued by that particular shop you bought it from. A warranty of several months is good enough for you to find out if there are any obvious defects especially if you use it extensively.

Few points to consider.  If you buy in HK and return to the UK and find a fault, can be more of a problem to get it fixed etc.

Although in HK sometimes you need to argue a bit when returning new goods as more often than not they give you the address of the 'service centre' and you have to trek off to some industrial estate in the middle of nowhere.  Be persistent, keep your cool and if necessary ask to speak to the manager and usually they will relent (and of course whilst you are there discussing a return, they can't sell and will probably put off other customers).

I have found places like Broadway and Fortress will discount if you play hardball - like saying - if you give me this price, I will buyright now and then turn to leave if they don't.  Maybe more so on more expensive items.  I have been offered big reductions on things like flat screen TV's on this basis.

At least with Broadway etc you most likely (99% sure, if not 100%) get sold a complete fake.  Some of the nicest stores in Tsim Sha Tsui with all the bright neon and helpful staff are the ones to really avoid.

They have MANY scams.  Selling fakes, giving a huge discount on a price that was completely ridiculous - even to boxing up your product and switching it to a lesser model, fake etc before they hand it to you.

Avoid like the plague - they prey on tourists.

I get a lot of my non-camera stuff from Broadway.


Are you sure?

I have never knowingly bought something fake from one of the chain stores and also haven't heard anyone I know complaining.  

They seem too big and corporate to bother with that game.  Where would the procurement department get them from? Would they want to cut cheques to dodgy suppliers selling fakes?  The returns / complaints would be expensive to deal with and probably result in a lot of litigation and extensive press. The legit distributors would surely kick up a fuss if their products were alongside fakes.  Reputation would take a hammering if they went into that game etc etc.

I might be being a bit naive but I am guessing they make plenty of cash selling the real stuff so why bother with fakes.

And just to add to that - the reason, as also recommended in this thread, many people shop there and not in the cheaper outlets is for the piece of mind they won't be picking up a fake. So appears to be priced into their business model.

Again, I could just be v gullible

i dont see why that simple post from wikipedia is useless. it sums up very nicely what prime lenses and what they are capable of in a nutshell without bombarding you with unnecessary information.

If you want t a personal opinion on it, basically prime lenses makes stuff 'pop out' in a picture due to their depth of field and superior lens quality, so taking photos of faces, people etc will be very fun as the aperture is also very wide. not good for scenery shooting and cant zoom.