Nikon AF-S 24-120mm VR ED

tonyzero · 2 Aug 2006 at 19:00

Hi

i have been looking on ebay for a Nikon AF-S 24-120mm VR ED and there is a seller from Hong Kong selling them for just under £300 with a feedback of 11500 + and only a negative of 85 so is there any reason that i should not buy from this seller ?

if so could someone please tell me why as i am wondering why the price is almost £200 cheaper then any where here in the uk.

Joe T · 2 Aug 2006 at 19:11

VAT and import duty basically.

Some HK sellers do deals on certain auctions where they will refund VAT and duty. Digital-Rev being one of them.

HTH

tonyzero · 2 Aug 2006 at 19:15

Joe T said:
VAT and import duty basically.

Some HK sellers do deals on certain auctions where they will refund VAT and duty. Digital-Rev being one of them.

HTH

they say they We warrant NO UK duty/VAT for this item

if i am ok to post the sellers name then i will do, is it ok ?

bigredshark · 2 Aug 2006 at 19:17

you take your chance with HK sellers, some are good, some not tbh.

I'd also have a good read of reviews of the 24-120 VR before you buy it, I had one and sold it a few weeks back as it's not the sharpest thing in the world, which is something reviews warn about...

Joe T · 2 Aug 2006 at 19:23

tonyzero said:
they say they We warrant NO UK duty/VAT for this item

if i am ok to post the sellers name then i will do, is it ok ?

Technically no, but people do anyway. Go on.

tonyzero · 2 Aug 2006 at 19:24

bigredshark said:
you take your chance with HK sellers, some are good, some not tbh.

I'd also have a good read of reviews of the 24-120 VR before you buy it, I had one and sold it a few weeks back as it's not the sharpest thing in the world, which is something reviews warn about...

ok thanks for the advice maybe you could recommend me a good walk around lens to go on my D50 which will give me very sharp pictures and still has a very good zoom

at the moment i have the 18-55 which came with the D50 and i have a Tamron 70-300

tonyzero · 2 Aug 2006 at 19:26

the sellers name is urgalaxy

if its not ok to post then please delete

Blackvault · 2 Aug 2006 at 19:27

If I where you I would contact Kerso (Ian) and get a quote off any of the Nikon Lens. He is really cheap and competitive and quick.

Blackvault

Joe T · 2 Aug 2006 at 19:28

I have imported with them. If they say no VAT/duty, just check out the process for reclaiming it. Should be ok after that.

I bought a lens for £1150 from HK (used Digital-Rev). Reclaimed VAT/duty/brokerage charge ok. It's quite fun tracking something worth that kind of dosh across the world on the UPS tracking system

bigredshark · 2 Aug 2006 at 19:33

tonyzero said:
ok thanks for the advice maybe you could recommend me a good walk around lens to go on my D50 which will give me very sharp pictures and still has a very good zoom

at the moment i have the 18-55 which came with the D50 and i have a Tamron 70-300

It's a difficult one, nikon's best low cost walkabout is the 18-70 thats comes with the D70 really, the 24-120 is a good lens, but i wasn't happy printing big reproductions from it.

It also depends what you mean by walkabout, by convention what'd suit you best and is the best nikon has in this category is the 18-200 VR, more expensive but far better if you ignore the distortion and slightly iffy build quality.

Personally I have the 17-55 f2.8 as my walk around lens and it's great in spite of the lack of reach. really, your options are..

go to a nikon dealer and try a 24-120, if you're happy with it (they should be happy to blow up a test shot on a PC or something) then buy that one right then!

or save up for the 18-200, which should do everything you want on a D50, might even replace your 70-300 too!

Joe T · 2 Aug 2006 at 19:34

As bigred says, the 24-120 is ok, but is not great.

tonyzero · 2 Aug 2006 at 19:34

Joe T said:
I have imported with them. If they say no VAT/duty, just check out the process for reclaiming it. Should be ok after that.

I bought a lens for £1150 from HK (used Digital-Rev). Reclaimed VAT/duty/brokerage charge ok. It's quite fun tracking something worth that kind of dosh across the world on the UPS tracking system

do you think i could get a better lens for that sort of money that will give me a shaper picture ?

tonyzero · 2 Aug 2006 at 19:41

well i am new to SLR cameras so any advice i can get from here is good advice as far as i am concerned

i have looked at the 18-200 VR but it was more then i wanted to pay at the moment but if there is any other lens that is recommended that would still give me a good zoom then please say

bigredshark · 2 Aug 2006 at 19:52

nothing made by nikoncomes to mind, they just don't make cheapish walk about zoom accept the 24-120, which was so close to being a great lens. If you can try one at a dealer it's worth doing so, although they're quite rarely in stocki found.

the 18-200 is a step up in price but it's a big jump in capability.

or see if the extra reachof the 18-70 helps(almost certainly not) as it's great for the money and very sharp

tonyzero · 2 Aug 2006 at 19:56

is the NIKON AF D 24-85 mm f/2.8-4 D IF Macro any good

bigredshark · 2 Aug 2006 at 20:16

It's not bad, less sharp than it could be I've been told and it lacks AFS (indeed it's been replaced by an AFS version I believe so you'd have to get one second hand)

bottom line, it's not a walk about lens, it offers nothing over the 18-70 DX lens (the extra reach probably won't be noticed and it's not as wide)

tonyzero · 2 Aug 2006 at 20:23

bigredshark said:
It's not bad, less sharp than it could be I've been told and it lacks AFS (indeed it's been replaced by an AFS version I believe so you'd have to get one second hand)

bottom line, it's not a walk about lens, it offers nothing over the 18-70 DX lens (the extra reach probably won't be noticed and it's not as wide)

ok then it looks like i will be going for the 18-70

which should still be better than my 18-55 kit lens

Thanks for all your advice on this post

p.s. is Kerso a ebay member with an ebay shop called "FLASH CAMERA" and if so would i be best to ask him for a price on this lens ? only i see most of his stuff is canon.

Blackvault · 2 Aug 2006 at 20:33

tonyzero said:
p.s. is Kerso a ebay member with an ebay shop called "FLASH CAMERA" and if so would i be best to ask him for a price on this lens ? only i see most of his stuff is canon.

Not sure mate. He does do Nikon gear as well as I got my SB-600 off him.

Blackvault

bigredshark · 2 Aug 2006 at 20:42

tonyzero said:
ok then it looks like i will be going for the 18-70 which should still be better than my 18-55 kit lens

Thanks for all your advice on this post

p.s. is Kerso a ebay member with an ebay shop called "FLASH CAMERA" and if so would i be best to ask him for a price on this lens ? only i see most of his stuff is canon.

It'll give you a little bit more but go and try one before you buy it off ebay, make sure it's going to make a difference, for me i went from the 18-70 to the 17-55 and didn't notice loosing the extra reach, so you want to make sure you do notice it!

tonyzero · 2 Aug 2006 at 20:53

bigredshark said:
It'll give you a little bit more but go and try one before you buy it off ebay, make sure it's going to make a difference, for me i went from the 18-70 to the 17-55 and didn't notice loosing the extra reach, so you want to make sure you do notice it!

have you got the Nikon 17-55mm AF-S f/2.8G IF-ED Dx as thats a lot of money or have i got the wrong lens