For Canadian Buyers

[pondball]

I know the title is not exactly novel (see Aussie thread that is so very active)... but after chatting with a few of the Canadians on this site we felt it was time to start up something where we could inform each other of some good deals that might be going on up here in Canada.

We don't have to keep it to just Hot Deals from retail/online outlets either as we may want to make reference in Hot Deals to some of the wonderful offerings of our fellow Canucks from the Buy & Sell section. I often pass on any deals because most are based in the US with only US delivery stated... or stated in US$ only.

The main reason though is that no matter how attractive an item might appear to be, as soon as I add 37¢ on the dollar and the impending uncertaintiy of cross-border delivery charges the item is probably going to end up being more expensive than a new item up here would have been.

We can also use this to give notice of any product releases in Canada, any Photo Shows up here (i.e. Vistek Fall Show)... all within this one thread (or at least make reference to one that was started in the main forum). That way all we have to do is subscribe to this one thread and we'll get notice of any 'Near Far Nord' happenings in other threads that we might have ordinarily missed.

Hope it's as useful for us as it seems to have been for the Aussies!

btw... I checked with Amin and he is on board with this. Wouldn't have done it without checking on the protocol. Just another reason why this is a great place to spend our time!

Edit: and the proverbial "just one more thing!"... when listing something in this thread please list in Canadian $$.

 

[svtquattro]

Great idea! My wallet, er, wife thanks you

 

[Cerita]

The black Pen F is on sale at Best Buy, $1299 Cdn. (regular $1499). Link. Good luck! I love mine!

Also, Olympus Canada has both silver and black models on sale as well $1299 Cdn., and they offer free shipping.

 

[bremner]

FWIW, same pricing on the pen F at henrys.ca. And of course you could get 2 E-M10-II's and have $200 left over

 

[Cerita]

FWIW, same pricing on the pen F at henrys.ca. And of course you could get 2 E-M10-II's and have $200 left over

LOL! Now if only there was a magic sale on for the Oly 17mm to go with the Pen F .

 

[thendless]

If anyone is looking for the Pan 100-300mm II, Vistek has it for 749.99 CAD. Panasonic Lumix G Vario 100-300mm f/4.0-5.6 II ASPH Power OIS Lens Micro Four Thirds Lenses HFSA100300 - Vistek Canada Product Detail

Cheaper than anywhere else but there is a bit of a wait

 

[OldITGeek]

Became an Olympus owner buying open boxes at Henrys, got an M5 mark 2 with 12-40 F/2.8 for about 20% off.
They a nice selection of Olympus gear in open boxes.

 

[pondball]

Became an Olympus owner buying open boxes at Henrys, got an M5 mark 2 with 12-40 F/2.8 for about 20% off.
They a nice selection of Olympus gear in open boxes.

Glad you had a good experience at Henry's! I used to go to the one in Pickering as they had always been the most helpful of any around (I have to drive 50 minutes to get to the closest one). Unfortunately they closed that one about a year and a half ago! Tried Kennedy Mall store but because I was only looking at the time I got very little response. So... Kanata and Nepean Henry's have been great (3 hours away) as has the Waterloo Henry's (2 hours). I tend to shop there if necessary and when visiting my kids. Today I stepped into the Oshawa Henry's again... and couldn't get out quick enough... The Olympus setup was a joke with the Panny not far behind. What really got me was one of the workers desperately trying to upsell a poor lass on additional lenses she "just had to have"... and oh yeah "the more she bought the more she would save". I moved on before I got into a verbal battle with him... and am now feeling guilty that I left her to fend the guy off!
Really enjoyed the experiences at the other Henry's I mentioned and at the Vista Show last fall. Too bad I live closest to the one that I really can't handle. I keep giving it a chance but so far it's shooting blanks.

 

[Stickee]

OMD-10 II on sale at best buy for $599:
Black: Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with 14-42mm Lens Kit - Black
Silver: Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with 14-42mm Lens Kit - Silver

 

[pondball]

Over the years I've searched around for a Table Top Tripod that will be useful for more than just table top photography. I was on @MichaelSewell 's site and noticed he had reviewed the Marsace MT-01 Tabletop Tripod and immediately got excited about it. His review is here.
It looks like this could be the one!
So... I searched for a Canadian supplier... Henry's, Vistek, Amazon.ca and came up with... nada... Any other Canadian sources you can think of that might be useful? Amazon.com has some available (at a decent price too) but if I'm looking to avoid any currency exchange right now. My other option is to wait until I get to Porto later this summer and take my chances on finding a shop there.

 

[MichaelSewell]

@pondball
What's your import and tax on items bought direct from China suppliers.
Okay, warranty is a problem, but I don't think you will have any issues with the tripod. It's solid.

 

[pondball]

@pondball
What's your import and tax on items bought direct from China suppliers.
Okay, warranty is a problem, but I don't think you will have any issues with the tripod. It's solid.

It really depends on who is shipping or who is sitting at the import desk when it crosses any border when it comes to duty, brokerage etc. Our tax into Canada would be 13% here in Ontario... duty is dependent on what the shipper calls the item... and if that is not available then depends on what the import office thinks it might be.
Were you thinking, eBay, Amazon, or other off shore?

 

[pondball]

This is the Amazon link I found. Thought it might be US site but the supplier is DH Photo from China apparently. Looks like $59 US$, on sale from $79. It says free shipping, which I get from Amazon.ca but not sure if that applies to Amazon.com product as well. If Prime ie Prime no matter what then it should be. Plus Amazon is usually pretty good with their returns etc.

 

[MichaelSewell]

Were you thinking, eBay, Amazon, or other off shore?

They're good starting points, but there are others, such as Find Quality Wholesalers, Suppliers, Manufacturers, Buyers and Products from Our Award-Winning International Trade Site. Wholesale Products from China Wholesalers at Aliexpress.com.
Watch for pricing and research well. The Chinese retailers have strange ideas as to pricing. You will have seen similar circumstances on ebay. One guy will sell an item $1 above what it cost him (Yeah, suicidal, I know), and the next guy will price it at 300% over your local shop price. Figure that one out!!!

 

[OldITGeek]

This is the Amazon link I found. Thought it might be US site but the supplier is DH Photo from China apparently. Looks like $59 US$, on sale from $79. It says free shipping, which I get from Amazon.ca but not sure if that applies to Amazon.com product as well. If Prime ie Prime no matter what then it should be. Plus Amazon is usually pretty good with their returns etc.

They will not ship to Canada

 

[MichaelSewell]

@pondball

Almost identical design, but no slots.
The ballhead looks extremely robust, to the point of overkill

LEOFOTO Tabletop Travel Mini Tripod with Ball Head for Canon Nikon Sony A7S Camera Camcorder Smartphone-in Tripods from Consumer Electronics on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

 

[pondball]

They will not ship to Canada

Who? DHPhoto? I also just found this one from Ali Express with the same DHPhoto supplier (among three possibles) and they have "Free Shipping to Canada via AliExpress Standard Shipping" stated when I clicked on the same DH Photo option... and its listed there as $55.53!

 

[pondball]

@pondball

Almost identical design, but no slots.
The ballhead looks extremely robust, to the point of overkill

LEOFOTO Tabletop Travel Mini Tripod with Ball Head for Canon Nikon Sony A7S Camera Camcorder Smartphone-in Tripods from Consumer Electronics on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

I really like the functionality of the design you reviewed on your site... I have a couple of other table top only ones but the Marsace with the Straps/Slots opens up all sorts of new possibilities.

 

[MichaelSewell]

Marsace with the Straps/Slots opens up all sorts of new possibilities.

Definitely.

Mine will likely be used for fixing lights to various places, rather than supporting a camera.

 

[pondball]

Definitely.

Mine will likely be used for fixing lights to various places, rather than supporting a camera.

@MichaelSewell ... thought I better double check before getting too excited about this... that is a Swiss Arca mount on top isn't it? My other two larger tripods are both Swiss Arca and I like that a lot better than the screwy things of yesteryear