made in usa or japan?

[mlutz]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone could advise me on buying a canon lens, if there is any difference in a "usa" lens verses one made in Japan? I'm looking at getting a 24-70mm f 2.8l on e-bay. are they built equally as well? thanx, marsha

[drg]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone could advise me on buying a canon lens, if there is any difference in a "usa" lens verses one made in Japan? I'm looking at getting a 24-70mm f 2.8l on e-bay. are they built equally as well? thanx, marsha

Marsha,

Welcome to Photography Review.

There are no USA made Canon lens. The USA designation is that there is a USA factory warranty as opposed to what is called the 'GRAY' market.

Generally with Canon or the other 'major' manufacturers, if you buy through a reputable dealer, you should be purchasing a USA market approved lens. It is approved for import by Canon to the US and or North American market.

The gray market are usually privately imported from Europe or from Hong Kong for sale THERE. Thus there's no North American warranty or discounts available directly from Canon.

If a vendor on ebay is trying to sell you a 'US made Canon lens', run as fast as you can! It probably is a US warrantied and serialized unit.

You can always buy an aftermarket warranty. That can be less than desirable .

Does this answer your question?

[mlutz]

Yes, Thank you for clearing that up. I didn't think canon had any lenses made in the usa.... marsha

[Skyman]

I was under the impression that canon honoured their warranties globally. i know that canon have publicly announced in Australia that they will honour any canon product with the appropriate warranty card and proof of purchase from anywhere in the world. oh and I don't use ebay that much but poorly phrased descriptions such as a usa made lens (as opposed to a us warranted lens) is one indication of a dodgy vendor.

[drg]

I was under the impression that canon honoured their warranties globally. i know that canon have publicly announced in Australia that they will honour any canon product with the appropriate warranty card and proof of purchase from anywhere in the world. oh and I don't use ebay that much but poorly phrased descriptions such as a usa made lens (as opposed to a us warranted lens) is one indication of a dodgy vendor.

The problem is not honouring the warranty. The issue is whether they have a warranty or not. Apparently the US market has more problems than most with the gray issue. Things like bogus warranty cards, no registration, potential stolen merchandise, etc. are what is really at stake, to say nothing of the warranty/insurance fees that are part of the original purchase price being paid or being directed to different channels.

I use Canon because I can get quicker better service in more places. That is based on the equipment being purchased through authorized channels and not having been imported from 'somewhere' by someone.

Finally Canon (and any company offering a factory based warranty) wants to know how that equipment was handled prior to it being put into the end users hands.

[setiprime]

DRG....is correct. Buy from a local source or B&H. This is most important if you are going into the 'L' series lenses.

[Skyman]

interesting, seems like it is one policy for the states and another policy for the rest of the world. it used to be that if we (the rest of the world) bought off say B&H for example at prices that were often cheaper than wholesale prices from canon Australia (I used to work in photographic retail) then canon wouldn't honour any warranty as the warranty was not issued in Autralia. This was true of almost all major manufacturers. The term grey market applied to these cameras. they were not illegal as they were purchased from a retailer who bought them directly from canon, however they didn't end up in the consumers hands through channels that canon deemed "authorised" so if i bought a camera that had a north american warranty card (legitmately and legally) i still couldn't get it repaired in Australia under warranty. this changed about 2 years agon and canon said (keeping up with most other major brands) that they would honour globally any legitimate warranty. So one would assume that if you can produce a valid warranty card and proof of purchase that you can purchase from any store. if you are buying items where these things can't be issued, they are not "grey" market they are black market and therefore stolen (with the possible exception of second hand equipment). It might be that the US is rife with stolen cameras and lenses that are being sold through what would otherwise be legitimate dealers. that is sad as this is killing the photographic industry in the rest of the world.

[drg]

I believe the policy is the same everywhere. Canon also with their Professional Program add a couple of wrinkles in terms of access for those elgible that makes some things much easier.

The issue is what we call gray market in the US. The American Vendors B&H included, tell you right on their web site that the products were bought from other 'sources' or through a different channel and may not be eligible for a manufacturers warranty.

If I buy from say an U.K. vendor (though cost wise I don't know why I would right now) who is an authorized dealer, I would have warranty service. But if B&H bought at what we call wholesale from them, and resold those units, they would not be authorized for service as they were gray in terms of their provenance.

Perhaps a better example:
Say there's a trade show in Hong Kong, I'm a big U.S. Canon vendor and I'm only going to get 50 of some hot new product. So I purchase an additional 50 at the show. I pay the import tariffs, and since I get the vendors warranty, it is not transferable. But I, the vendor, can get the item repaired. So, I offer a 'shop' warranty, which means that the purchaser returns it to me, and I get it repaired and return it to the buyer. More hassle, but I get more sales.

It still is a legally sold product, just not eligible for a warranty because of resale. A lot of this has to do with Pacific Rim and Asian trade restrictions more than any U.S. problem. Japan had a problem for several years with products being labeled as coming from one place and they weren't. The photographic industry really cracked down with all the approved for export programs and stricter licensing to maintain quality.

We don't purchase the warranty card. They are included in legit sales. Third party warranties are an entirely separate matter.

The other issue is if the country on the warranty card does not match the country on the sales ticket. The EU has a whole different set of issues with the V.A.T. assignments that the U.S. does not. I can buy anywhere in North America, including Canada of course and have a valid warranty. But I can't have you buy something for me in say Malaysia, send it to me and expect to have a warranty, 1. Because I didn't buy it. 2. It has been resold.

Not all manufacturers are as a good as Canon. Some still have requirements that the equipment must be sent for service from the original point of sales for certain series of gear. That issue arose for me a few times in the past, and for things I need to depend on, I went to Canon.