[ducdao]

How is lens purchasing in Vietnam? I will be visiting Saigon in August and was wondering if prices are about average, or are they higher than they are in the States and Canada? Also where would one need to go to find Pentax lenses in Vietnem? Thank you for your assistance and time!

I would say 50% of my lenses acquired during my stay in VN were acquired through eBay and shipped from UK and Europe (more cost effective in term of shipping fee than shipped from the US). The other 50% I did acquired through local forums/online marketplaces like 5giay.vn, vnphoto.net and xomnhiepanh.com. Unfortunately, you need to understand Vietnamese to transact some deals are mostly deal over the phone. Also, I live in Saigon - the Pentax community in Saigon is not as strong as the one in Hanoi so it's harder to find Pentax gear in stores. Most stores only carry Canikon . In fact most of my lenses that I bought locally were bought from sellers in Hanoi. Since I only buy MF lenses, price fluctuates a lot, sometimes I find a good deal sometimes not. I still think you can find more bargains on eBay.

One thing I found overtime is since Pentax has a factory in Hanoi, it's possible that you can find very good deals on the DA limited's that were somehow "slipped" out of the factory...but again you really need to be very well connected and of course there won't be any warranty

Before you asked, my DA Limiteds were bought in Canada

[ducdao]

crazy person, hope the balans of the planet won't shift when you move all this gear to Canada.

I'm not crazy, I'm well aware of what I'm getting into . It's just an hobby like many others. Some people like to collect stamps, cars, watches, wives etc. Me, I like to collect lenses and unlike many other collectors, I DO use my lenses

[theperception2008]

I would say 50% of my lenses acquired during my stay in VN were acquired through eBay and shipped from UK and Europe (more cost effective in term of shipping fee than shipped from the US). The other 50% I did acquired through local forums/online marketplaces like 5giay.vn, vnphoto.net and xomnhiepanh.com. Unfortunately, you need to understand Vietnamese to transact some deals are mostly deal over the phone. Also, I live in Saigon - the Pentax community in Saigon is not as strong as the one in Hanoi so it's harder to find Pentax gear in stores. Most stores only carry Canikon . In fact most of my lenses that I bought locally were bought from sellers in Hanoi. Since I only buy MF lenses, price fluctuates a lot, sometimes I find a good deal sometimes not. I still think you can find more bargains on eBay.

One thing I found overtime is since Pentax has a factory in Hanoi, it's possible that you can find very good deals on the DA limited's that were somehow "slipped" out of the factory...but again you really need to be very well connected and of course there won't be any warranty

Before you asked, my DA Limiteds were bought in Canada

I figured as much :-) My Vietnamese is okay at best, as being a product of a first generation born and raised in the United States. I am sure to incur some laughter when I speak over there. In fact even in Poland (where I am studying), I get a chance to meet people who are working out here as shop owners and workers. They all tell me that my vocabulary is quite peculiar and my accent is odd. Of course this is all after they have finished laughing at me. Thank you for your time and assistance.

p.s. You have one of the coolest lens collections I have ever seen :-)

[RioRico]

crazy person, hope the balans of the planet won't shift when you move all this gear to Canada.

I suspect that I weigh more than my 180+ lenses, so that shouldn't be a problem. However, if everyone in Asia were to jump from 1m ladders at the same moment, Earth would probably shift its orbit towards Arcturus. Don't move.