[JohnKSA]

I suspect that there are not many South Africans on this forum but there are a few and I suspect that that "Sterretjie" has a K5. Does any one know where I would be able to acquire a K5 here in the good old RSA at a reasonable price and with assured back up should there be a problem? Has anyone tried importing themselves from the US? What are the import duty implications? Which courrier do you use?
For those non South Africans it would appear that the local agents do not yet have stock and the only suppliers sell "grey" goods (probably imported from the US) and the cheapest I have found is in the region of $2000 for the body only.

regards,

John

[willywalker]

Hi John

I got my K5 from Adorama and landed it to my door for about R15000.00. I paid about R900.00 duties and VAT was about R2000.00 (which is included in the 15 grand).

I see "Bid or Buy" is offering it for about the same price.

I suppose you could wait for prices to come down, but I don't see the point. The sooner you get it the sooner you will get the benefit. It is really good!

[JohnKSA]

Hi Willy,

Thanks for that! Did you buy the body only or get a kit lens with the camera. What shipping company did you use and how long from order to delivery?

regards,

John K

[willywalker]

John

Body only. I upgraded from a K10D.

I ordered it on 09/11/2010 and it arrived 15/09/2010!! Pretty Impressive. They use UPS - I don't think you have any say in that - but they're good, so no problem. I normally buy from B&H but they were out of stock. They are both outstanding - check for the best price.

My feeling is that if anything goes wrong you just send it back to Adorama for warranty claims, it will probably be quicker than getting it sorted locally!??

[kari]

My feeling is that if anything goes wrong you just send it back to Adorama for warranty claims, it will probably be quicker than getting it sorted locally!??

If they send you a replacement unit, will you have to pay duties and VAT again?

[willywalker]

Not if you can show them the paperwork from the first camera, i.e. the original import papers, plus the export papers, plus the explanation from the manufacturer/dealer stating that it is a replacement.

I am pretty sure there will be no problem

[Stringmike]

We used to live in Jo'burg and have family in the Eastern Cape. We have used several methods to get gear from the USA to RSA. The most reliable and cheapest is to carry it in your luggage, but we have had success with various shippers, including the postal service. Delivery in RSA , particularly far from the big cities can be slow and erratic. The only thing that seems to be consistent is their ability to charge duty and VAT!

Mike

[JohnKSA]

Hi,
I am impressed to see so many people either in or connected to South Africa here. I see that Katz in PE are offering the K5 with kit lens at R15490 incl. and Digital World in Nelspruit the same at R19349. I currently use the kit lens (Schneider) I purchased with my Samsung G1L some time ago. (Also plenty of m42 lenses)
If I am not mistaken the Bid or Buy offer is from New Zealand and vat and duty would also apply.
I now see that there are some SA based dealers selling at various prices.
regards,

John