[tim60]

In principle, as tim60 says above, you would be liable for duty on the amount above $900 but a) they don't check in my experience and b) when you return you have a used k-3 which has a considerably lower value in their eyes, so no issue really.

I have heard of a group of friends who left with a bunch of high value item - one each - and were checked on return. But the checks were individual - were you carrying in the kind of thing you took out, and serial numbers are not taken on exit. If you declare more than $900 the tax is applied to the full value, not the excess above $900. Practice varies between airports too and seems it might vary by day of arrival. Maybe this is why they disallow use of phones right through the arrival space from gate to exit after customs. I have always been puzzled at the rationale for disallowing phones other than in the immediate spaces of encounter with officials as a matter of courtesy. The only assumption I can make is that it is to stop communication to someone just arriving who waits to hear what the path is like that day, or else a scam with the car park operators who want to discourage arriving passengers making calls to friends waiting to do a drive-by pickup thereby dodging the exorbitant fees to park at the airport carpark.

I was amazed at LAX to see people using credit card to pay a $3 parking fee - 1. so cheap; 2. credit card transaction charges and the pay rate of the person and other overheads would be $2, leaving $1 for the real price of the parking. Must have been a make work scheme for the attendant. Could have been done by a vending machine (with a cash price and a transaction fees loaded price for the credit card) and the customers would not have been slowed down waiting for a line of people in front to do CC payments. Or may be better just to have free parking and add $1 to every seat ticket into the airport that does not have an immediate transit flight out.

---------- Post added 04-20-14 at 05:18 AM ----------

Hmm, I wonder if there would be any good end of financial year deals to be had

If you can wait, worth finding out.

Do you need body only or with kit lens? When I got mine I saw no value in buying yet another kit lens type and quality. I guess that was also my response to the kit lens I got with my K100DS (18-55) which never pleased me. Nothing specific wrong with me, just always seems sterile. I was intending and so have only used it with M42 lenses.

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Last edited by tim60; 04-19-2014 at 01:02 PM.

[demuire]

I already have several lenses (including the 18-55 kit lens that came with my Kr) so definitely don't need another generic kit lens. Tossing up the option of getting one of the WR lenses though, just as a "wet weather option". That said, even the body-only price is already stretching the current budget so I will more than likely just get the body.

---------- Post added 04-20-14 at 07:40 AM ----------

And yes, I have been checked by customs coming in before, for a camera I purchased in Malaysia that I forgot to declare. So they definitely do look out for it.

[elpolodiablo]

Another local option for you, $1229

Pentax K-3 Digital SLR Camera Body | DigiDIRECT Australia

I actually went to their King St store to try out K-3, love it but don't have the $$$ at the moment to upgrade...maybe I will just wait for the mythical Pentax FF lol, only joking my K-5 K-30 and K-01 are keeping me very happy still.

[gorillagirl]

Thanks, a $70 saving is not too shabby! I can't wait till Christmas, I'm pulling the trigger in a few weeks I only need the body as well, I've got the 18-55 range covered.

[demuire]

Haha, I'm not really in a hurry to get mine as there is nothing really wrong with my Kr. Well, I should say there was nothing wrong until I discovered how much better the K5/K3 is. Now there is heaps wrong with my Kr

---------- Post added 04-20-14 at 11:14 AM ----------

Ignorance was bliss

[tim60]

Haha, I'm not really in a hurry to get mine as there is nothing really wrong with my Kr. Well, I should say there was nothing wrong until I discovered how much better the K5/K3 is. Now there is heaps wrong with my Kr

---------- Post added 04-20-14 at 11:14 AM ----------

Ignorance was bliss

Not quite my experience starting with K100DS which I used with MF lenses. It was hard to focus - that I knew, and MF was never so hard with the MX. But I did not know there was a DSLR solution until I tried the K5 for 5 minutes during a conversation with its owner. That was like my experience putting glasses on for the first time: "I did not know I was meant to see so well!" - I was 21 at the time and for the first time ever could have seen the writing from the back of the classroom.

When travelling (I do it a lot) the last thing I want is any kind of computer record against me in my own or anyone else's country that would make it difficult to enter.