Importing HMC150 in the UK

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dominichicks

Active member
Hi
I'm in the market for an HMC150/151 - have found a massive difference in price between buying the HMC151 domestically here in England, or importing an HMC150 through eBay etc (£2000 for a USA import, £3000 for a domestic).

I know I'll be missing out on the warranty if I import, but £1000 is quite a lot to pay for a warranty!

Will I experience any editing problems if I import (with regards to NTSC), and will accessories bought in the UK (SD cards, batteries, mikes etc) all work just as well with an American camera?

Thanks, Dom
 
I'm not expert, but I feel like there's a reason that not everybody in the UK has an NTSC camera even though it would be cheaper apparently.

It's definitely quite a lot of money to pay, but what if you end up running into serious issues regarding compatability and such due to you having an NTSC camera? You can lose opportunities and possibly end up feeling like you wasted money.

Seeing as you're looking to get a camera that I wouldn't say is consumer.. then you're probably going to be making some money off of it whether it's freelance or whatever. So I would invest the extra thousand, then get your hustle on and make the money back as soon as you can.

:bath:
 
Actually I'm using the camera to put together a showreel of short films to apply for film school - I'm a recent graduate and have been saving up the cash (very slowly) for a year to buy some equipment... The sooner I get it, the sooner I can start shooting my scripts and getting a move on in my life! So really, money is of the essence for me at the moment.
 
It may seem like sense to import one but after you've been stung with UK import tax, freight and insurance you'll probably end up paying the same as you would have done buying in the UK. Pkus of course you'll have an NTSC camera without warrant..

If you budget is fixed at the 2 grand mark, have you considered the HMC40? just a thought.
 
dominichicks said:
Actually I'm using the camera to put together a showreel of short films to apply for film school - I'm a recent graduate and have been saving up the cash (very slowly) for a year to buy some equipment... The sooner I get it, the sooner I can start shooting my scripts and getting a move on in my life! So really, money is of the essence for me at the moment.
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Ok so... this is my suggestion and you can take it or leave it right. But I think that instead of paying money to go to just one year of film school (assuming you'd put in at least one year..) it's a lot better in my opinion, if you use that money and buy some solid equipment, apply for every freelance job / internship / opportunity you can find.

If your portfolio has a bunch of badass videos.. people don't care if you went to film school or not.

:bath:
 
You're quite right...

You're quite right...

Of course you're quite right, but I have no doubt that a good school (like the NFTS) would focus me, sharpen my abilities and let me meet a lot of very dedicated, creative people.

And in the meantime I am applying for every internship etc that comes along... but film school or not, the first thing to do is get a camera!

The shipping cost on one I've been looking at on eBay is actually only £30, will be marked as a gift so no customs tax, and it's going for £1500! Sure it's better to buy domestically?

And does anyone know about compatibility issues?
 
dominichicks said:
The shipping cost on one I've been looking at on eBay is actually only £30, will be marked as a gift so no customs tax, and it's going for £1500! Sure it's better to buy domestically?
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Are you totally naive? If all it took to avoid customs was to mark everything as a 'gift' then every one would mark everything as a 'gift' and the customs men would no longer be required.

Even if you managed to get it through you are breaking the law. Maybe that means nothing to you, but realise that when customs do an audit (which happens from time to time) they can still come back to you and ask you to prove that the value of the item imported was within the amounts allowed for 'gifts'. Calling something a 'gift' does not make it tax free. If the items was falsely imported then there could be fines and penalties. The chances are slim, but it happens.

Don't assume that the seller can speak for what the UK customs will or won't do. The seller is trying to sell you something, and unless they are willing to cover any taxes that do get charged (without you having to pay it then 'try' to claim it back) then assume that you will have to pay customs duty & taxes.

And does anyone know about compatibility issues?
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You mean like not being able to shoot any PAL frame rates, so the chances of you being able to use it to earn cash on the side do videos for people just diminished significantly?

Also, the resale value is significantly lower than a 151.
 
When you ask someone to mark something you bought as a "gift", you're asking them to commit fraud against their federal government. To put it mildly, that's not a good idea.
 
I had the same sort of situation. I decided not to import because if something happened then I'd have the warranty whereas I could of saved money importing but then I'd of lost the warranty. It works out better with the warranty. Also I've bought accessories from the US i.e sd cards and mikes and have had no problems.

The lemonade diet is a detox and the fat burning furnace is a fat loss manual moreover affiliate marketing is normally a really good approach for you to turn a profit.
 
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Of course you're quite right, but I have no doubt that a good school (like the NFTS) would focus me, sharpen my abilities and let me meet a lot of very dedicated, creative people.
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For what it's worth, the exact same can be said for a good internship. And that's free. Heck, you might even be paid.
 
The original poster bought a Canon 7D here in the UK so I guess this post is dead!

dominichicks said:
Just got my 7D from Jessops, and found that the cables and such have clearly been used and the battery has been charged. Also there's no instruction manual inside the box - only a cd-rom manual. Is this normal?
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