Buying Panasonic Camera from China?

[whyrichard]

Hey,

I am trying to buy a camera that is difficult to find in the states currently. It is a lumix LX3. I see that it is for sale on ebay from a store in china from "DC Emprire" and "Digirev".

Is it okay to buy a camera from a chinese vendor? Is there a problem with firmware/language/whatever if i am english speaking/in america?

thanks,
r.

 

[ckseid]

Check their feedback on Ebay. If the seller has many positive feedbacks...then you shouldn't have a problem. Also check what warranty the camera carries. Is it an international warranty? Or a local one? Do you really want to send it back to Asia for service?
Sometimes it is worth it to pay a little more in the US for the US warranty. Though sometimes, the international warranty can be longer too.
LX3, i have one. Nice camera. Get a black one...looks like a Leica!! I had the same trouble locating one. Most online stores were out. But if you call your local 'real' camera store (e.g. not best buy), you might be able to find one....like i did!

 

[ckseid]

Oh yeah, even if you buy from China/Asia, usually their manuals have english too...unless it is a Japanese "grey market" import that the Chinese imported.

The LX3 i bought here in the US. you can choose between 6 languages. English, Deutsch, French, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese. You could be right that maybe there is a Chinese version LX3 (operating system) with Chinese. But i suspect there would be an English language option on it.