Buying gear in Thailand

I'm hoping to spend a month diving in Koh Tao Thailand this summer, and I'm after a good macro lens.

I've decided on the sigma 105mm macro.

I can buy an imported one off ebay for around £220 including postage (equiv US$430 approx) - which is a great deal compared to Uk retail or UK internet prices, and I'm more than prepared to take a risk on international warranty issues for the money I'll save.

However I'm wondering whether prices are similar in thailand - it would make my life a lot easier if I could simply pick one up retail when I arrive in Bangkok - The price doesnt neccessarily have to be better or matched, happy to pay a bit more for the convenience - say 10-20% more.

can anyone advise me on what I'm likely to pay for this lens at retail in bangkok? reccommend a good camera retailer there? Perhaps a decent Ikelite retailer as well as I may pick up a port or two.

thanks in advance

PS - mods - not sure if this is the right place to post this so feel free to move this post to a more appropriate location if neccessary

I believe you will struggle with Ikelite in Thailand from other posts that i've read on various forums. Tere are a few wetpixellites based in Bangkok who can probably help you out with the lens.

Simon

There are 2 places to go to in BKK for shopping for lenses. Patumwan - Mahboonklong center. The shop is called FotoFile. Go there and BARGAIN.

Another place is AVCamera in Bangrak. I'm sure you can do a google search for these places.

Remember bargain... the baht has risen so much that it may not be worthwhile to buy in Thailand anymore.

I am not sure of the Sigma prices in Bangkok in comparison to other part of the world. One warning however, most stores that carry Sigma generally only have very few selections of the cheaper models. If you want to look at Sigma lenses, I saw a dealer at MBK center that Drew mentioned but Fotofile does not carry Sigma as far as I know. There is another shop one floor above Fotofile at Patumwan Princess Hotel end of the shopping center that has decent selection of Sigma but I don't know about 105mm specifically. AV Camera does carry Sigma but I don't see a 105mm listed on their site. There are also a couple of stores carrying Sigma lenses at Fortune Tower.

There is an Ikelite dealer in Bangkok called Seats. However they generally don't stock anything there and have to order pretty much everything that you need so I would not count on stopping by the store to pick any Ikelite stuffs off the shelf.

You can find bits and pieces for Canon readily but not all the stores will have a big selections. The best bet is Nikon as Niks Thailand pretty much has all the current stuffs in the catalogues available including the 5T, 6T dipter that seems to be unavailable in many parts of the world.

I just bought a Sigma lens recently (not the one in question) and it was actually cheaper in the UK (after the tax back at the airport) than in Thailand.

There is a decent shop at Fortune called CAPPA but I agree with Boi - chances of them carrying something a little "exotic" are probably low.

There is a shop selling Sigma on the 4th or 5th floor of the Pantip Plaza, which is not too far from MBK. You should be able to get the 105 macro there, I think.

I was there a couple of days ago, and they also had a few underwater bits and bobs for sale as well.

Vandit