Recommended online stores

Sorry if this is uncool, I know some forums are sensitive about endorsing shops.

I live in rural-ish Canada, so shopping locally isn't really an option. Are there a standard set of places that people look for underwater gear? I found Backscatter, Blue Water photo, and divervision.com. Oh, and Mosaik, in Canada.

Sorry if this is uncool, I know some forums are sensitive about endorsing shops.

 

I live in rural-ish Canada, so shopping locally isn't really an option. Are there a standard set of places that people look for underwater gear? I found Backscatter, Blue Water photo, and divervision.com. Oh, and Mosaik, in Canada.

I know what you mean since I live in bush Alaska. As for general underwater photo gear I have bought from Reef- http://reefphoto.com/shop/as well as Backscatter and Bluewater. Of the three Backscatter is the only one I have seen in person having been to Monterey, CA a few times over the years. I also spent quite a bit at Seacam USA aka Stephen Frink. I have had great support from all four.

Also Optical Ocean is reliable and helpful.

Mosaik prices things in $CDN and doesn't charge brokerage fees, which makes it many, many times cheaper than any USA places for Canadian shoppers.

Sorry USA folks, but for us Canadians it's the sad truth that the courier companies charge a % of the item value as "brokerage", which actually means "moving from counter A to counter B at the border". It can really add up on costs buying from the states.

And then there's our terrible dollar exchange rate on top of all that.

I strongly recommend Mosaik for Canadian buyers. Also: I'm only a customer and have no affiliation with them other than saving a lot of money on the stuff I've bought.

Diver Vision and Fun In are good ways to get better prices on things coming out of Asia. I've used them for strobes and a few other things. The personal service from Optical Ocean cannot be beat and I've also bought plenty of stuff from Reef, Backscatter, and a bit from Blue Water. Nothing bad to say about any of them.

REEF Photo!

They advertise on this site and the owner comments periodically.

I've purchased 6 housings from them.

Adorama.com and Bandhphoto.com, both New York photo equipment distributors, offer underwater gear. Though of course you would be subject to the Canadian taxes or fees. These two along with KEH.com all offer used equipment as well. This is a way to save some money, especially on lenses or to pick up a second camera in case yopu flood your main camera. Also a way to clear out old gear, though for pennies on the dollar.

Just an FYI to Canadian buyers. We now offer free ground shipping with FedEx. They no longer charge the brokerage fee as referenced above. Duties and GST will of course apply.

Sorry if this is uncool, I know some forums are sensitive about endorsing shops.

 

I live in rural-ish Canada, so shopping locally isn't really an option. Are there a standard set of places that people look for underwater gear? I found Backscatter, Blue Water photo, and divervision.com. Oh, and Mosaik, in Canada.

Where abouts do you live? I live in PEI and have used Mozaik in the past. Personally, free shipping to Canada isn't enough of a tasty carrot to get me to buy gear shipped from the U.S. The Customs duties are significant enough to keep me (mostly) buying in Canada, which basically only leaves Mozaik. Unfortunately, there are some products they don't carry that will require purchase from U.S. retailers.

I'm fortunate to have family in the U.S. and recently purchased used gear from Reef. Their service was great and whoever I spoke to (forget their name) on the phone answered all my questions truthfully and honestly. I needed the gear in fairly short order and they promptly shipped it out, getting it to me in time before I returned to Canada.

@ComeFromAway We're neighbours. I live in NB. I ended up ordering a housing and body from henrys.ca. Through boxing day discounts this ended up matching the bundle deal available from Backscatter and Blue Water (but notably not from Mozaik). The downside is now I have to wait a long time for a "special order" item.

@ComeFromAway We're neighbours. I live in NB. I ended up ordering a housing and body from henrys.ca. Through boxing day discounts this ended up matching the bundle deal available from Backscatter and Blue Water (but notably not from Mozaik). The downside is now I have to wait a long time for a "special order" item.

Good to know Henrys sells UW gear. Will have to check Vistek, too. Waving hello from Charlottetown!

A big thumbs up for DiverVision from me.

Arrived in less than a week. No customs hassle.

Big savings over anywhere else for some Inon floats and a Dome

TC