It's out

http://www.cameraworld.co.uk/ViewProdDetails.asp?prod_code=PON05J000067&Prod...

Yippeeeee!
(Now do they actually have them available..?)
Matt

Just spoke to CameraWorld, and they spoke to Pentax, who say it IS available.

G

Just spoke to Technikdirekt, who say they will have them in stock in two weeks.

G

It's not even mentioned on the main US sites, and in Europe I've only seen it on three:

Cameraworld £570
Technikdirekt £450 approx
Pixmania £667

Any other sightings?

G

Other sightings:
http://www.fotovideo.no/aspx/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2faspx%2fprdinfo.aspx%3fplid%...
http://www.heise.de/preisvergleich/a143836.html
(Including http://www.mindfactory.de/cgi-bin/MindStore.storefront/DE/Product/7781985?pid=ge... at €630)

Just looking for a UK supplier at around £450 and I'll be very happy

Matt

You'll be lucky, Matt. Our splendid retailers are charging the usual outrageous amounts.

Technikdirekt with VAT is cheaper than B&H in New York. As for Mindspring, I can't work out whether VAT is included.

Either way, my money's going to Germany.

G

Point taken George.
Let me know your experiences and I'll probably follow suit
Matt

And let us know if its any good when you get one

Sighted in stock at B&H:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&...

Not a very good deal at $899.95

Hi,

Just to say, If you import from Germany, or any European country, you should not be charged ANY customs fees, or VAT when the item enters the UK, in other words you should just end up paying the retailers price plus ship cost.

Cheers Steve.M.

By "European", Steve means EU, and by "customs fees" I presume he means duty. If you import from Germany, you will pay German VAT, and not UK VAT. It's therefore important to find out if VAT is included in the quoted price. If you import from Norway, you will NOT pay Norwegian VAT (if there is such a thing), but you WILL pay both UK duty and UK VAT. UK duty tends to be quite low, or nothing (unless it's a VCR with an input port).

Not that Norway is awash with cut-price Pentax dealers.

G

The Pentax SLR forum on DPREview has a photo taken with the 12-24.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1036

There are more pictures on the PDML. People there seem to like it.

http://www.mail-archive.com/pentax-discuss%40pdml.net/

G

Hi,

George is quite right, but it is not as clear cut as he states. I purposely said 'European' rather than EU for a reason. Although there is an EU wide agreement not to charge import duties on items bought within the EU group of states, in reality many items imported from 'European' states are ignored, so you may import free of duty from some and maybe all non-EU states which are in Europe. For example, Switzerland is in Europe, but not the EU, however I have imported several times from Switzerland items well over the duty level, but I have never been charged a bean.

Also, while duty fees are low (approx 3%) If you import an item over only £18 you will incur 17.5% vat on not only the value of the goods, but also the cost of the shipping...this can be expensive. You may also be charged a 'handling' fee by whoever pays the duty on your behalf...this is why I used the generic term 'customs fees' in my post, to cover all the possible fees.

Is this now as clear as mud?

Cheers Steve.M.

Yes, you certainly have to be careful!

What really annoys me is the fact that USA prices are often the same in dollars as we pay in pounds and I unwittingly fell for this a while ago.
It was a foolish mistake on my part but I won an A series 50mm F1.4 for a little over £60 and I was very happy with that price but by time I'd paid the import duty etc. it cost about £100. I'm sure that I could have bought one from the EU for much less, fortunately the lens I bought is a very fine example and I'm pleased with it but it does show how easy it is to get carried away on auction sites or while browsing for bargains.

I'd always advise checking carefully to ensure that you are well aware of any additional costs when considering importing goods, particularly of high value because it may slip through and cost you nothing extra or you could end up paying a small fortune..............yes, even for second-hand items!