Is grey Market ok for original lens

[Ashok Sorout]

I precured canon 100-400L USM from Chandni Chowk Delhi Grey Market. It was bit cheaper but with no warerenty.

Is it ok to go for grey market as for as originality is concerned? You can check few of my images taken with this lens, Are these ok or these ok as a billed canon 100-400.
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Please help.

Regards
Ashok Sorout

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Ashok,

Lens procured from Grey market can be genuinely new lens or it can be problematic as well. In India, the duty is high. For example, the duty of digital SLRs is zero but lenses are under a different classification and attract higher amount of duties. So the cost in India is higher.

Earlier I used to buy many lenses and cameras from US. Many grey market dealers buy their cameras and lenses from Japan or Hongkong and sell in India at a cheaper price than the official price. Those lenses and cameras are new but don't have Canon India Warranty. However, the quality would be the same, if properly handled during transition.

Lenses can get misaligned if there are hard knocks or bad handling. If a particular grey market lens would have got such treatment or if there was some defect from the begining, then the person buying from grey market is in trouble.

However, there is a recourse. The person can go to the authorised canon service centre and get it checked and corrected. I think they charge about two and half or three thousand rupees to check a lens, depending upon the type.

To know if your lens is sharp and properly aligned, then you have to test it after removing the human variable. Place it in a tripod or in a bean bag and the focus on a point and click. The best is to take a newspaper on the wall and click it. Then check whether the AF is right, manual focus is right etc.

Sabyasachi