Camera Accessories in Japan
 

I'm purchasing a lovely DSLR this weekend, and was wondering if the prices of camera accessories would be cheaper in Japan than here? ('here' for me is Australia). Specifically I'm after some memory cards (compact flash, 2-4gig ideally), a spare battery (for Canon 400D, not sure how specific they get) and if I can afford it a macro lens (Canon). I'll be looking around Osaka and Tokyo and have heard they both have pretty good camera/electronics stores - do they turn out cheaper?

What are the prices down there? I'd just compare to amazon.co.jp. In my opinion, it is the cheaper than a lot of places in Akiba (Akihabara, electronic mecca of Tokyo).

I don't know about *accessories* but I looked at digital cameras when I was in Japan last year, so can only assume what I found for the actual cameras is similar to how accessories will be. Anyway, compared to the US prices at least, the ones in Japan are approximately the same, but you get a product that is about one year ahead of the ones that are sold in the US. I don't know if it will be similar for your case, but maybe that helps a little?

why do people think things in Tokyo are cheap?

Tokyo is the 2nd most expensive city to live in.... IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.

the only thing you can find cheap over there is memory

w00t 1000 Yen for a 1 gig micro sd

I don't think it's necessarily cheap - I've just heard that camera prices are more-or-less on par with US prices (sometimes for newer models as well, as filiadragongurl said), which tend to be quite a bit cheaper than what we can get here in Australia. Seemed worth a look at least.

Here it's $50-$80 for a 2gig CF card, $80 for a battery and $150 or so for the 50mm lens I'm looking at (given up on the macro for now, too spensive...).

I would suggest trying kakaku.com - And searching for the part number of what you want to buy. They reflect the real "market" prices of things. Amazon.jp tends to be quite high when it comes to anything other than media.

bottom line is internet is cheaper then any thing =P

i suggest do your shopping online

cuz japan is either the same amount or costs more then other places for electronics.

i lost my camera charger for my sony cybershot, ended up costing me like 9000 yen for a new one

Yeah, although then shipping fees always cost a lot to Australia ^^; Might be okay for smaller things like memory though... anyway, thanks for the tips!

I have another suggestion. I bought a used camera in Japan for like half the price of a brand new one (or maybe less than half??), it was only like 4 months old and looked and worked like it was brand new (because the Japanese tend to take better care of their possesions than say... Americans) Anyway, I don't know if you can find as many camera *accessories* second hand, but it might be worth a shot. Check out SoftMap stores whenever you see them in Japan for reasonable electronics and lots of second hand (like new!) electronics. Each store has different stuff and different prices, so check them all out ^_^

Good luck!