Microglobe

Very reasonable prices but you have to be very careful what you buy here.

I was recently looking for a new camera and decided on an Canon EOS 7D, I was also in the market for a new tripod and had decided on a Benro C168M8. Microglobe had about the best price in London for the 7D so I went along.

After a little haggling we settled on a price for the camera and tripod, but before putting my card on the counter I asked if the camera was Canon UK stock. Canon lenses have a global warranty but their cameras do not. The store manager waffled on about the store relationship with the customer being the most important thing and how he thought that the Cameras were covered by an international warranty. They are, but it is a North American warranty or a European warranty or an Asian one, a camera bought in Asia will not be supported by Canon UK. He opened a box and showed me the contents. There was a US charger in the box with a US/UK plug adapter with it of the sort you buy at Tescos for 50p. This is not how Canon do it and this is a very expensive camera to have on a no-warranty basis. It was obviously a Canon USA model that had been imported independantly. I didn't buy it.

Discussing the various Benro tripod models the store manager again waffled on and BS'd a lot about which models are available in the UK. I did get the tripod which was reasonably priced and it is a fantastic tripod, I'd probably also buy lenses here but I know what I am buying. This is the sort of place where the unwary camera shopper could end up making some very unwise purchasing decisions on the basis of some very dubious advice.

Caveat Emptor!