Ok, some sites are selling the International version of the camcorder for around $1600 or so. They do not come with the USA warranty.

I'm just wondering if this is worth the savings because the Canon's warranty is only 1 year anyhow. Chances I'll use it enough to break it in 1 year are slim.

My old as Realistic lasted along time, I'm sure you can get 5 good years out of this before anything needs done.

I would stay away from anything gray market. Pay the little bit extra for the piece of mind of knowing that you'll get the proper support if something ever does go wrong or if there's a defect.

It's called a gray area for a reason and I wouldn't mess with it.

Ben Lynn

Well, one places stated it was not gray market, but simply the international version. What does that really mean. It's not like it's $1000 grey market item.

Hey Bob,

I just recently bought a GL2 for $1990 with a U.S. warranty and all of the included accessories. During my search for a GL2 camera, I ran into so-called 'bargain' prices (ranging between $1600- $1800). When I called the companies that advertised these various prices - one said that Canon would not honor the warranty that came with the camera; the other said they had the camera in stock (right) but it wouldn't be shipped out for three weeks; and the last company said that the only accessories that came with their GL2 kit were the strap and lense cover (what a rip-off; they were planning to sell the stripped accessories to me).

So when I finally order a GL2 at a good price that I liked with the proper accessories and U.S. warranty, the sellsperson tried to sell me extra accessories (which I didn't buy because they are normally overpriced), and a four year extended warranty (which I also declined). I declined the four-year warranty because with the credit card that I have (Master Card), I am comfortable with the extended warranty which doubles the original U.S. warranty. I though this was a great purchasing feature on my card. You may want to check with your credit card company and check out your warrranty options

I hope that my experience has been of some assistance.

Bottom line: I recommend that you buy a cam with the U.S. warranty with all of the normally included accessories.

This is a major purchase ( at least for me it was) and repairs can be costly so make sure you are comfortably covered.



Al

PS I believe that the international version is AKA 'gray market product'. Someone can respectfully correct me if I am wrong.

ok, man. Just curious what you guys thought.

By the way, where did you get your camcorder from?

I bought my GL2 from buydig.com without any problems. But you may want to checkout one of the community sponsors :-)

International warranty may mean that you have to send it back to Canon in Japan for warranty repair (or pay Canon USA). One reason it is lower cost is that it does not carry the burden of for Canon USA's operations (advertising, marketing, warranty, etc.)

Electrical and mechanical product failue tends to follow what is called the bath tub curve (due to its shape). Things tend to fail early, often within few tens of hours, or run until the end of their life many years later. This is why many complex system include a burn-in period to catch early failures before delivery. Thus a 1 year warranty is a good thing to have to protect from the occasional early failure.

All in all I guess it's just not worth the savings. Even if it was $1400 without a warranty, it's like throwing $1400 into the wind.