Over the weekend I finally made the decision to upgrade my Nikon D70 to a brand spanking new D200 (see Time For A Camera Upgrade) which should be on its way to me right now. Thanks to those readers who confirmed from personal experience that I was making the right decision - you really helped me make my mind up!
In preparation for the arrival of my new camera the first thing I have to deal with is that my dinky little ML-L3 infra red remote release won’t work with the D200 - it only works with my D70 and, incidentally, the newer D80 model. That’s a shame as I have grown quite attached to the little doo hickey! Now, a wireless remote for the D200 is prohibitively expensive for my needs and the cable remote is around £40. On eBay there are compatible cable remotes available for about £8 delivered. Of course, these remotes are cheap Chinese made knock offs but guess which I’ll be buying. You got it - the cheap Chinese made version! By all accounts it works fine nearly 100% of the time and right now that’s good enough for me.
This won’t be the first time I’ve sprung for the Chinese alternative purely for price reasons. I recently bought a Right Angle Finder for just over £20 and it works just fine. The cheapest equivalent I could have bought here in the UK would have cost me around £75 and as for the Nikon branded equivalent - that’ll be around £150, thank you very much! Another example… I also recently bought a Chinese Giottos tripod (a Gitzo knock off for less than half the price). That, too, is quite well built, works fine and does exactly what I want it to. Is it as well made or robust as the Gitzo? I very much doubt it but then again… it has had some very good reviews in a few well thought of photo mags etc. I don’t, however, use a Giottos head but that is because I’m pretty well satisfied with my hefty and pricey top of the range Manfrotto ball head and if I replaced that it would be with a Kirk or Really Right Stuff head. You have to draw the line somewhere!
The point I’m making here is that much of the Chinese made gear manages to be ultra cheap and quite fit for purpose. Were I still a pro and giving my gear a right old professional hammering or needing to demand and expect 100% reliability I’m sure I would have made different decisions but, as I said, for now… well, good enough is good enough.
Right now, and coupled with the global reach of eBay, the Chinese are making serious inroads in the photo business mostly based on price rather than innovation or excellence of their products. But the Chinese are a very smart and innovative people and my betting is that this may not be the case for that much longer.
Filed under: Equipment, Photography |
4 Responses to “Cheap Chinese Made Photo Equipment”
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My Fine Art Prints
Yep, remember what “Made in Japan” used to mean. It didn’t take long for the Japanese to start innovating and come out with awesome products. China, as you said, has the Internet resources that Japan never could have dreamed of!
Excellent choice on the D200. I just bought one about 2 weeks ago and haven’t put it down yet. They thing is a rock and I think I’m already in love.
Anyways, I’ve been dealing with the same issue as you in regards to the remote. As far as optics go I’m going to try to stick with Nikon, but for all my other accessories that aren’t integral to the camera I’m going to go for knockoffs…especially after dropping serious change for the body and a 18-200mm lens. Please post a follow-up once you get a remote. This is one of the higher items on my ‘want list’.