Thailand is known as a cheap holiday destination, but is it cheaper to buy a camera when you get to Thailand rather than picking up one before you leave home?
Is buying a digital camera cheaper in Thailand than in the UK? The answer is yes and no. Yes, it is definitely cheaper to buy a top of the range digital SLR camera like a Nikon D80 or a Canon E0S 350D in Thailand than it is to buy it in the UK; but no, it’s not really cheaper to buy a point and shoot digital camera like the Canon IXUS 60 in Thailand than it is in the UK – it’s about the same price.
If you’re from the USA, you can probably find digital SLRs as cheap in the States as in Thailand – in my experience, the USA has the cheapest camera prices anywhere – even cheaper than buying cameras in Japan. It’s worth checking on Ebay for travel camera bargains (scroll down for the latest Ebay auctions).
Here’s some examples – I took this photo of a Canon IXUS 800 IS and Canon IXUS 65 in the window of a Big Camera outlet in Bangkok. These are typical Bangkok prices. (I’ve included rough conversions to British Pounds Sterling below. For the US Dollar amount, you can double the British Pound Sterling number. You might want to use the currency converter for wholly accurate numbers).
The IXUS 800 IS is 16,900 Thai Baht, which is around £250.
The Canon IXUS 65 is 14,900 Thai Baht, which is around £215.
Looking on Amazon.co.uk, you can buy the IXUS 800 IS for £195 – that’s a little cheaper than Thailand.
Similarly, on Amazon.co.uk you can buy the IXUS 65 for £165 – that’s a lot cheaper than Thailand.
If you live in the USA, it’s definitely cheaper to buy a point and shoot camera at home than in Thailand. On Amazon.com, the Canon IXUS 800 – known in the USA as the SD Powershot 700 – is $US 499.
Similarly, on Amazon.com, the Canon IXUS 65 – known in the USA as the Powershot SD 630 – is $US 400
The USA always has extremely good prices for buying digital cameras – they are on a par with buying cameras in Japan, and often cheaper too – so if you are from the States, shop around at home.
That said, if you are a tourist in Thailand, you are entitled to a 7 per cent tax rebate when you leave the country. All you have to do is fill in the necessary forms when you buy the camera – you must ensure you buy the camera from a shop that is part of the tax rebate scheme – and then get the documents processed at the airport before you leave to get your cash back.
Therefore if you bought a Canon IXUS 800 IS for 16,900 Thai Baht, you would get a 7 per cent rebate, which is around 1180 Baht off the price – or about £17.50. It’s a nice discount but still perhaps not enough to make it worthwhile buying the camera in Thailand, especially as the warranty is usually only for Thailand, and not applicable in international territories.
Big Savings on Digital SLRs in Thailand
Where there are savings to be made is in buying a digital SLR. I have bought two Nikon SLRs in the last 12 months – the Nikon D70s and the Nikon D40. Nikon has a dedicated SLR factory in Ayutthaya, about an hour’s drive from Bangkok (see this feature about the Nikon factory on DPMac.com) and as such, prices for Nikon items are very competitive in Thailand.
Here’s a photo of the Nikon D80 and Nikon D40 side by side that I took recently in The Emporium department store on Sukhumvit 24.
The Nikon D80 kit with 18 – 135 mm lens is 48,000 Thai Baht, which is about £700
The Nikon D40 is 25,000 Thai Baht, which is about £365
On Amazon.co.uk, you can currently buy the Nikon D80 with 18 – 135 lens for £733 (3rd party seller) and buy the Nikon D40 for £389 (3rd party seller)
On Amazon.com, you can buy the Nikon D80 kit for $US 1220 (3rd party seller) and the Nikon D40 kit for $US 576 (direct from Amazon).
That makes the Nikon D40 considerably cheaper to buy from Amazon.com rather than in Thailand. Presumably Amazon.com have bulk purchased the Nikon D40 to offer it at such a low price.
For other models, the saving is just a few pounds or dollars, which doesn’t seem that great. However, as mentioned above, you are entitled to a 7 per cent tax rebate when you leave the country as a tourist in Thailand. All you have to do is fill in the tax rebate forms when you buy the camera – you must ensure you buy the camera from a shop that is part of the tax rebate scheme – and then get the documents processed at the airport before you leave to get your cash back.
If you’re buying an item like an digital SLR, this 7 per cent rebate is quite significant – it’s an extra £50 ($US 100) off the cost of the Nikon D80 and around £25 ($US 50) off the D40.
The other thing that’s important to check is that you get an international warranty with the camera. This is standard practice for Nikon, but you need to double check that the warranty is not Thailand only.
Here’s a photo of the Canon EOS 350 D with 18 – 55mm lens kit in Thailand, which is known as the Canon Digital Rebel XT in the USA (I think):
The price in Thailand for the Canon EOS 350 D or Digital Rebel is 28,000 Thai Baht. That’s around £400. On Amazon.co.uk, you can buy the Canon EOS 350 D for £400 (direct from Amazon). Therefore you would only get the 7 per cent tax rebate, which is about £30, as your saving.
On Amazon.com, you can buy the Canon Digital Rebel XT with 18 – 55m lens for $595 – much cheaper than buying it in Thailand, even with the rebate.
Where to buy digital SLRs in Bangkok
If you want to buy a digital SLR in Bangkok – and not just Nikon – talk to the friendly and helpful staff in FotoFile on the ground floor of MBK shopping mall. The staff speak good English and they can advise you on SLR purchases for all major brands. They also carry a wide variety of lenses. The Fotofile website is kept up to date with their latest prices – in English! – so you can doublecheck before you come to Thailand to see if it’s worth buying in Thailand or at home. Fotofile offer the Tax Rebate scheme, so there’s no problem with that. Be sure to ask that the items you want to buy are covered by the tax rebate scheme before you get into the payment process.
I have personally bought two lenses from Fotofile and I’ve had them recommended to me by several people – I foudn them to be very helpful. I would recommend you go early in the morning as it’s a small shop and they are very popular.
MBK is one of the biggest shopping malls in Bangkok – the nearest BTS is National Statium. Every taxi driver knows how to get there as well, so it’s not difficult to find.
If you have any other tips to add to this buying guide, please leave a comment below. This is a summary of my subjective experiences, and I’m by no means a camera buying pro.
Find Cheap Digital Cameras On Ebay
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 10MP DIGITAL CAMERA 2.4" TOUCH SCREEN VIDEO CAMCORDER  US $17.99
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 HD Digital Video Camcorder Camera DV 2.7" TFT 12.0 MP US $22.99
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 BLUE INSIGNIA 10.0 MP DIGITAL CAMERA + 3x OPTICAL ZOOM US $49.99
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 BLUE INSIGNIA 10.0 MP DIGITAL CAMERA + 3x OPTICAL ZOOM US $49.99
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 BLUE INSIGNIA 10.0 MP DIGITAL CAMERA + 3x OPTICAL ZOOM US $49.99
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 BRAND NEW DIGITAL CAMERA WITH TELESCOPING TRIPOD US $19.99
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 OLYMPUS C 5050 ZOOM 5 MP DIGITAL CAMERA EXCELLENT CAM!! US $197.95
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 12MP PROTAX DIGITAL VIDEO CAMERA WIDE ANGLE AU DC500T US $90.83
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 OLYMPUS STYLUS 7010 *RED* 12MP DIGITAL CAMERA+2GB XD~6B US $129.95
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 NIKON Coolpix S60 *BRONZE* VR 10MP DIGITAL CAMERA US $119.95
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 PINK INSIGNIA 10.0 MP DIGITAL CAMERA + 3x OPTICAL ZOOM US $49.99
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 NIKON COOLPIX S220 *PLUM* 10 MP DIGITAL CAMERA +8GB~ 6B US $104.95
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 NEW GREY OLYMPUS FE-5020 12MP DIGITAL CAMERA + CASE US $109.95
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 Nikon Coolpix S3000 Digital Camera Black + Kit NEW USA US $164.95
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 KODAK EASYSHARE C182 Digital Camera 12 MP/ Silver US $49.99
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 10MP Touch Screen Digital Video Camera 2.4 inch HD LCD US $48.80
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 PINK INSIGNIA 10.0 MP DIGITAL CAMERA + 3x OPTICAL ZOOM US $49.99
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 NIKON COOLPIX S220 *PLUM* 10 MP DIGITAL CAMERA +8GB~ 5B US $109.95
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 KODAK EASYSHARE Z980 DIGITAL CAMERA 24xOPTICAL+ 6B~ 8GB US $254.95
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 NIKON COOLPIX S220 *PLUM* 10 MP DIGITAL CAMERA +8GB~ 6B US $112.95
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 16MB Mini PC USB Keychain Digital Camera Video Web Cam US $.99
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 New MINI Touch Screen Digital Camera-2.4" LCD 10.0 MP US $36.33
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 HP PhotoSmart M22v 4.0 Megapixel Digital Camera US $24.99
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 Canon PowerShot SD940 IS ELPH 12MP Digital Camera US $159.99
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 KODAK EASYSHARE M341 12.2MP *ORCHID* DIGITAL CAMERA US $79.95
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 NEW~CANON PowerShot SX210 IS GOLD DIGITAL CAMERA+8GB~6B US $343.95
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 NEW BLUE OLYMPUS FE-5020 12MP DIGITAL CAMERA + CASE US $109.95
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 NIKON Coolpix S6000 Digital Camera 14mp 7x SILVER +4GB US $199.99
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 Fujifm FinePix S1800 12.2 MP Digital Camera w 18x Zm BN US $213.74
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 10MP Touch Screen Digital Video Camera 2.4 inch HD LCD US $48.80
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I dumped my brand new canon 750 i in water at beach.. now it works not that good anymore but is not totally dead it closes and opens etc ..is it possible to get it fixed somewehere in Bangkok
I bought the camera in Belgium but did nt bring my warranty but maybe better pay a high repair bill than a probably more expensive bill for a new camera purchase?!
please in need of help on this issue.. email damadjunglist@hotmail.com
staying in thailand for about 5 months. Dave Clark
Hi mate,
thanks for the nice post. I was considering to have an vacation in Thailand and buying a digital camera in the mean time. Your article helped me a lot.
I live in Turkey and have business trips to Germany often. I guess I’ll buy it from Germany.
Cheers
Just want to endorse you opinion about fotofile in Bangkok, they ar eexcellent and for those interested they DO sell good warranted second hand lensws and cameras too and offer trade-ins and well looked after gear. Also they have non warranted second hand items they sell on behalf of their customers.
I live in Thailand so use Fotofile a lot and brought my Canon 350D from them and Canon 70-200mm f4 L lens too.
Canon lenses area lot cheaper in thiland then in England. VAT here is also only 7% and not 17% as in the UK.
hmmm.. I travel to Japan, Hong Kong, Dubai etc. several times a year and have NEVER seen anything being particularly cheap in Japan and wonder why I read this above. In my opinion both Hong KOng and Dubai seem to be the cheapest places to buy.
But then again, I am just a frequent traveller who knows nothing about cameras.
I am however curious to know which items you find cheaper in Japan…
i was told they buy off the black market in china town in bangkok i am in bangkok at the moment and REALLY need advice sooner the better . where can i buy a 350 dslr .
ps in foto file today less than price in picture
for that camera ….
Hi,
I am Sanka from Sri Lanka & will hoping to visit Bangkok on 24/25/26/27, September 2007 & looking forwared to buy a Digital Camera. Please send me the details where could I found a place to buy them with the prices & the specifications.
Thanks & Regards,
Sanka.
Hi there,
I was in Bangkok the other day and went into
Foto File as I’m currently shopping around
for a Nikon D300 DSLR. Every shop I went to
in Bangkok sell it for the same price –
65000 THB. The lenses did differ in price
quite a bit – up to 9000 THB in some cases.
Here’s where it gets interesting though.
I don’t live in Thailand so I wanted an
international warranty. Not a single shop
in Bangkok could provide one – not even
Foto File in MBK. The Nikon shop on the
3rd floor of MBK said the same thing – you
just can’t get an international warranty
on a DSLR in Thailand. Another random shop
in MBK said the same thing.
Do you have any thoughts on this? The lack
of an international warranty has made me
stop looking in Bangkok which is a shame as
their prices are very good. If you can
advise where I can get a DSLR with an i’tl
warranty you would make my day!
Cheers
I bought a Nikon D70 a few years ago in Malaysia.
After a while it developed a problem called the BGLOD (blinking green
light of death)
I sent it to a camera shop on a Monday, they returned it to me on
Thursday all fixed by Nikon, no charge.
I am in South Africa.
I guess, Nikon honours all warranties worldwide without any need for
papers.