How to tell if a camera is from the US?

I was wondering if anyone knows a way to tell if a Canon 5D Mark II is american or not. My manual and the box come in English.

Maybe someone knows a way to check country by serial number?

Also, the label on the camera specifies FCC and canadian ICES. Although it also has CE, so I really don't think that says anything.

I didn't come with a warranty, but Canon US has told me that as long as I have a US camera I have full manufacturer's warranty for a year. I am just trying to find out if it's a US camera or not.

Are there any tell tale signs that could help?

Thank you

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Alfonso J said:

I was wondering if anyone knows a way to tell if a Canon 5D Mark II
is american or not.

Click to expand...

Bottom of the camera, just to the right of "Made in ".
Should be a bit of a clue! ;-)
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Its RKM

Are you sure that the place of manufacturing is important? When I mean an American camera I mean that it was destined to be sold in the US, but it could possibly be made somewhere else, or am I totally wrong about this?

Cos I also have a Canon 400D bought in Europe that also says made in Japan, and that one I'm sure was destined for the European market.

Thank you.

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http://alfonspot.blogspot.com/search/label/photo

If this is a new camera, why isn't there a warranty card? It should be provided by the reseller, unless you purchased a gray market camera that bypassed the 'official' Canon import channel.

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Best regards,
Doug
http://www.pbase.com/dougj

That's the issue. The shop I bought it from says that the invoice is enough but I am suspecting that they have misled me.

If I was misled, I need to prove that the camera was not intended for the US market.

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http://alfonspot.blogspot.com/search/label/photo

Way to go.

"World" camera will have World warrenty card
"US" camera will have a US warrenty card
"Japan" camera will have Japanese etc.

No warrenty card? Someone took it because they are marketing "grey" camera equipement - and you got it to save yourself $50! Nothing wrong with that, but you get what you pay for.

I wasn't trying to save any money, and if anything I paid a bit more. I wish people could be a more sympathetic with someone who might be getting scammed.

--
http://alfonspot.blogspot.com/search/label/photo

Here's how it works....

Canon USA is a United States based Canon subsidary that importants Canon equipment from Japan (or whereever). If the camera was imported by Canon USA then it will have a USA Warranty card in the box that is honored by Canon USA, usually at their New Jersey or Irvine CA service centers.

Without a USA Warranty Card those centers are not obligated to service your camera under warranty; however, they often do when you have an invoice showing the date of purchase. To get more reassurance about a USA warranty you can attempt to register your camera on the Canon USA website, however, once you've done this you cannot return your camera to the retailer (if that is an option).

Grey market cameras are imported by someone other than Canon USA and, except for the warranty card, are exactly the same as what you get from Canon USA (for models that Canon USA imports, but we'll not worry about that for now).

Even if Canon USA refuses to service a grey market camear, Canon International will still service it under warranty but it may have to be shipped overseas for warranty service.

If this is a big deal for you then you should explore your return / exchange options with your retailer.

Alfonso J said:

That's the issue. The shop I bought it from says that the invoice is
enough but I am suspecting that they have misled me.

If I was misled, I need to prove that the camera was not intended for
the US market.

--
http://alfonspot.blogspot.com/search/label/photo

Click to expand...

Alfonso J said:

Are you sure that the place of manufacturing is important?

Click to expand...

Sorry Alfonso, I was being flippant - hence the smiley.

Call Canon USA and quote the serial number to them.

They will tell you from that whether it is covered by the US warranty. Even if the card wasn't included in the pack, if it was a genuine Canon USA import then they will honour the warranty and tell you if it is a genuine US warranty covered unit or a grey import. If the former, ask Canon USA to fax/email you confirmation to avoid problems in future. If the latter, return the camera to vendor.
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Its RKM

Thank you for the information. This was very useful. Is the international service center in Japan? I don't mind shipping it wherever.

If anyone still knows how to make sure a camera is american, apart from the WARRANTY CARD having to say US, please let me know.

Thank you very much.

--
http://alfonspot.blogspot.com/search/label/photo

Any time I've sent a camera or lens for warranty work, all they were interested in was my proof of purchase, my invoice. They've never asked for the warranty card.

You can call Canon again and give them the name of the vendor and the serial number. They should be able to tell you what you need to hear.

Olga

Thank you. I will do just that. But I have just spoken to them and I need to send a letter to a Canon office in the US that will confirm the country, so this might take a few days.

In the worst case scenario, I have a recorded conversation (NY state law seems to permit recordings as long as ONE of the two parties is aware of it) with the retailer stating that it has a US CANON manufacturer warranty, and that the invoice is enough. They also mentioned that they were an "authorized reseller" which sounds totally bogus, and Canon has already confirmed that they unable to find that retailer in their authorized database. Also the retailer's website states that all products have US warranty.

So all in all, if I can prove the camera is japanese, I should have enough compelling evidence to prove that I was misled into a purchase and hence should have enough leverage to get a refund or at least be able to take the case to a small claims court.

--
http://alfonspot.blogspot.com/search/label/photo

I was thinking that maybe the box might be a way to tell. Does anyone have a box that comes in english and then in three asian languages (I'm suspecting they're all Japanese "alphabets", although one looks like Korean).

--
http://alfonspot.blogspot.com/search/label/photo

You have received some good advise in the replies so far, and contacting Canon was the right thing to do. Some retailers, e.g. B & H, identify if a product is gray market, and what this means (B & H also states they do not sell gray market cameras). Some other resellers offer low(er) prices, ship gray market products and don't tell the customer unless they ask.

One thing you can check, might also be good for future reference, is the reseller feedback from customers. Enter the reseller's name and see what others have said.
http://www.resellerratings.com/rlist-s1-n2.html

It might be helpful for others if you identified the reseller.

--
Best regards,
Doug
http://www.pbase.com/dougj

... an authorized Canon dealer. No warranty card needed. Canon apparently doesn't worry about whether it's grey market.
KP
--



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http://www.phillipsphotographer.com

'The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.', H. L. Mencken

A USA warranty card that comes in the box with the camera with the serial number printed on it is the best way, but as noted earlier you can also contact Canon USA and see if they have a record of importing the serial number.

Sorry, I can't help you with how to go about getting international service. Maybe someone else here knows how.

Alfonso J said:

Thank you for the information. This was very useful. Is the
international service center in Japan? I don't mind shipping it
wherever.

If anyone still knows how to make sure a camera is american, apart
from the WARRANTY CARD having to say US, please let me know.

Thank you very much.

--
http://alfonspot.blogspot.com/search/label/photo

Click to expand...

Suggest:

1. Give Canon the serial number which should let them decide if you have a US warranty.

2. No warranty card is used as proof of warranty. They are only a source of marketing information. The purchase order is the only thing with a date on it and is the only thing acceptable to get warranty service.
--
Bob

'I can look at a fine art photograph and sometimes I can hear music.' - Ansel Adams

Canon 40D, 70-200mm f4L IS, 28-135mm IS, Sigma 17-70mm f2.8 Macro, 100-400 mm f4.5L IS Sony R1, Canon Pro1

Jay Bean said:

Here's how it works....

Canon USA is a United States based Canon subsidary that importants
Canon equipment from Japan (or whereever). If the camera was
imported by Canon USA then it will have a USA Warranty card in the
box that is honored by Canon USA, usually at their New Jersey or
Irvine CA service centers.

Without a USA Warranty Card those centers are not obligated to
service your camera under warranty; however, they often do when you
have an invoice showing the date of purchase. To get more
reassurance about a USA warranty you can attempt to register your
camera on the Canon USA website, however, once you've done this you
cannot return your camera to the retailer (if that is an option).

Grey market cameras are imported by someone other than Canon USA and,
except for the warranty card, are exactly the same as what you get
from Canon USA (for models that Canon USA imports, but we'll not
worry about that for now).

Even if Canon USA refuses to service a grey market camear, Canon
International will still service it under warranty but it may have to
be shipped overseas for warranty service.

Click to expand...

Canon USA will service Grey/Parallel Imports. They just treat them like any out of warranty product that has been presented for service.

Jay Bean said:

If this is a big deal for you then you should explore your return /
exchange options with your retailer.

Alfonso J said:

That's the issue. The shop I bought it from says that the invoice is
enough but I am suspecting that they have misled me.

If I was misled, I need to prove that the camera was not intended for
the US market.

--
http://alfonspot.blogspot.com/search/label/photo

Click to expand...

--

Click to expand...

--

'How Can I think outside of the box when they won't even let me out of it?' - Unknown

Alfonso J said:

find that retailer in their authorized database. Also the retailer's
website states that all products have US warranty.

Click to expand...

Their products may have a US warranty but it may not been a Canon one. That's what happens down here in Australia with grey market items sold in Australia. The retailer warrants that the product will be repaired but not by Canon.

Olga Johnson said:

Any time I've sent a camera or lens for warranty work, all they were
interested in was my proof of purchase, my invoice. They've never
asked for the warranty card.

You can call Canon again and give them the name of the vendor and the
serial number. They should be able to tell you what you need to hear.

Click to expand...

Notwithstanding that, there's a subtlety.

As far as I know Canon has different policies in what regards to cameras and lenses.

While the first can only get warranty protection in the world region where they were purchased, the second benefit from a worldwide protection umbrella.

I have already benefited from this, having lenses that were sourced from the US, serviced here in Portugal under warranty.

I doubt Canon USA is exempted from this general Canon policy.

PK

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