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Anyone have experiences with either Panamoz or HDEW? Looking to purchase a new Canon lens and the savings they offer are not to be ignored. I know their stock consists mainly of Grey imports which can affect manufacturers warranties but both offer ‘local’ UK warranties. So are there any negatives I’m not aware of that should be known?

Thunder wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 21, 2023 1:15 am

Anyone have experiences with either Panamoz or HDEW? Looking to purchase a new Canon lens and the savings they offer are not to be ignored. I know their stock consists mainly of Grey imports which can affect manufacturers warranties but both offer ‘local’ UK warranties. So are there any negatives I’m not aware of that should be known?

I’ve used digitalrev based in Hong Kong and know others that have used HDEW. I’ve bought some lens and camera bodies this way. One of which was a 5D MK4 - absolutely no problems whatsoever. The 2nd hand prices aren’t affected either.

I rate digtalrev highly. Well packed and tracked arriving within days of ordering. The downside could be the warranty as you say if anything occurred, However they provide a warranty support that may not be an issue. I have never needed to use it.

An individual decision but one I’d not hesitate to make again.

Hope that helps.

I've used E-Infinity on several occasions and found them to be good.
https://www.e-infin.com/uk/

Used Panamoz a few times without any issues. Ordered R7 & 100-500 in March. Delivery times slightly longer post Covid.

Used HDEW plenty of times for both lenses & bodies no problems with any of them.
A mate had an EOS 'R' from them that developed a fault, he instigated the warranty claim and no issues encountered with getting it repaired.

IIRC the Canon 'L' lenses have a worldwide warranty so shouldn't be an issue, I know I registered all of mine via Canon & no quibbles with serial number/country mismatch, I know the bodies 9 times out of 10 will throw an error if trying to register a Grey Import on the Canon UK Site.
Also I believe that HDEW already has the stock in the UK so no chance of a customs intercept and nice additional cost to your purchase to release it.


Hope that all helps

Thanks all for the replies. Interesting that HDEW have stock in the UK which as you say will eliminate any chance of custom charges, although Panamoz say that taxes and charges are already included.

I bought my 5DIV through Panamoz. All taxes paid, no nasty surprises. The camera developed a slight problem and had to go back under warranty. Canon charged me for the repair which I'm told isn't normal with the worldwide warranty, I emailed the invoice to Panamoz before I paid it, they paid me straight away, all in one day.

Have used Panamoz 2 or 3 times now. Problem with one camera still under their warrenty which is/was 2 or 3 times the length of Nikons own.
They paid for the quoted cost for the repair before I had to pay Nikon.
Great service everytime.
Only small thought is the cameras could be posted in a larger box with more padding, having said that all arrived in full working order.
Happy to use again for next purchase.

+1 for both dealers. With Panamoz you can also haggle a bit as a returning customer - which is nice. They've given me a bit of discount each time I've made a purchase. The last lens I bought from them, ordered on a Friday, UPS delivered it on the following Monday.

I've used Panamoz a few times for camera's and lenses excellent service a great company to deal with.

I use Hdew regularly and never had any issues with them at all....

Used Panamoz many times. Excellent customer service and a 3 year warranty.

I've used HDEW before, they even arranged for the delivery to arrive on a specific day for me due to work. Can't fault them TBH.

Sorry for the late reply. Panamoz are superb and brilliant after sales service. I have bought several items in the past, the latest being my canon R5. I had an issue with it freezing up and took it to Lehman’s in Stoke for repair. They gave me my estimate of £525 for a replacement shutter. I sent the estimate to Panamoz and they paid the money into my account within 5 minutes. Brilliant service, I highly recommend. Oh yes, never had to pay an custom charges on anything from them.

I've used HDEW in the last fortnight for a Canon RF 70-200mm, listed for less than London Camera Exchange were selling a second hand version for! Ordered Sunday and arrived on the Tuesday. No issues at all with them from my experience.