Nikon D70s and Underwater Housing: Buying in Singapore

Posted on January 17th, 2006.

Looking to buy an underwater camera housing while you're in South East Asia? Look to Singapore for great prices and good customer service

For the last few months I've been debating about buying a digital SLR and also getting an underwater housing to go with it. A digital SLR on its own isn't cheap, and SLRs' underwater housings are usually more expensive than the camera itself. So any chance to shave some cash off the final bill is always welcome. I finally settled on the Nikon D70s as the camera I want to get. I've talked about the possibility of buying the D70s in both Bangkok and Tokyo in posts on My Thai, my blog about living in Thailand. However, further investigation has made me decide that Singapore's the place to get both the camera and the housing.

The camera is a lot cheaper in Singapore than it is in Bangkok, where I live - almost £70 cheaper! In Bangkok it's 46,000 Thai Baht [£657] and in Singapore SIN$1700 [£589] And while I'm in Singapore, I can get the Ikelite underwater housing from ScubaCam, a dedicated Singapore underwater housing specialist that has its own in house repair facilities. After seeing their useful website and getting in contact, I got a prompt email response from these guys and an Ikelite cash price quoted of SIN$2470.00. They also recommended another retailer from where to buy my D70s. Jason at Alan Photo Trading in Sim Lim Square (Singapore's premier electronics mall) quoted the Nikon D70s with AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mmLens at SIN$1700. Both the housing and camera are under international warranty.

Best of all, as a tourist in Singapore, you get a 5 per cent GST rebate at Changi airport when you leave the country. I've done it several times before and it's painless.

So, I think this is the best all-round deal. I might find the camera a bit cheaper in Tokyo, but it would be a nightmare taking it back to the shop if something went wrong with it. Singapore is near enough and cheap enough to make this a minor inconvenience.

If anyone's got better advice, I'd love to hear it.