Although I work in the United States, I am proud of my Canadian heritage. I wasn’t born in Canada, but living there for the last 11 years has shaped my perceptions and values. My opinions are a tad too liberal for many Americans, especially on hot-button issues. I also believe that government should have a strong role in our society and am often surprised at the general American trend to emasculate most public functions in favor of private enterprise. Government can be inefficient – I have seen that first hand – but don’t assume that privatizing all government functions is an appropriate answer.
If there’s one advantage to the United States, it’s prices, especially camera equipment. The Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 AFS DX costs 1,250 USD. The same lens, purchased from Henrys in Canada costs 1,581 USD without tax. That’s a 330 USD difference. If the prices were the same, I’d swallow any doubts, buy the Canadian version and pay the extra 188 USD in taxes, money that funds our cities, infrastructure and services. But this is highway robbery.
The disadvantage of buying the American lenses is warranty service. Nikon Canada will not service a lens purchased out-of-country beyond the 1yr period. I’d have to ship the lens over the border to get warranty service (and pay shipping costs each way).
[thinks]
I have plenty of angst when it comes to camera equipment.
Actually a lot of angst in general – thinking about this simply brings it to the foreground.