SVbony 605MC (533 mono sensor) available on Amazon UK - kind of...

[GTom]

Have been checking from time to time if any budget 533 mono camera is available in the UK, finally today bumped in to the Amazon offer. Kind of, this still seems to be going though an individual import process (no UK stock) and I wonder if a proper 2years warranty is honored at all/if yes, where should a defective unit be sent back e.g. after a year.

The reason I am looking at this version is the extremely short backfocus (6.5mm without the T2 ring). The only cams I found with this were the ZWO units with their £1'100+ price tags. 900 pounds is still far from cheap for a 1" camera though but would be reasonable IF the unit works properly and there is real warranty/service cover.

 

[adyj1]

This info comes from the Amazon.co.uk site:

If the manufacturer's warranty were applicable I would expect you would have to send it back to the US (sold by Amazon US).

Seems too much of a gamble if you want the warranty, although in reality you would be getting the same warranty as buying a second-hand camera - bearing in mind these aren't really available second hand.

You pays your money, you takes your chance...

 

[GTom]

Yupp, way too much gamble for way too little discount in my book. Hopefully better deals will follow.

[Budgie1]

1 hour ago, GTom said:

The reason I am looking at this version is the extremely short backfocus (6.5mm without the T2 ring). The only cams I found with this were the ZWO units with their £1'100+ price tags. 900 pounds is still far from cheap for a 1" camera though but would be reasonable IF the unit works properly and there is real warranty/service cover.

FLO currently have ZWO ASI533MC Pro listed at £939, although it's showing as none in stock at the moment. Altair Astro are selling their version for £899. Both of these will come with full UK warranty support and no import duties. 

Interested in why you need the short backfocus? 

[GTom]

ASI "MC" is color, not interested. Svbony "mc" is mono.

Why the short backfocus?

I am planning to use the cam on sct's. The upcoming Starizona Night Owl 0.4x reducer has only 38.5mm available for OAG+filters+camera flange. Sans OAG you're left with ota/guider flexure. Short flange gives you options.

Also, i have a metabones micro 4/3 reducer I'd like to mount on my upcoming camera: veeery finicky at best with the deep flange Touptek design with the risk of being impossible. Meanwhile ASI actually sells a m4/3 adapter for their design, working out of the box

Newtonian + reducer-corrector systems might be needy as well.

 

Edited July 6, 2023 by GTom

[Budgie1]

19 minutes ago, GTom said:

ASI "MC" is color, not interested. Svbony "mc" is mono.

Why the short backfocus? I am planning to use the cam on sct's. The upcoming Starizona Night Owl 0.4x reducer has only 38.5mm available for OAG+filters+camera flange. Sans OAG you're left with ota/guider flexure. Short flange gives you options.

My apologies, I saw the "MC", which I took to mean a colour camera, and didn't read the word "Mono" in the title. 

I hope you find something suitable.  

[GTom]

Confusing indeed 😁. Worst case I'll bite the bullet and get the ASI 533MM. Not very urgent though we won't have proper nights until late August anyway.

[Budgie1]

There's an ASI294MM in the Offers section in the FLO side for just over £1000, if that's of any use. An older sensor with amp-glow but a larger sensor than the 533.  

At nearly 57°N, I'm not going to see any Astro darkness until about then either.  

One other thought, have you looked at second hand CCD cameras?  

[GTom]

4 hours ago, Budgie1 said:

There's an ASI294MM in the Offers section in the FLO side for just over £1000, if that's of any use. An older sensor with amp-glow but a larger sensor than the 533.  

At nearly 57°N, I'm not going to see any Astro darkness until about then either.  

One other thought, have you looked at second hand CCD cameras?  

CCD-s are on the table, realistically priced ones are rare though. I am definitely not taking the fight with amp glow.

[Stuart1971]

11 hours ago, GTom said:

Have been checking from time to time if any budget 533 mono camera is available in the UK, finally today bumped in to the Amazon offer. Kind of, this still seems to be going though an individual import process (no UK stock) and I wonder if a proper 2years warranty is honored at all/if yes, where should a defective unit be sent back e.g. after a year.

The reason I am looking at this version is the extremely short backfocus (6.5mm without the T2 ring). The only cams I found with this were the ZWO units with their £1'100+ price tags. 900 pounds is still far from cheap for a 1" camera though but would be reasonable IF the unit works properly and there is real warranty/service cover.

 

This camera is actually available on Amazon for prime members for £670 (there is a 7% discount coupon) and in the UK for immediate delivery, I started a thread about it a few days ago…👍🏻

 

[Stuart1971]

Sorry, I see you are after the mono version, ignore my post above….

[nfotis]

Maybe you should order directly from the SVBONY official site instead?

https://www.svbony.com/svbony-sv605mc-mono-cooled-camera/#F9198E

 

[GTom]

As we won't have proper nights up here for more than an other month, I'll rather wait a bit with the decision.

[adyj1]

9 hours ago, nfotis said:

Maybe you should order directly from the SVBONY official site instead?

https://www.svbony.com/svbony-sv605mc-mono-cooled-camera/#F9198E

 

Does anyone have a difinitive answer as to what extra costs there will be over and above the $899 dollars and postage? I'm assuming 20% VAT but is there duty (and carriers fees for collecting the duty) as well? 

[GTom]

Couldn't found my way trough the gov. website maze, found this link on digital cameras, saying you pay 3.7% general rate, 20% VAT and whatever the courier is charging. AFAIK Royal Mail charges 8£, others much more.

 

https://customsdutyfree.com/customs-or-import-duty-for-digital-camera-body-to-united-kingdom/

 

That results in a final bill of approx £900, depending who is shipping. The tricky bit comes when the camera doesn't deliver as expected or delivers a fault.

Edited July 9, 2023 by GTom

[Stuart1971]

3 hours ago, adyj1 said:

Does anyone have a difinitive answer as to what extra costs there will be over and above the $899 dollars and postage? I'm assuming 20% VAT but is there duty (and carriers fees for collecting the duty) as well? 

The other thing to remember also, is a lot of the time the seller will put a much lower value on the package, so you won’t get the full fees to pay either, I know for a fact when I have bought from China they have put a much lower price on the package, usually about 25% of the actual value, BUT what then happens if it goes missing, or damage, the seller can only claim for the value they put on the package, so how will that affect the buyer, I have taken the risk, but there is a risk…..🤔🤔

Edited July 9, 2023 by Stuart1971

[GTom]

16 minutes ago, Stuart1971 said:

The other thing to remember also, is a lot of the time the seller will put a much lower value on the package, so you won’t get the full fees to pay either, I know for a fact when I have bought from China they have put a much lower price on the package, usually about 25% of the actual value, BUT what then happens if it goes missing, or damage, the seller can only claim for the value they put on the package, so how will that affect the buyer, I have taken the risk, but there is a risk…..🤔🤔

If you pay with paypal you are insured up to the total amount you paid. Still, electronics DOES die from time to time and you are stuck even if you "just" see severe banding on arrival. One single trip back will cost about the same as the price difference between the chinese and the uk supplier.  IF the chinese supplier agrees with your claim

[adyj1]

4 hours ago, GTom said:

Couldn't found my way trough the gov. website maze, found this link on digital cameras, saying you pay 3.7% general rate, 20% VAT and whatever the courier is charging. AFAIK Royal Mail charges 8£, others much more.

 

https://customsdutyfree.com/customs-or-import-duty-for-digital-camera-body-to-united-kingdom/

 

That results in a final bill of approx £900, depending who is shipping. The tricky bit comes when the camera doesn't deliver as expected or delivers a fault.

@GTom, thanks for looking in to it, but I tried to do the same thing and realised I was still guessing, to a certain extent. I'd like to know if anyone has bought high-value goods from the SVBONY official site (or similar) and what they were actually charged. 

Edited July 9, 2023 by adyj1
typo

[Stuart1971]

Well, the OSC version on Amazon prime day deals is down too. £611 😮😮 and next day delivery….so tempting…

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Svbony-Astronomy-Telescope-Eyepiece-Illuminated/dp/B0BJ72KY8J/ref=sr_1_14?crid=2RNIBZWBTZEMT&keywords=Svbony&qid=1689063344&s=electronics&sprefix=svbony%2Celectronics%2C72&sr=1-14

[adyj1]

4 hours ago, Stuart1971 said:

Well, the OSC version on Amazon prime day deals is down too. £611 😮😮 and next day delivery….so tempting…

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Svbony-Astronomy-Telescope-Eyepiece-Illuminated/dp/B0BJ72KY8J/ref=sr_1_14?crid=2RNIBZWBTZEMT&keywords=Svbony&qid=1689063344&s=electronics&sprefix=svbony%2Celectronics%2C72&sr=1-14

Depending on credit rating, etc. you can also get it up to 12 months interest free - if you're into that sort of thing 😉 . But that is the 'wrong' camera for this thread, so discussion should probably continue here:

 

Edited July 11, 2023 by adyj1
link

[GTom]

Just asked Retevis, they expect to offer the MONO version by October. Perfect timing for Black Friday

[Skyline]

Currently their SV series IMX533 cameras are exhibiting serious banding issues on images, I just sent back my SV605CC to amazon.

Edited July 27, 2023 by Skyline

[adyj1]

1 hour ago, Skyline said:

Currently their SV series IMX533 cameras are exhibiting serious banding issues on images, I just sent back my SV605CC to amazon.

I had to do the same thing - mine had banding with a bit of amp glow (?) for good measure.

Finally took the plunge with the recent Amazon deal because the price was really good (£611 interest free) and returns are easy. Unfortunately had to make use of the returns process immediately.

On the plus side, Amazon included a free 12v 5A power supply with the camera so at least I knew I was giving it enough beans...

Ady 

[GTom]

3 hours ago, Skyline said:

Currently their SV series IMX533 cameras are exhibiting serious banding issues on images, I just sent back my SV605CC to amazon.

Forgot to come back here, that was the result of my research as well. And being so long unresolved, it is very likely a hardware issue, that can only be "software patched" at the cost of valuable data loss. Staying out of this round.

[Skyline]

I actually ended up, buying the SVBONY SV405CC camera which is a 294MC Pro clone, much better and has no banding.

Shall I post up an image or two. What I have done with camera so far?

Edited August 11, 2023 by Skyline