Getting Camera Accessories Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic
During this pandemic period, most business are closed and people are required to stay at home. For photographer, videographer or any crew alike, are not able to continue with our work, our usual of working as a team on our projects. Being home for many of us means that we are unable to have an income from working on a paid project. To make things worse, the local stores that we usually get our gears and accessories are closed. This restricted us further from working on some of our personal or passion projects.
Unlike working on a paid project, we usually do not make a detailed plan for our personal project, we do not prepare everything prior and we do not work with a big team. These allows us to cut down on the spending to only the necessities, to protect our pocket. But this also resulted in the fact that we have to get things on demand as and when there is a need for it.
With all the local stores not in operation, we are unable to have access to certain accessories/gears that we may need. So, here are some of the online shopping options that offer the various necessary accessories, gears and many more other items that you may be looking for!
As much as this site is not by a local store, it is definitely the most comprehensive place for all your photography and videography needs(and even many other electronics as well). B&H not only offer the big ticket items, you can also find all sorts of accessories on their site. They even carry many other specialised accessories that is almost impossible to find readily in local stores! Pricing of items are relatively similar to local stores but do clarify with them on the warranty part and also do note on some possible differences such as the pin type for the chargers. And also do know that the default pricing are in USD(to prevent a bill shock during check out). Being a store based in the United States, you definitely should expect to be paying for shipping. The shipping are usually provided by the major players so you do not have to worry about the parcel not reaching you. Also to mention, it is usually pretty fast too! However, do note of their store closure/order cut off details that are usually stated prominently on their home page or when you are checking out.
This site should be a familiar name for all frequent online shoppers. AliExpress is a consumer version of the Alibaba platform. Alibaba offers a B2B platform whereby products have to be ordered in large quantities, AliExpress allow us to purchase single products. Most product here are priced competitively or lower than of what you are able to find in local brick and mortar stores. Although you may not be able to get camera bodies or lenses over at AliExpress, you will be able to find many photography/videography related accessories such as clamps, backdrop, cables and many more. Many different types of lights and flashes can be found on the site as well. However, do note that some products that include batteries may be stopped at our customs. Please do check on the details before committing to the purchase! Some of my more recommended purchases are small items such as screws, adaptor, tools and etc. In regards to shipping cost, most products include free shipping to Singapore while some requires a small shipping fee. The trade-off for free shipping will be the long delivery time. It sometimes could take more than 2 weeks to reach.
Carousell should be a platform that almost everyone here in Singapore have heard of. It is a locally started platform that allows user to buy, sell and trade almost everything. From used items to brand new items, they can all be found over at Carousell. The seller on this platform can be both an actual retailer or it could be another fellow user, selling off their personal items. Since it is a local community based platform, it is a good place to be looking for ‘rare’ items or since one man’s trash is another man's treasure, it could be simply about getting a better price for an item that you have been eyeing for the longest time. It is a perfect platform to be looking for items such as props for your shoot, rental of equipment and/or any fragile items that can be a huge risk if shipped from an overseas location. You can also sell off any unused items that you have lying around your house or office.
Last but not least, a name that I am sure everyone have heard of. Amazon. You will pretty much find anything and everything on this platform. Probably may not be able to get something at the best price but you definitely will be able to find it here. Even rare collectible items, do a search on Amazon and you probably can get some results. The pricing and shipping fee are all depending on the seller. However, as most or all of the sellers are based off of Singapore, you should be expecting to be paying for shipping. The delivery time will be also depending on the provider that the seller is using. Amazon is with no doubt, a convenient platform to be looking for things. But if you are looking for photography/videography related stuff, you should probably have a look at the other platform as above first. Since there is no clear advantage of buying something from Amazon for our group of people, we could do with either a more photo/video oriented platform or we can save on shipping cost by buying from a seller that offer free shipping.
In summary, all the various online shopping sites and platform offers their own value. It is for sure a good thing that there are so many different ‘stores’ for us to be searching for the product that we need. Always remember to compare between the different sites or platform if they all offer the same thing that you are looking for. It is good to be cross referencing the different ‘stores’ so you may be able to spot any deals that may be too good to be true. Not only just that, sometimes these ‘stores’ are offering promotions that can come in handy. E.g. AliExpress often have promotion for new users such as this.
If you have any other sites/platform that would come in handy, please do leave a comment below and let us know!