Photography gear can be expensive, so when you buy additional gear, you want to make sure you're not paying too much for it. Typically, camera gear is cheaper in the US than it is in Australia, even when taking into account the shipping costs, and depending on the cost, the GST and customs duty.
As a result, many people, myself included, have been buying camera gear from overseas sellers, including places such as B&H and Adorama.

However, with recent changes in the Australian exchange rate, it may not necessarily be cheaper to import items from overseas!



With the Aussie dollar having dropped against the US dollar in the last year or so, it has been cheaper to buy camera gear direct from the US, than it has been to buy it locally in Australia. In July/August 2008, the Australian dollar reached new heights of USD$0.97.

In November 2007, I bought the Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro from B&H in New York. Even when taking into account the shipping costs, I still saved approx AUD$250 compared to the local Australian prices. B&H use UPS for shipping items around the world, and the lens was delivered to my door approximately 2.5 working days after the order was placed!

Note that because the lens was worth less than AUD$1000, I didn't have to pay any GST or customs duty when the lens arrived in Australia (there's no import duty on photographic gear).