I don't think new lenses will have any problems with fungal contamination since they are perfectly sealed right out-of-factory without exposure to any external environments.
For fungi to grow, the lens have to be exposed to fungal spores (which are everywhere in the air), followed by good growing conditions (humidity) for growth 

I'm not sure whether its the same for cameras. But in notebooks, the box will come with a sealed sticker, once torn, its considered opened 

I think there's no real need to worry so much when you buy from reputable sellers 

That's why its best to buy from trusted sellers
You can also check the shutter count if you want to see if its used

But whether the seller tampers with the sealed sticker or not really depends on how trustworthy that seller is lo

For Nikon, I usually deal with Yannick Camera: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yannick-Came...7834827?fref=ts

Can look for digitalfm14 and CreativePhoto in Garage Sales too 

This is approaching the paranoid level already I think, most camera shops are air conditioned, hardly a suitable environment for fungus la, even with the lens/body exposed for some time. 

I think with open box units you should be more worried about ex-prospective buyers abusing the lens in store, but then again most lenses are made to last, not get messed up with 5 minutes of handling.

I understand what you mean man
For me, its very hard to use back lower-end compacts after trying out FF  Even though the shot can be decent, I always feel that it could be much better with a mirrorless, DX or FF! haha T____T

Played around with an NEX3 and NEX5 before and I think they're still okay la haha, still beats breaking my back haha~
The Sony RX100 or its successor seemed pretty gooding, even so when paired to an underwater casing for underwater shots 
But at the moment I'm more poisoned by Fujifilm mirrorless cameras~~
I hope Nikon up their mirrorless camera lineups soon 

Normally fungus.

Do you have the confidence to open up a lens by yourself to clean it??   

Jokes aside, yeah, mostly they send is for cleaning out dust or fungus.

Depends on whether the lens is actually sent for fungus cleaning or not. After that is finding out the extent of the fungus growth and whether the cleaning has severely affected the coating.

Minor cleanings won't affect the coating in a noticeable way but if the fungus has taken hold the cleaning process will probably remove the coating as well.

i rememver the slip for my 70-300 fungus cleaning description is...
"cleaned fungus, have stains "

by the way, the KLCC one slip don't have report detail of my item condition ...hmm...
i basically like got a full report detail of my item where got fixed and where need to take attention, like my D70s i go peek their report paper got list down

"scratched body, USB port got rust"

but my 24-70 have only "normal service done" on the slip, duno that fungus is minor or major...

by the way how to check flaws on the glass especially just done cleaning?

nikon 70-200mm f4 VRIII le?

this lens still in my wish list 

The AFD is a really nice lens, bloody fast AF even with a D7000. Of course, without VC you might have some trouble with it in low light la 

The Tamron VC on the other hand is really fast, AF speed on par with Nikon's VRII except for some slight hesitation with focus activation (usually happens in low light, tested with my D7000 last time)

Best bet would be to save up for the one you really want though. 

tested a 2nd hand AFD 80-200mm once.. i can say the optics are on par with the latest 70-200 VR2...

plus it is solidly built even better than the VR2...  (n for RM2.5k it is quite a steal)

i suspect my VR2 will die 1st or about the same time with this lens... 

80200 two touch is a tank

If you can find the AF-S version even better

Me me, I have the 80-200 AFD two touch, the optics are nice, and the built quality is, well like others have mentioned, built like a tank, albeit a little soft at 2.8, AF is quite nice too with D7000, hunts a bit la when the light is really low, but I think that's D7000's AF problem.

Cons: Too heavy, a bit CA wide open in high contrast area(easily fixable in PP though), hmmm I think that's about it.. It's really a bargain for the price now, considering that it used to be a pro lens in its times, for beginners like us its more than enough.

I'm letting mine go, feel free to check my thread in my siggy below if you're interested =p Prefer primes myself, noticed that I always stick to 80mm n walking around in that FL and ends up stressing myself, no point carry that heavy tank around but don't utilize it fully. 

So u mean our camera and lenses that ship from japan or thailand will be screw up no matter how well pack?

maybe wait for december CF event then got little yam cha session? 

, on Flickr

From last year

Well, I still prefer the 50mm + extension tube combo more than the dedicated macro lens, especially for small insects 
Good thing about macro is that it can be really cheap to start learning

I shoot with ISO400, 1/250, F16 with flash fired at (1/32) for almost all of my shots. Will adjust ISO or distance of flashgun according to need, but that's about it
I suppose the best way to get better shots is to go out into gardens or forests to look for more interesting subjects (just like how portraits need lengloi models ). People love to see something more refreshing I suppose

As for the dedicated macro lens (assuming 105mm here) vs 50mm + ET, it depends on what you are shooting~ If you love to shoot small, moving subjects like jumping spiders, the 50mm + ET is a much better choice (assuming the spider is not super alert; luckily most salticids aren't XD) since you can get much closer, and you can see clearer through your viewfinder whether the subject (usually the eyes) are in focus or not before you fire

The 105mm's advantage is that it can be used to produce 1:1 shots relatively farther away from the subject, which can also be a big drawback when you are shooting something small (even worse when its moving), since you cannot tell what is in focus since the subject is already too small to start with

My hit rate for a 50mm + ET is almost 80% or higher... as for the 105mm.. LOL, let's just say I need more practice XD
You are still so young bro, save slowly and keep shooting, and you'll be upgrading in no time
Enjoy the process, that's more important! 
Try Foto-Shangri La at SS14? The one beside KFC.
Their prices ( digitalfm14 in Garage Sales) are often the cheapest in town, perhaps can try from there 

Ops, thanks for the correction man, appreciate it!   
Wah, great find! Bathing also can see this kind of damselfly 
Looks like a female Agriocnemis pygmaea (Wandering Wisp). I've yet to see one 
Feel free to ask if you have any questions, will try to help 

gunzerdude sifu is right, it depends on which lens you intend to pair with your ET. If its something heavy (say 700g-1kg), might be worth investing in Meike or Kenko If you're only pairing it with a 50mm (which is an extremely good combo for the price), then cheap extension tubes will do

My Kenko ET worked well at Autofocusing with the 105mm as opposed to the 50mm, but still, I'd still prefer manual focusing most of the time 

for you all MACRO kaki.... show you my SIFU  photo... http://www.flickr.com/photos/alextkt/10735945076/ hahahaha my sifu for portraiture and everything else except macro.. cos I got no patience

Fuhhhhhh, complete newbie buying a D7100, wish I was that confident in myself when I started out, then would have saved quite alot from less upgrading already

That's one of the reasons I'm horrified  Never thought the sucker is shaped like a heart 

Some of the things in those album I've done before, but the difference in quality is far from it la, especially the level of magnification as well.

Wonder how many times lifesize he's working with, as well as the amount of photos needed to stack so that everything is in focus. 5X you're already barely getting anything in focus even at stupid small apertures.

hehehe... I think he said around 20x ? cant recall.. long time no yumcha with him after his BB born..

he has been shooting macro ever since I know him .. . . around 2007..

this series i like most... http://www.flickr.com/photos/alextkt/5483580993/