[Puma Cat]

So, having shot with Canon gear professionally for the better part of 15 years, here's my 2¢, FWIW.

I would not buy gray market Canon gear in the USA because CPS, Canon Professional Services, nor the "retail chain" of Canon service facilities for "regular customers" absolutely will not touch a gray market camera, period.

So, if it breaks, and if its a DSLR, it eventually will break, it will become a very nice paperweight. I've got one sitting on my desk in my study.

Just some additional info for context: All my DSLRs eventually failed. The thing that usually fails on them is either 1) the shutter or 2) the mirror box mechanism or 3) both. Though, I've also seen some cameras cracked through the frame on more than one occasion, too.

I've dealt with all three of the above failure modes using full-on pro-level Canon DSLR bodies, the 1D-series. These models have considerably improved durability and reliability capabilities over "consumer" bodies, and...they still failed. Canon pro bodies are rated for 300,000 shutter actuations, but I've never seen one actually meet that spec in the real world. And consumer bodies are typically rated at 1/2 that, ~150,000 actuations.

This is why professionals have a very different set of top requirements than amateurs or enthusiast photographers.

Most "amateurs or enthusiast" photographers are focused on what I call "bells & whistles": specs, features, pixel count, frame rates, no. of AF points, whatever. None of the stuff pros care about.

All the pros I shoot with are overarchingly concerned with 1) durability 2) reliability (not the same thing as durability) 3) shutter life 4) the company's service, repair and support infrastructure.

With gray market cameras, you get none of that service & support infrastructure.

So, if I were you, I'd get off the ledge...in the long run, its false economy to buy gray-market.