Aki-Asahi has a very strange varietly of products

Disaster_Area

Disaster_Area

Gadget Monger
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Dec 12, 2007
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Any idea why Aki-Asahi has a really eclectic selection of products... I've been looking to recover some of my camera's, cameraleather has great products but are a bit expensive and it sounds like it can take forever to get your order from them.

Aki has a very weird list of camera's they cover... ok.. they've got the core group of M's, Rolleiflex and 'blad... but they neglect a lot of the very popular camera's and provide skins for weird stuff like old polaroids, Canon Demi, all the Oly Pen's except the really popular F/FT series.

Anyone else find this kind of odd? I'd love to see affordable covers for more pentax/nikon/canon slr's... the CV Bessa line and some other TLR's besides the flex.
 
Aki-Asahi is this kind of brainy person that enjoy with passion his work. I can imagine that he is a photography enthusiast, for that reason he have many products that outside Japan can be very strange, but in Japan we can feel that he is a specialist for specialists.
He have the blessed magic in his soul for sure, just let think that he make everything with his hands!
 
I've had excellent, and very rapid, service from Aki. Once, when a shipment was lost in the mail, he replaced it without question, and added a second set of skins at N/C.

I'm sure he caters to his home market... making what they are most likely to buy.
 
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I've found ordering stock items from Aki very easy and fast. However trying to reach him by email has failed every time I have tried - just no reply. If he would just supply his material in uncut sheets I am sure he would sell a lot more - that is what I have asked for and not managed to get. I would be quite happy to pay cut-out price for a sheet uncut.
However I do like what he produces and hope he continues for a long time.
 
I get the feeling one could guess the contents f Aki Ashi's camera shelf pretty accurately by what covers he's offered.
Rob
 
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Rapid Service

Rapid Service

I have had excellent service each time I have used him - sometimes he has sent me an extra leather covering at no cost. I have been amazed at the speed of delivery from Japan to the UK.
 
Aki's prices are terrific, especially considering how the U.S. dollar has gotten pounded vs. other currencies in the past several years. I've always gotten my orders quickly and everything I ordered.
 
yeah.. it's his reputation for good service and good prices that make me want to deal with him.. he just doesn't have covers for any of the cameras I own :)
 
Disaster_Area said:
...... I've been looking to recover some of my camera's, cameraleather has great products but are a bit expensive and it sounds like it can take forever to get your order from them......
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Curious - What do you base these comments on? I have found his prices very reasonable and his response time extremely fast in several transactions with him.
 
I think somebody touched on the problem above. If he doesn't have the camera or have access to it, he can't make the die.
 
hans voralberg said:
He's not fast all the time, sometimes there are little hipcups in his service :p But still, Aki doesnt have red leather
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I have had excellent service from cameraleather.com, too. If I want a basic kit, I buy from Aki-Asahi; if I want something more luxurious, such as the Cardinal Red or Verdigris, I go with cameraleather.com.
 
Shac said:
Curious - What do you base these comments on? I have found his prices very reasonable and his response time extremely fast in several transactions with him.
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There's been many threads on here saying that people have waited many months to get their order and have had zero luck trying to contact cameraleather when their order is late. OK, there's many people that got their stuff quick too, but I don't want to roll the dice when I buy something... I'd like to know roughly when I'm going to get it.

Hands down Cameraleather has an amazing selection... and ok, I take back the prices comment... I could have sworn last time I check Aki was much cheaper.. but on second look they're only slightly cheaper
 
I think these are both one-man operations...

think 2-to-4 weeks as normal service.

Remember, as the old shop sign used to say:

"Failure to plan on your part
does not constitute
an emergency on ours."
 
Disaster_Area said:
There's been many threads on here saying that people have waited many months to get their order and have had zero luck trying to contact cameraleather when their order is late. OK, there's many people that got their stuff quick too, but I don't want to roll the dice when I buy something... I'd like to know roughly when I'm going to get it.

Hands down Cameraleather has an amazing selection... and ok, I take back the prices comment... I could have sworn last time I check Aki was much cheaper.. but on second look they're only slightly cheaper
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I've been dealing with Cameraleather for years. Occasionally, he has trouble filling orders for kits, but if I order it in sheets, it is usually in the mail in 2-3 days. Since I mainly do folders, I'm usually buying sheets and cutting them up myself.
 
I just ordered the Contax Black from Morgan, for a Konica T4. I would have tried Aki, but he doesn't cover (pun intended ;) ) that body. I don't really care how long it takes to get here ... why sweat the small stuff? A few days ago I didn't even have the T4, so that was like, 100% of my life until it came. A few days, or weeks without its new skin won't kill me.
 
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