Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
I can't buy anything locally. There are no stores here anymore.
That said, I bought, new, a Nikon D-70, a Kodak DCS-14n, and a Canon 5DmkII from Sunny Schick. I would buy another new camera from them if I could.
The coolest store front of a camera shop...ever.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
The inside is just as cool. I've visited Central many times over the years. Chicago is about a 3 hour drive from me.
intheviewfinder
Street
Would love to see an interior shot of Chicago's Central Camera.
airfrogusmc
Veteran
I might have some somewhere. I bought 2 Canon new F-1s there in the early 1980s. Don is the owner and a great guy. It's been in his family since the beginning. It looks like an old Camera store with stuff everywhere.
raydm6
Yay! Cameras! 🙈🙉🙊┌( ಠ_ಠ)┘ [◉"]
Florence, Italy - 2013 (iPhone 4)
EarlJam
Established
Fullerton Camera (http://fullertoncameras.com/)
Just up the road from Disneyland and other Orange County attractions. In addition to new and used camera and lens sales, they also sell film and have a good selection of rental equipment.
Just up the road from Disneyland and other Orange County attractions. In addition to new and used camera and lens sales, they also sell film and have a good selection of rental equipment.
Attachments
ptpdprinter
Veteran
The Glass Key is a small but well stocked used camera store in downtown San Francisco. I don't have a photo of their new store. They were on Haight but recently moved to a larger place at 1230 Sutter.
JoeLopez
Well-known
I've purchased misc items, lighting gear and my Tamron 70-200 2.8 from my local camera store. I have zero issues supporting them and their knowledge and drive 30+ minutes each way to get there in the process.
oftheherd
Veteran
I don't have a photo of Dominion in Falls Church, VA, but they continue to hang on. I don't need any expensive gear any more, but I continue to buy film there as well as printing paper, and chemicals. They also have a large used film (and I think digital) inventory. Hope they hang on.
Believe it or not, there is a Leica store near Chinatown (or maybe considered in it) in DC. I've never been there myself as I have no desire to own a Leica.
Believe it or not, there is a Leica store near Chinatown (or maybe considered in it) in DC. I've never been there myself as I have no desire to own a Leica.
Cameron
seasick, yet still docked
I don't have any photos but there's a great store called Photo Source if you're in the Sacramento area. There used to be Pardee's which also sold used gear, but they closed down a couple years ago. As far as I know, Photo Source is the only brick & mortar that still sells used gear.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
I posted this on my Photos From Fort Wayne thread yesterday, but they really belong here. These are some photos i made of the last days of Fort Wayne's last camera store.
The store was founded in the 1920s by Martin "Sunny" Schick, a local professional photographer. The store changed ownership several times in its long history, but the owners always kept the iconic name in honor of the store's founder.
During my lifetime, Sunny Schick was known for having a giant camera sign on the side of the building that faced the small parking lot. From the time I was a kid until several years after I graduated from college, the sign depicted a Nikon F3, which was a 1980's era professional 35mm camera. When the F3 sign got too faded, it was replaced by a Canon Digital Rebel. That was later replaced by the Nikon D2x that was there when the store closed.
I began shopping at Sunny Schick when I was just a kid. Back then, the store was owned by an old man named Dana Christie. He bought the store in 1980, and after he retired in 2002 he passed the store to his son, Bill. Bill's wife worked at Sunny Schick for several years, and their son, Andrew worked there for the last few years that Sunny Schick was open. Bill closed the store so that he could retire. Local camera stores all over the country are closing due to competition from online stores, and Bill felt that the store wouldn't be viable for a new owner.
The store's closing was a sad event for me, and for my fellow photographers in Fort Wayne. Sunny Schick was more than just a store, it was a gathering place and a center of our little creative community. The store's owners were photographers, too. The Christies always treated me like a friend, not just a customer.
The cramped little building on the corner of Washington Boulevard and Ewing Street in downtown Fort Wayne had a special warmth and charm that modern retail stores can never equal. It was originally a small house that was expanded a couple of times in the front. The view of the store from the side makes it look like three buildings stuck together.
Sunny Schick's closing sale began on June 22 and continued until the store had finally sold nearly everything, including many of the fixtures, at the end of July. I visited the store several times as the prices dropped and the merchandise melted away. I made the final photographs of the place as the lights went out on the last day, when 90 years of history came to an end.
The sale began at 10% off, eventually dropping to 90% off on the last day. Most of the good stuff sold on the very first day. 7-24-17
Andrew Christie, the owner's son who worked as a salesman at the store for the last few years it was open, stands behind the counter. 6-26-17
6-26-17
6-26-17
The last day. 7-29-17
The last day, 7-29-17. All that's left is some misc. accessories and a lot of old instruction manuals.
The end. The doors are locked, the customers gone, the lights turned off for the last time. 7-29-17
Sunny Schick Camera Shop closed its doors forever at the end of July, 2017. For 90 years, the store was a fixture in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana. When Sunny Schick closed, it was the last remaining camera store in Indiana's second largest city.
The store was founded in the 1920s by Martin "Sunny" Schick, a local professional photographer. The store changed ownership several times in its long history, but the owners always kept the iconic name in honor of the store's founder.
During my lifetime, Sunny Schick was known for having a giant camera sign on the side of the building that faced the small parking lot. From the time I was a kid until several years after I graduated from college, the sign depicted a Nikon F3, which was a 1980's era professional 35mm camera. When the F3 sign got too faded, it was replaced by a Canon Digital Rebel. That was later replaced by the Nikon D2x that was there when the store closed.
I began shopping at Sunny Schick when I was just a kid. Back then, the store was owned by an old man named Dana Christie. He bought the store in 1980, and after he retired in 2002 he passed the store to his son, Bill. Bill's wife worked at Sunny Schick for several years, and their son, Andrew worked there for the last few years that Sunny Schick was open. Bill closed the store so that he could retire. Local camera stores all over the country are closing due to competition from online stores, and Bill felt that the store wouldn't be viable for a new owner.
The store's closing was a sad event for me, and for my fellow photographers in Fort Wayne. Sunny Schick was more than just a store, it was a gathering place and a center of our little creative community. The store's owners were photographers, too. The Christies always treated me like a friend, not just a customer.
The cramped little building on the corner of Washington Boulevard and Ewing Street in downtown Fort Wayne had a special warmth and charm that modern retail stores can never equal. It was originally a small house that was expanded a couple of times in the front. The view of the store from the side makes it look like three buildings stuck together.
Sunny Schick's closing sale began on June 22 and continued until the store had finally sold nearly everything, including many of the fixtures, at the end of July. I visited the store several times as the prices dropped and the merchandise melted away. I made the final photographs of the place as the lights went out on the last day, when 90 years of history came to an end.
The sale began at 10% off, eventually dropping to 90% off on the last day. Most of the good stuff sold on the very first day. 7-24-17
Andrew Christie, the owner's son who worked as a salesman at the store for the last few years it was open, stands behind the counter. 6-26-17
6-26-17
6-26-17
The last day. 7-29-17
The last day, 7-29-17. All that's left is some misc. accessories and a lot of old instruction manuals.
The end. The doors are locked, the customers gone, the lights turned off for the last time. 7-29-17
ellisson
Well-known
I stumbled upon Central Camera when at a meeting in Chicago many years ago. Great store, friendly folks, tons of vintage gear.
Emile de Leon
Well-known
Those Sunny store pics are depressing..
Reminds me of when my local shop closed a few years ago..
Looked basically the same at the end..
I miss those times..when shops like these were common place..and gathering places for like minded individuals..
I got all kinds of good used equip from my shop..called Midtown Photo..
Leica & Rollie stuff..they would always call me when good stuff came in..even when it wasn't on consignment..and some guy just wanted to off some cool equip they had..like my 1935 Deardorff 8x10 for $500-...
Cant beat those days..
Reminds me of when my local shop closed a few years ago..
Looked basically the same at the end..
I miss those times..when shops like these were common place..and gathering places for like minded individuals..
I got all kinds of good used equip from my shop..called Midtown Photo..
Leica & Rollie stuff..they would always call me when good stuff came in..even when it wasn't on consignment..and some guy just wanted to off some cool equip they had..like my 1935 Deardorff 8x10 for $500-...
Cant beat those days..
kangaroo2012
Established
I have just been in Japan, BIC camera has 205 branches all over the country and in Shinjuku (Tokyo) it is 6 floors high with all sorts of electronic goods as well.
stevierose
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Here is a series of photos I took at Central Camera in Chicago last year.
Steve Rosenblum
Central Camera Salesman by stevierose, on Flickr
Steve Rosenblum
Central Camera Salesman by stevierose, on Flickr
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stevierose
Ann Arbor, Michigan
stevierose
Ann Arbor, Michigan
stevierose
Ann Arbor, Michigan
stevierose
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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