Camera Stores with Leica M's

[ktmrider]

I live in a city of over 600,000 people and there is not one dedicated camera store. I know about KEH and the New York stores but I am looking for a place I can pick up a camera and try it before buying.

Now I found a camera store on the internet several months ago which seemed to deal mainly with classic cameras and seemed to have a good inventory. And now I cannot remember its name or locate it on the net. I remember that the store was located in Phoenix, Arizona.

Can someone help me out? Thanks, Rich

 

[venchka]

It doesn't get a lot better on the other end of the state. Houston has 2 real camera stores left. Population: Several bazillion.

KEH is your best bet. Call them. See what they have.

www.keh.com

 

[Steve Bellayr]

www.collectiblecameras.com

 

[venchka]

1 film camera store in the 2nd largest city in America

1 film camera store in the 2nd largest city in America

It doesn't get a lot better on the other end of the state. Houston has 2 real camera stores left. Population: Several bazillion.

KEH is your best bet. Call them. See what they have.

www.keh.com

Only one of the camera stores pays any attention to film & film hardware: Houston Camera Co-Op.

 

[splitimageview]

If you ever get to Austin, Precision Camera. The only real camera store here, but not quite a bazillion people.

 

[wgerrard]

Don't give up. I blundered into a small out-of-the-way shop a few months ago and saw several new Leicas on display. No advertising, no sign in the window, no marketing, but there they were.

 

[raydm6]

Big Camera Galleria - at Siam Paragon, Bangkok

Leica M’s et. al. in window display. Prices in Thai baht.

 

[raydm6]

 

[Archiver]

In Australia, Camera Exchange in Box Hill and Camera Lane in Spotswood sell secondhand and new Leica M cameras, digital and film.

Leica boutiques in Melbourne and Sydney have new M film bodies.

Until it closed in the last couple of years, Michaels in Melbourne was a licensed Leica dealer with a range of cameras up to the medium format S digital series. They also had a few secondhand M bodies and lenses. The first of four auctions took place in August 2022, with more to come in the following years. Some really interesting and rare cameras will be up for grabs.

 

[Guth]

Finding a place where you can make an in-store purchase would appear to be a very tall order these days. Searching the web there does not appear to be a whole lot of options out there. It would appear that the place in the Phoenix might have been Ritz Collectible Cameras, which apparently has closed. New Mexico has a shop named Camera & Darkroom with locations in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. (Their website has an image of their shop in Albuquerque showing a Leica sign hanging on the wall, so who knows?) Aside from Leica's own stores and those already mentioned, your best bet might be Tamarkin Camera located in Chicago.

 

[x-ray]

I don’t think you can even get into keh. Unless things have changed they don’t have a showroom. In the old days when they were getting started in downtown Atlanta they were in an old house and you could go in and ask to see something specific and they’d go in the back and pull one or more to see. Then they moved to another location next to E6 of Atlanta and had an actual showroom for a few years then closed it to the public completely. Now they’re in Smyrna and no showroom at all. The public can’t get in at all.

Sammy’s in LA May have some. What about the Leica store in Miami. There might be one in San Francisco but not sure. I’m not buying any more film gear now or for that matter any more photo gear so I don’t really keep up with dealers.

I don’t think you said where you are or how far you’d travel.

 

[x-ray]

Did Igor’s camera in Cleveland go to EBay only? I think Koh’s is just internet now too. I think Jimmy is retiring.

I just thought, I’d call Youxin Ye and ask who he does CLA’s for. He services a lot of cameras and lenses for dealers like Igor. He can give you names and numbers.

 

[Pfreddee]

Pro Camera, Charlottesville, VA

 

[kshapero]

Leica Miami. Lots of used stuff and service is excellent.

 

[Deleted member 65559]

Tamarkin ?

 

[Retro-Grouch]

Finding a place where you can make an in-store purchase would appear to be a very tall order these days. Searching the web there does not appear to be a whole lot of options out there. It would appear that the place in the Phoenix might have been Ritz Collectible Cameras, which apparently has closed. New Mexico has a shop named Camera & Darkroom with locations in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. (Their website has an image of their shop in Albuquerque showing a Leica sign hanging on the wall, so who knows?) Aside from Leica's own stores and those already mentioned, your best bet might be Tamarkin Camera located in Chicago.

Regarding Camera & Darkroom in New Mexico: The Santa Fe store is wonderful, with a helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly manager. The Albuquerque store? Not so much!!! Locals are pretty much in agreement, and Yelp will confirm. The Santa Fe store is smaller with less inventory, the ABQ store has some used Leica odds and ends. No new stuff.

 

[Rayt]

Leica Store San Francisco has a lot of stuff on display. Back to normal after the robbery.

 

[farlymac]

I live in a city of over 600,000 people and there is not one dedicated camera store. I know about KEH and the New York stores but I am looking for a place I can pick up a camera and try it before buying.

Now I found a camera store on the internet several months ago which seemed to deal mainly with classic cameras and seemed to have a good inventory. And now I cannot remember its name or locate it on the net. I remember that the store was located in Phoenix, Arizona.

Can someone help me out? Thanks, Rich

Here some you can check out... Top 10 Best Camera Store in Phoenix, AZ - April 2023 - Yelp

PF

 

[Evergreen States]

In Seattle, Washington, the Shot on Film Store has a ton of old cameras, including Leicas. The nearby city of Bellevue has a Leica store, which often has a small selection of used Leica cameras and lenses. At Kenmore Camera in Kenmore, another town in the area, I've seen a Leica CL and Voigtlander Bessa.

 

[Deleted member 65559]

In Seattle, Washington, the Shot on Film Store has a ton of old cameras, including Leicas. The nearby city of Bellevue has a Leica store, which often has a small selection of used Leica cameras and lenses. At Kenmore Camera in Kenmore, another town in the area, I've seen a Leica CL and Voigtlander Bessa.

I'll have to check it out next time i'm in Bellevue for the Wintergrass Festival. I always go by Glazers...they always have some new & used Leica.