Gotta love the local used camera store

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Vickko

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Gotta love the local used camera store, if you still have one.

I walk in with a developing tank and reel set that I don't want, and walk out with three stainless steel tank and reel sets that I do want. And only a small amount of cash exchanged to cover the difference. Less than postage on any ebay item.

If you still have a local used camera store, go in and visit, and let them know that they are still loved.
 
Gotta love that...
I don't have one of them any more...
The last one closed up less than a year ago...I have to drive into Pasadena to find a decent store now...
When my local guy was around I went in with a Minolta 50mm AF lens (Like New w/Box) that was given to me and traded it for a really nice Nikon F plain Prism...no money involved just a firm handshake to seal the deal...
 
We definitely still have one here in the Atlanta GA area--Wing's camera.
On Briarcliff Road. In the same family for over 50 years..must be doing something right!
Mike and Warren are the folks to see.
Paul
 
Most of the old style stores are gone now. I used to love going to one in particular in my home city. It was run by an old Czech guy (now passed away) who had been in the store ever since the 1950s. It was a treasure trove of ""stuff". I loved the place. He had a whole wall of old wooden drawers full of bits n pieces and he was happy for me to come in over my lunch time and rummage around. Its seldom I went away without buying something - lens hoods, adpaters of various sorts, odd filters. You name it. Since I shot black and white film, every time I bought a new lens I tended to need new green, red, orange and yellow filters if the lens had different diameter from those I already owned. I must have ended up with dozens of the things which probably mostly came from lenses he had traded over the years. As they cost him nothing he was happy to sell each for a couple of bucks instead of a figure ten times this that new ones cost. Ahhh those were the days!
 
Santa Rosa's Unruh Photography Shop closed some years ago. I loved that place, and bought tons of Nikon F gear there as well as my first Rollei. Just before they closed, I nearly bought an M3 with 35, 50 and 90mm lenses and a shutter problem from them for $1200. The 90 was a collapsible Elmar. I passed because I didn't know anything about Leica gear. Shoot me now.
 
Yeah, we had two when I was a kid back home. I remember going in telling them I wanted one of those electronic flashes. After a brief discussion, I walked out with a tilt-a-mite that used most sizes of flash bulbs. I still have and use one. Another time I went it with a camera with bad bellows. They taped it free for no charge.

In the local area, the only one I know of is Dominion Camera on Broad street in Falls Church, VA. They have a small amount of used camera space, and better yet, a sort of grab box of filters and other odds and ends. Gotta love it. They also do great development and printing, including dip and dunk for LF development. They still have a good selection of films and darkroom supplies.
 
I make at least a social visit to my local used camera emporium, Orlando Camera Exchange, on a weekly basis. They also get all my unused filters, lens caps, small flashes and that occasional SLR people give us. All for free. The owner also has two framed prints of mine hanging in his home. But when I need any of those small things, they are always gratis.

Likewise, I also make a social visit to our local camera repair guru, Kiwi Camera Service, on a weekly basis. When I need camera service, it is usually while I wait. And at no cost if it is a small adjustment.
 
ColSebastianMoran said:
Tokyo's used camera scene is way ahead of anything I've found elsewhere.
Click to expand...

Tokyo might be one of the last bastions of used camera gear.... in the recent two years in Sapporo almost all used camera shops have closed and in Nagoya it became rather difficult to find something interesting that is not overpriced or broken ...
 
jonmanjiro said:
Seoul and Hong Kong have a pretty good range of used camera stores. Maybe not quite the number of shops as in Tokyo, but they are concentrated much closer to each other so easier to visit.
Click to expand...

I just came back from Japan via Hong Kong.

Ginza indeed has remarkable camera stores but they know their prices,
tough I found a very decent Mamiya 7 with 65mm.

Hong Kong seemed a rip off to me, and what I found strange, second hand filmcamera stores who don't sell film or do development.
 
skibeerr said:
I just came back from Japan via Hong Kong.

Ginza indeed has remarkable camera stores but they know their prices,
tough I found a very decent Mamiya 7 with 65mm.

Hong Kong seemed a rip off to me, and what I found strange, second hand filmcamera stores who don't sell film or do development.
Click to expand...

The Chinese and Japanese have a very different approach to pricing. The Chinese expect to negotiate a lower price with the buyer, and other than rookie tourists, I doubt many people pay the sticker prices in Hong Kong. In Japan, on the other hand, the culture is very different and much more western, in that price negotiation for the most part just doesn't happen. For the most part, you either pay the shop's price or go elsewhere.
 
All our local stores in Roanoke closed up long ago, and there is now only one in Blacksburg, where there used to be two. But today, I drove about 75 miles to Staunton to visit the cameraheritagemuseum.com at the Camera and Palette store on 1 West Beverly Street. Heaven! Only problem is he has many more cameras on display than he has for sale. But he has plans to get the retail side totally disengaged from the museum side, so that it will be easier to run both. Still, it's great to know I can go up there and drool for a while, and actually handle some of the rare models I've only dreamed of ever having.

PF
 
Vickko, I was really expecting (and was excited) to read that you found that Grey Focomat IIc that you miss so much just around the corner...
 
jonmanjiro said:
The Chinese and Japanese have a very different approach to pricing. The Chinese expect to negotiate a lower price with the buyer, and other than rookie tourists, I doubt many people pay the sticker prices in Hong Kong. In Japan, on the other hand, the culture is very different and much more western, in that price negotiation for the most part just doesn't happen. For the most part, you either pay the shop's price or go elsewhere.
Click to expand...

I tried to bargain in Ginza but quickly realised it was better not to make a fool of myself. 😉
As I found this nice Mamiya 7 I had no need for gear in Hong Kong.

Great sh shops in both countries only those in Japan seem more orientated towards a particular brand.
Can't remember which one but it had the whole Leica History in one window.
 
Sadly after hearing that Bonsers of Newcastle going bust last week, today it was announced that Jessops Photographic UK has gone into administration, with the loss of a possible 2000 jobs
 
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