Must visit shops in London

L

Lance

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Hey Everyone,

I'm going to London at Easter. I haven't been there since '94 I think it was. When the lady has been dropped off at Oxford Street with a credit card, I hope to be able to shoot a little and visit a camera store or two. So that's my question:

Where should I go? Where is the 'B&H' of London? And where is the best used shop? Leica gear, Voigtländer, Zeiss and maybe Nikon.

I am probably just out looking. But who knows, with the pound dropping the way it is, maybe there's a good deal to be made.
 
There is 'The Classic Camera' which I don't like, but they are super Leica shop, even if they are stuck up and unfriendly.

Much more recommeded is 'Aperture Photographic', lots of 2nd hand gear, they stock new Voigtlander and... well check out the website. Nice people there and they have a little gallery, cafe and internet access at the back.

Also, 'Mr Cad', I've only met the blokes at shows but I've heard the shop is a good place to visit - but it is out of the way in Croydon.

MMmm....

When you get hungry head down to 'Masters' for more fish and chips than you can eat.

191 Waterloo Road
SE1 8UX
Waterloo
 
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Yes!.....head straight to Aperture,..sit and have coffee, surrounded by cases full of GAS inducing kit!, nice people,- and no pressure! :)

Dave.
 
Gray's of Westminster for anything Nikon-related.

A stroll up and down Tottenham Court Road can be interesting: more than a few shops selling secondhand gear there.

Mac's Cameras, King Street, Hammersmith W6. Sells all kinds of weird and wonderful secondhand stuff.

The Classic Camera - lovely Leica stuff. I haven't had any issues with 'attitude': I've always found them very helpful.
 
Photographers Gallery near Leicester Square tube. It's just off the Charing Cross Road, and so close to Oxford Street-

Two separate buildings. One has a great cafe, sit and enjoy their carrot cake and tea while you gaze around the photos. Upstairs they sell original prints, prices are about the same as a decent camera but they will be very polite as you look through their Martin Parr or whatever.

After that ask the staff for directions to the nearest pub, the Lamb and Flag, my favorite in London and relive the gallery experience and enjoy lunch and English beer.
 
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Another vote for Aperture Photographic, which isn't too far from the main shopping bit of Oxford St. A very nice store with friendly folks and such.
 
Sendean's, in Soho, is tiny but usually has an interesting stack of 35mm, MF, and cine cameras: http://www.sendeancameras.co.uk/

(For food, you'll want to head to the Bosphorus kebab shop near South Kensington Tube. So good that one would willingly eat their doners while sober. The lamb saddle chops are a must.)
 
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Agree with others above - Aperture Photographic in Museum Street looks a bit 'worn' from the outside but look a bit closer and it's an alladdin's cave for things Leica (second hand only) and Nikon (esp manual Nikons!) - old & new. The Classic Camera is just around the corner from Aperture, located in Pie Bull's Yard off Bury Street. Much more expensive but they do have some great items - old and new - mainly Leica and some Nikon. RG Lewis is within easy walking distance of these shops (I think in Sicillian Arcade) but I must confess to not having been in there.

Don't forget to check out the exhibits at the British Museum which is right on their door steps!!

Peter
 
Visiting Mr Cad in Croydon is quite an experience. They don't have that much Leica stuff but a lot of older SLR equipment, some Canon rangefinder gear and a LOT of older professional equipment. If you are after darkroom stuff or studio equipment it is definitely the place to go. They do a lot of short dated film, paper (they bought up the last remaining stocks of Agfa Record Rapid and Brovira but it has all gone now) chemicals, you name it. But it is awkward to get to from the centre, maybe 3/4 mile walk from East Croydon station. Also in Croydon is the Croydon Photo Centre, in the opposite direction and just as far away from the station. Reg has been dealing in Leicas and collecting them for a very long time. There are a few bits on his website www.croydonphotocentre.co.uk .
In central London there is Richard Caplan in Bury Street, tucked away at the back of the Ritz - where the elite meet and greet they say. Not usually when I have been in. They have more scruffy stuff than the Classic Camera people who obviously sized up my wallet accurately and somewhat grudgingly sold me a body cap after I had asked the prices of a couple of things I couldn't afford. R.G. Lewis have been around for decades. I sold them my Leica II when I was a student over 20 years ago. They are at present in Sicilian Avenue near High Holborn tube and though they don't have a great deal of equipment what they have is usually competitively priced. They don't have a website. There are a few Leica bits along with mainly used professional equipment in Jacobs in New Oxford Street, walking distance from Lewis's, Aperture and Classic Camera. Again, no website. Nicholas Camera Company in Camden Town is a bit of an odd place with a shop full of photographic junk and a website packed with very expensive and rare items (new Olympus OM3Ti for £1600 anyone) that are obviously kept somewhere else. Don't visit without calling first. Finally, I have bought and sold with London Camera Exchange in the Strand. They don't have much but what they do have is well priced. I got a Summilux 35mm from them for £595 and a very scruffy M4-P and 40mm Summicron for £500.

Enough?

Good luck!

Andrew

Oh. and if you can't find something to photograph in London you have seriously lost it.
 
I have never had a problem with the Classic Camera. No attitude, but not for
bargains. Aperture is a very friendly shop. The British museum is just around the
street.

London is a gastronomical paradise..if you know what you want and where to get
it. Food from all over the world!! mmmm!!

Enjoy but keep your cc at home.
 
faris said:
I have never had a problem with the Classic Camera. No attitude, but not for
bargains. Aperture is a very friendly shop. The British museum is just around the
street.

London is a gastronomical paradise..if you know what you want and where to get
it. Food from all over the world!! mmmm!!

Enjoy but keep your cc at home.
Click to expand...

Lucky you!!!

I bought my first and only M from there, turned out to need a servicing 2 weeks later, took another 2 weeks for their repair man to pickup the camera because of bank holidays thingy. When I got the camera back, it was like nothing was done to it, gave it back to them, they actually did something the second time.

One day I poped in there, they had a recent 50 summicron, I asked what the difference could be between this and my DR. His answer was that his one had LEICA written on it instead of Leitz, he also added some more rubbish.... Awful place
 
Wow! Thanks guys. This is a good starting point for me. Sounds like there are some nice shops in London.

I don't know why You gave me eating advise, but thanks anyways. :) We'll be looking in to a lot of the English cuisine.

And don't worry. I'll bring back some great shots of London also... I hope.
 
There used to be a little enclave in an area called "Pied Bull Yard" right beside the British Museum and a short stroll from Oxford Street into the Bloomsbury district. (On the way check out the umbrella and walking stick store at James Smith and Co, ( http://www.james-smith.co.uk/ ) Right out of Dickens London. I think Pied Bull Yard is where the Classic Camera was together with 2-3 other specialist antique camera stores. Not sure now, I had heard some had closed. Then if you are in the mood to take pictures stroll down thru Lincolns Inn Court and across Fleet Street to Inner Temple / Middle Temple and see a part of London most casual travelers never get to - the area where you can get shots of quiet courtyards still with gas lit lamps and Barristers wandering to and from court in their regalia. Quite interesting. Then back along the Thames embankment towards the Houses of Prliament etc - lots to photograph.
 
Classic Camera is still in Pied Bull Yard but there used to be Jessops Classics and that has stopped trading in proper cameras now just a branch of jessops, there is York Cameras on the way in. They have mainly SLR stuff and not particularly well priced. As for taking photos, the key thing is to realise that you can actually walk from one landmark to the other you don't need the tube. There are lots of little alleys and byways in the older parts of the City and round Covent Garden for instance. The walk from Waterloo down the South Bank to the Tate Modern is worth doing.
 
Not a photo store.... but because of the 2.5X exchange rate from Canadian to Pounds....

Pret a Manger :)

It's too expensive to eat anywhere else!

Cheers & have a great time.
 
There is also R G Lewis around the corner from Aperture (who are very good), also another vote for Robert Caplan (just around the corner from Picadilly Circus)
 
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