Perth and Melbourne

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Toni Nikkanen

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I am now in Perth for 9 nights, and apart from all the tips for sights & activities I can find out from the usual guidebooks, brochures and general stumbling around, what photographically oriented things would you suggest to look out for?

As an example I just came from Melbourne, where by sheer coincidence I stumbled upon a very neat little camera museum in the upstairs of Michael's Camera, after a tip from the very friendly and talkative guy from the neighbouring camera store. They had an impressive display of vintage Leica, Nikon and pretty much you-name-it gear, including the stuff I've always dreamed about, like Nikon SP + 50/1.1, Canon 7 + 0.95, a whole bunch of the obligatory gold-plated Hasselblads etc etc...

I felt kind of awkward getting out of there, since I already had stuff hanging from my neck and in my pockets, that they had there on display... :)

A hasty bunch of too low-res photos of my visit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32856926@N06/sets/72157625016321916/

..maybe I need to reupload them in higher res later.
 
Ahh yeah mate, you're talking about the private extensive vintage camera collection of the owner of Michael's Camera, I met him in person a few years' ago, he's a really cool and friendly guy :)
 
..while in Melbourne I also went past a promising-looking Leica shop but it was already closed and I was going to leave city the next day.. which is probably just good since I have no money to spend and credit too easily available.. :)

..but just in case, is there somewhere in Perth or nearby (Fremantle?) I could go poking around for good vintage camera stuff? I don't mean a couple years old Sigma superzoom lens for Canon digital but I don't necessarily mean a Nikon 50/1.1 lens either, but maybe something in between :)
 
The other shop most probably is Camera Exchange, they got some nice Leica M and Leica LTM cameras for sale.

I got my Black Paint Leica MP at Camera Exchange a few years ago :)

Unfortunately I don't know anything about Perth, as I never been there yet.
 
I don't think it was the Camera Exchange, it was on another street.. but my memory of that store is not perfect since it was pretty dark, pretty late... and I was also temporarily a bit dimmer than usual :) Anyway, it doesn't matter since I'm not there anymore.
 
Used cameras: http://www.cameraelectronic.com.au/ it is within walking distance from the city.

Kings park is always nice, it is the wild flower season but I guess you are not a macro flower dslr kind of guy.

Check out Fremantle and Northbrigde. If you want to get around in the city use the cat bus.
 
Yes, I recommend Camera Electronic - I bought my M6TTL 0.58 from them NOS last year - Leica still honoured the passport!

jmarcus, I'm not sure how you are still able to write coherently after a Swan Valley tour - did you do it on a cruise boat that visits all the wineries?

Another excellent thing to do in Perth is to take a cruise out to Rottnest Island, then hire bicycles and spend the day pedalling. Watch out for the Quokkas though!

Toni - that other Leica shop in Melbourne was probably Camera Lane cnr Bourke Street and Hardware Lane - they have some lovely cameras and lenses usually and prices don't seem too bad. Hope you enjoy the rest of your time in Perth. Crusing the beaches is always good - I especially like Cottesloe.
 
Camera Lane has an enticing window - but only when they're open. Otherwise a canvas sunblind obscures all the good stuff on the Hardware Lane frontage, and its old Minoltas, Olympus and Nikons on the Little Bourke St side. I agree with Phil about Camera Lane's prices. I bought a couple of things from there at better prices than I could have got anywhere else.
 
Thanks for all the tips mates! Had a busy day today shooting a bunch of E100G and started my last Kodachrome on a zoo-pinnacles-sand dunes touristy-tour. I think I am going to visit all the suggested places - and I think I will go to Fremantle by cycling.
One more thing... can you suggest someplace to get E-6 developed? Both 35mm and medium format..
 
Definitely do Rottnest.
If you are on for a bigger adventure, head out to the pinnacles at Cervantes. Photographic heaven.
 
Well, I visited Camera Electric, Northbridge and the Churchill E6 lab today. And had a good new-fashioned Belgian beers at the Belgian Beer Cafe. And some good Fremantle-made ones on Hill Street in a hotel bar the name of which I forgot.

CE had a huge amount of interesting old and new camera stuff. Fortunately I did not really need anything, so I was able to leave the shop without spending huge amounts of money ;) I will get my E-6 from Churchill on Thursday. And I think Northgate would look much nicer during the night.... I did shoot my last frames of Kodachrome ever there, and mailed the roll from the Perth main railway station onto a around-the-globe trip - Switzerland-USA-Finland and by the time I have the film back and able to do anything with it, I will be in Germany.... :)

Perth has the same kind of system for bicycle routes as my hometown of Turku, Finland. That is, the bicycle lanes just vanish suddenly, leaving you wondering what the hell to do in middle of a motorway...
 
well, now Churchill has 11 of my E-6 rolls under work, so they had better be good :)

EDIT: I got them today and they are all great. Much pricier than in my small rural hometown in Finland, but equally good looking. And they were sleeved and numbered according to my instructions with no confusion whatsoever. Good!
 
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