Shanghai and Hong Kong, used camera stores?

[shadowfox]

Anyone know neat places to visit for an old-camera nut like me in Shanghai and Hong Kong?

 

[imokruok]

+1 for this. I see all of those HK sellers on eBay...I want to see some of this stuff in person! 🙂

 

[dfoo]

Lots in Shanghai. Go to the market on xie tu lu/lu ban lu, or by the shanghai railroad station. I bought a Yashica in Hong Kong at Tin Cheung Camera Co in tsim sha tsui. There was a fairly large second hand market near there which had loads of stuff. Beware though. All the vendors in Shanghai/HK will rip you off if you are not careful! The prices in Shanghai are very high also. The good thing is that you can check out cameras in person, however, I haven't bought that much stuff there due to the prices.

 

[je2a3]

I visited Shanghai recently and this is the camera mall dfoo mentioned at the corner of Luban Rd. and Xietu Rd.

Xing Guang

Classic camera prices are definitely on the high side, but some local products can be reasonable. FWIW, here's my Xing Guang experience.

Have a good trip!

 

[sebastel]

luban lu is best to be reached from line 4 (purple line, station luban road). from there, go north 1 block.

alternative: from line 9 (light blue line, station dapuqiao). go to the east until you reach luban lu (1 block), then south (2 blocks).

 

[je2a3]

luban lu is best to be reached from line 4 (purple line, station luban road). from there, go north 1 block.

alternative: from line 9 (light blue line, station dapuqiao). go to the east until you reach luban lu (1 block), then south (2 blocks).

Thanks for pointing that out!

 

[sebastel]

when coming from pudong, you change from line 2 to line 4 or to line 9 at century avenue (shi ji da dao) station. maybe you just forgot to mention that little change of lines?
the point is that line 2 does not pass by luban lu in any acceptable walking distance.

anyway, the comment upon prices in shanghai is correct. you really need excellent bargaining skills, and knowledge of shanghainese dialect is also helpful ....

similar situation in hongkong (as far as my experience goes, except for shanghaihua, which is not understood in HK).

but - you can still find interesting items in both places.

 

[wetmonkey]

Shanghai, maybe is good for new digital but really bad for vintange cameras. The price is incredible high. Those dealers, I don't trust some of them.

 

[alice]

you can check out "9days" in Hong Kong, they got lots of stuff.

 

[je2a3]

when coming from pudong, you change from line 2 to line 4 or to line 9 at century avenue (shi ji da dao) station. maybe you just forgot to mention that little change of lines?
the point is that line 2 does not pass by luban lu in any acceptable walking distance.

Very sorry for giving the wrong info :bang: you are right!

I just checked my notes, from Century Park South (line 2) I transferred to line 9 at Century Ave. which took me to Luban Rd.

Thanks so much clearing up my error!

 

[shadowfox]

Wow, thanks for the good info guys.
I will make an effort to visit Xing Guang (thanks for the flickr set, Joseph, I'd sure be drooling in that Shen-hao store).

And 9days in HK sounds like a good place to visit in my very limited time.

Keep it coming...

 

[CC72]

Hi,

Here is a list of stores in HK that I have been putting together for the last couple of years. Hope it helps.

Zhao Xian Guang (used RF gear, Billingham bags)
G/F, Kimberley Hotel
Kimberely Road, TST
Kowloon

Shogun (trustworthy used RF, MF, SLR gear dealer)
Lock Road, parallel to Canton Road (opposite Macau restaurant)
TST, Kowloon

Matsuyama (used RF, MF, SLR gear located in same hallway as Shogun)
Lock Road, parallel to Canton Road (opposite Macau restaurant)
TST, Kowloon

Manshing (NEW Leica, Nikon, Zeiss, digital, anything and everything; good prices)
106 Tung Choi Street
Mongkok, TST, Kowloon

Champagne Court (a bunch of classic camera stores located in Champagne Court – BUYER BEWARE! But still worth a look)
16 Kimberely Road
TST, Kowloon

New Francisco Camera (Leica dealer with new and used gear)
62 Mody Road
Wing On Plaza (Next to Shangri-la Hotel)
TST, Kowloon

Kinefoto (Official Leica dealer, sells new and some used gear)
Stanley Street
Central, HK

Arsenal (HK branch of Germany-based store; expensive special edition sets)
210, 2/F, Mirror Tower
61 Mody Road
TST, Kowloon

Kowloon Photo Service (They sell complete darkroom equipment including Rodinal)
5 Woosong Street
Yaumatei, Kowloon

Tin Cheung (They have another store dedicated to 2nd hand gear ten min away on Mody Road, I think)
Canarvon Road
TST, Kowloon
HK

Nine Days Photo (Used Leica gear in great condition)
Daniel Wong (GM)/Jason (staff)
Rm 1601 Lee Wai Comm Bldg
1-3A Hart Ave Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon, Hong Kong
+852 2366 9238

Photoscientific (complete film inventory)
Stanley Street
Central, HK

Best regards,

Carlo

 

[shadowfox]

Carlo, that list should be in a sticky thread. Thank you so much!

Guys, is it easy to find a place to develop film in Shanghai? How about B&W?

Same questions for Hong Kong.

 

[sebastel]

i'm looking into development opportunities myself, without actual results yet.
here is a (chinese language) forum discussion about it:
http://forum.xitek.com/showthread.php?threadid=316146

this may give you some hints (try a translator page).

 

[CC72]

You might want to try these labs: Color Six at 28A Stanley Street 25249598, Photo Scientific at 6 Stanley Street 25250550 , Skyphoto at 27 Stanley Street 25220816 and Chung Pui at 44 Stanley Street 28452539. Color Six does black and white, color slide and color prints. I'm not sure if the others do black and white. I'm pretty sure Photo Scientific and Color Six are still in business. Not sure about the others. They were still operating in 2003. It's been a while since I lived in HK so this is all I can offer up.

Best regards,

Carlo

 

[zerobuttons]

Anyone know neat places to visit for an old-camera nut like me in Shanghai and Hong Kong?

I was in Shanghai and Beijing recently, and visited the store at the crossing of Xietu Rd. and Luban Rd. in Shanghai.
I found that there is a lot of interesting equipment, both new and used in the stores, but also that prices are too high, also on both new and used equipment, because of high Chinese import-taxes.

 

[dfoo]

...
Guys, is it easy to find a place to develop film in Shanghai? How about B&W?
...

3rd floor of xing guang in Shanghai has a place that will develop everything (B&W/C-41/slide). Directly opposite from the top of the escalator. If you want just C-41 there are tonnes of Kodak/Fuji places around that will dev pretty cheap, but they don't take good care of your film.

 

[dfoo]

Shanghai, maybe is good for new digital but really bad for vintange cameras. The price is incredible high. Those dealers, I don't trust some of them.

The top floor of the mall has some better dealers. I bought my M3 there for ~$800 and it was in quite good condition. Being able to speak Chinese definitely helps. I brought my wife with me _once_ (she is Shanghainese), but that was not at all helpful. The dealers wouldn't talk with me anymore (even the ones that know me quite well), so they ended up talking through my wife which, as you can imagine, is very irritating. In the end the price was the same 🙂 If you brought a Shanghainese that knew something about cameras it would probably be a better experience.

 

[Frontman]

I know the prices in Hong Kong and Shanghai to be very high because these dealers actually pay me top-dollar for my old gear from Japan, I hate to see how much they turn around and sell if for. But the Chinese have a high appreciation for Japanese camera equipment, even the old stuff, and they are willing to pay a lot of money for it.

For new gear you can find great deals in Hong Kong. I can never understand why a CV, Nikon, or Canon lens can cost 25% less in Hong Kong than it does in Japan. Much of the gear is made in Japan, and with the yen as strong as it is, it should be cheaper here than anywhere else. Yet, with the exception of Europe, new gear is cheaper anywhere and everywhere else.

 

[je2a3]

The top floor of the mall has some better dealers. I bought my M3 there for ~$800 and it was in quite good condition....

Just curious, IIRC, I took these pics on the top floor. Do these guys look familar?

Guy to the right wanted to buy my Leica II + Elmar 50/3.5...🙄....no way, but we had a nice "sign language chat"...

I got my tan leather M half case (with strap) from this store for $55. Lots of Hassies, Rolleiflexes, Alpas, Leicas and etc. Background music was Brahms violin concerto, class act! But I didn't ask prices on cameras....