Voigtlander lenses from San Francisco?

[Epimetheus]

I’m going on a trip to San Francisco in couple of months and would like to hear recommendations for camera stores that might have Voigtlander lenses and maybe also Epson R-D1 in store. I know you can get good prices when ordering from places like cameraquest but because of taxes and customs fees here in Finland ordering can get quite expensive.

 

[BrianPhotog]

I’m going on a trip to San Francisco in couple of months and would like to hear recommendations for camera stores that might have Voigtlander lenses and maybe also Epson R-D1 in store. I know you can get good prices when ordering from places like cameraquest but because of taxes and customs fees here in Finland ordering can get quite expensive.

You know sales tax in CA is higher then any other State in the US, right? I'm not sure about Marin County up north, but LA County is 8 1/4%. SF is probably slightly less then that, but not by much.

 

[photodog]

I don't believe there are any camera stores in San Francisco (where I live) that stock the Voigtlander lenses. If you are on a trip, have Cameraquest ship to your hotel in SF and pay the sales tax of 8.5%.

 

[Epimetheus]

You know sales tax in CA is higher then any other State in the US, right? I'm not sure about Marin County up north, but LA County is 8 1/4%. SF is probably slightly less then that, but not by much.

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I didn't know that. I'll bet lenses are anyway cheaper than ordered to Finland. We have to pay 22% tax plus 3.5% customs fee for almost everything we order outside EU and those are calculated on top of sales price plus shipping cost.
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[BrianPhotog]

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I didn't know that. I'll bet lenses are anyway cheaper than ordered to Finland. We have to pay 22% tax plus 3.5% customs fee for almost everything we order outside EU and those are calculated on top of sales price plus shipping cost.
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whoa that's harsh 🙂

 

[Bailey]

I live in San Francisco and I am very sorry to tell you that you probably won't be able to find any new voigtlander lenses here. There are only a few good camera stores in the area, and none of them carry voigtlander gear. It hurts me, too.

But if you want to check for yourself, here the the places I think are best:

Calumet (best prices on film btw)
Adolf Gasser (helpful and have some good used stuff)
Keeble and Shuchat (30 minutes south of SF, but the best camera store in the area)

Another thing to think about: a lot of stuff that I see on ebay is from sellers in the bay area. You might be able to find something that way that you could just pick up in person.

However it works out I hope you have you great time out here. I may be a biased local, but I'm a big fan of SF. It's a really easy town to have a good time in and there's endless stuff to shoot. If you have any questions about the area in general, feel free to shoot me a message.


Bailey

 

[Epimetheus]

Calumet (best prices on film btw)
Adolf Gasser (helpful and have some good used stuff)
Keeble and Shuchat (30 minutes south of SF, but the best camera store in the area)

Thank you for the info. I might buy some film there if nothing else. I was thinking that I might take with me only my Yashica Electro 35G and a bunch of Ilford XP2. I probably change my mind many times before the trip and end up with Holga. I had my DSLR and two lenses with me on my last trip to The Gambia and got kind of tired of carrying around the kit. A better rf and a couple of lenses for a travel kit would be ideal.

Here are some pictures from my Gambia trip if you are interested:

http://www.markuspuustinen.com/galleriat/07/02/the_gambia_experience/

 

[Bailey]

Those shots from your last trip look great. Made me realize that I need my act together and get my southeast asia photos online. As far as the dslr vs. rangefinder debate, I don't know what to tell you. Those shots look good, so maybe you should bring the dslr. I know when I was in Laos with my leica cl and 3 lenses (21,40,90), and was hanging out with a swiss german guy with a dslr, I was often jealous of his 25-300 zoom lens and his ability to change iso willie nillie. But then again, all my stuff fit easily into a beat up canvas shoulder bag that was easy to carry and unobtrusive, while he carried, in plain view, a shiny new camera with a lens the size of my forearm.

My preference is the small rf kit.

BTW- what CV lens are you looking to get?

 

[Epimetheus]

BTW- what CV lens are you looking to get?

I actually don’t even have a camera for the lenses yet but I’m going to buy R-D1 in the near future and was thinking of getting the 40/1.4 for it and then maybe the 75/2.5 for starters. I will try to keep my kit minimal. Maybe a third lens someday(a wide angle or some expensive 50mm) but that should be enough. I just made an offer for a used R-D1 with 35/1.7 Ultron and we shall see how it goes.

 

[georgefspencer]

Keeble & Shuchat in Palo Alto is an excellent camera store but I don't know if they carry Volgtlander. They do carry Leica and have a nice display of old Leica cameras.

 

[ElrodCod]

You know sales tax in CA is higher then any other State in the US, right? I'm not sure about Marin County up north, but LA County is 8 1/4%. SF is probably slightly less then that, but not by much.

Tennesee is nearly 10% in Hawkins county.

 

[rpsawin]

You know sales tax in CA is higher then any other State in the US, right? I'm not sure about Marin County up north, but LA County is 8 1/4%. SF is probably slightly less then that, but not by much.

Sorry Brian,

Washington State - Seattle area 8.8%

Bob