Where are the classic camera stores in NYC

Hello.

 

I am visiting a friend in NYC and would like to check out some of the local camera stores. I placed this

question in classic cameras becuase I am interested in older stores, with older stock. None of those "we

only sell digital" white and bright stores. I want to visit the types of stores that are getting hard to find, at

least in the midwest. I will visit B+H simply because I have been buying film from them for years, but

would also like to visit some treasure troves.

 

Thank you very much for your time, and thoughts.

 

Brett

they're almost all gone, sadly.

 

there's Panorama Photo (camera repair also) on W. 30th bet. 6th+7th Avenues, they're on the second floor of a building in the middle of the block where they moved from storefront. check for exact address.

 

also World Trade Camera on Vesey Street between Church and Broadway, opposite St. Paul's church and WTC site. this is a big storefront with some interesting old stuff.

 

there are high end places like Lens+Repro, Photo Village (Cosina-Voigtlander dealer), Tamarkin, and Kurland (next to Leica Gallery) but their used stuff is expensive and collector grade.

 

Then there is the Second Sunday Camera Show in Wayne, NJ, across GW Bridge. Next one is Sept. 9th.

 

Also the Rolleiflex-expert repair guy KRIMAR is out there close by as well.

 

In Rockville Center, Long Island there is the Brooklyn Camera Exchange. and Cameta in Amityville.

Man I remeber when Olden was the place to go. Are they still around?

 

Otherwise you'll do better at camera shows like second Sunday shows (look em up on the net for a schedual, they have em every month in New Jersey) to find great deals on classic cameras.

olden seems to come up a lot on photo.net; i just did a search on it...

 

forget about it. i think they're finally gone, but for years they were shooting themselves in the foot vis-a-vis the other big shops like B+H or Adorama.

 

there are so many of these stories, i'll add mine:

 

the last time i was in there, 2004 or so, they were still trying to sell old Nikkormats that you can buy on eBay for $50 or $75, for $250 or more. who were they kidding? even a cursory knowledge of how the world has changed would have allowed them to survive a bit longer or revamp the business.

It's mostly too late for "interesting" used camera shopping in New York. Junk bins? Drawers full of interesting stuff? Forget it.

 

Olden lasted as long as they did by owning their space or building.

 

Some of the names are still there (Willoughby's), but not the substance.

 

Adorama's used pricing is random, so sometimes you get a deal. (Sometimes they price something below the going eBay price.) B&H are more careful, so there's rarely deep deals there.

I have recently bought (within the last few months) a Minox EC ($99 with chain, soft case and flash) and a Minox C ($159 with chain, hard leather case and flash in its own leather case) from Adorama. A few years ago I picked up a nice Yashica MAT 124G there. Ive also recently looked at some older medium format and a beautiful M3 there. They have the new stuff and the old stuff mixed together and most isnt on display, you have to ask for it. But I have found them happy to show you stuff.

 

 

I would suggest you check their web pages. They even have special sections on used classics that they recommend and have in stock.

The only stores that come to mind are B&H, Adorama, K&M, and Willoughby's; of those, only the former two have a decent selection of "classic" stuff in their "used" depts. (even then, don't expect to find any real gems). I always heard tons of great stuff about Willougby's, prior to its relocating. I finally went in (to the new one), only to be unable to discover what all the fuss was about. The place is OK, but nothing at all out of the ordinary.

 

Panorama Camera (known for repair, but a good source for classic items, too) still exists, but it recently moved a few doors east of its old location. I once tried to have a camera serviced there; they failed horribly, but returned my money without any problems.

 

I really wanted to visit this place I kept reading about: Seymour's Exakta. I went by the address many times, but just kept running into a karate-gear store. You guessed it: Karate place took over some time ago.

 

There're myriad camera stores in New York City (just walk around Herald Square a bit), but they're all basically clones of one another. Fine if you want to save a trip to Circuit City for the latest digital Sony, but none housing any "interesting" things whatsoever. Who knows: maybe there's some huge underground basement full of this kind of crap somewhere -- I haven't yet found it.

Olden still has a location, but it's a shadow of its former self. I made a pilgrimage there about a year ago, and while interesting, it's small and limited.

 

That said, I remember it from the 80's, when the shelves were stacked high with stuf, more stuff, and even more stuff.

 

If you want to visit, call them for address and directions (use Google and Yahoo for the phone number).

Camera Traders from downtown (17th or 18th St), has moved to W 72nd street. They had a reputation of being where the pros shopped, in the film days. They always had several cases filled with Leica's and Rollei TLR's, so they would qualify as classic.

 

 

As a teenage shutterbug in the 1970's in NYC. It was like being a kid in a candy store, around Herald Square's former photo retail zone. Willoughby-Peerless, Olden Camera, Camera Barn were all there.

 

 

Now days the "bargain bins" of the world's camera stores, are online. All the dusty boxed, unsold gear is now ebay-ed. Years ago perusing old camera shops would reveal these treasures.

I spent a lot of time at Panorama Camera where I get all my repairs done. This is truly one of the real last classic camera sales and repair shops in New York.

 

The gentleman that runs the shop with his wife does all the repairs and is truly a gifted problem solver. All I have is praise for them. It is common knowledge that spare parts for some of our treasured classics are running pretty thin, and in this regard, Panorama will give you probably one of the best chances to restore your classic. Arjun, I am sorry your experience was not to your liking, but as you can tell from my post that definitely has not been the case for me as everything I have brought to these guys has been restored to full working order.

As far as location, they have moved a couple doors east, 124 West 30th street, suite 305(3rd floor).

My next choice would be Adorama, West 18th and 6th ave, they have a great collection of stuff and I have bought there from time to time, way below ebay prices. I would check their web site as they list their used stuff and approximate condition, in some cases with explanations. If you go to Adorama I would ask for Marty as he is one of the old timers that know classics very well. Regards

I was in NYC back in April - and I was surprised to see that Olden is still around. Didn't

stop in, though, as I was on my way to meet someone, and I was already late. I remember

when it was a multi-story enterprise, filled with stuff - I think it's down to one floor now.

Very sad indeed. I suspect if I went in, I would have been depressed by the experience.

I used to buy quite a bit from Brooklyn Camera Exchange. Don't know if they still have a physical store, but they are still on the web

Brooklyn Camera Exchange moved from their Rockville Center location a while back. They still have a physical store, but you have to travel a bit further east from NYC to visit them. They are now located in Merrick, about 5 1/2 miles east of their former location. The new address is:

 

Brooklyn Camera Exchange

1980 Broadcast Plaza

Merrick, NY 11566

 

Web address is: http://www.brooklyncam.com/

 

The last time I visited the Rockville Center store, pickings were pretty slim and the prices were not that great. I have not visited the new store in Merrick. They do seem to place more emphasis on being ebay sellers these days.

Ralf, they (Panaroma Camera) weren't even able to loosen the focusing of my lens adequately; I fixed it myself upon getting it home. Nonetheless, I happily admit that the customer-service was first class: When the problem wasn't resolved, they took another look ? and another, and another; unable, at last, to repair the item, they gave me back my money without any hassle. That might not sound like much, but anyone who's been around a service center or two will tell you it's a straight miracle.

 

Photo Tech is probably the biggest non?on-line deal in repair these days, though they won't really touch any German merchandise -- free estimates, too.

Arjun, I was a Photo Tech customer for about two years before going to Panorama. While the service at Photo Tech is excellent and highly professional, they insist on overhauling an entire unit if it is brought to them which jacks up the price to what they want to charge, for example if I just wanted the light meter repair on Spotmatic SP 1000 the would not just repair that, they insisted on repairing light seals, lubing shutter, apply cosmetic cleaning etc etc which brought the price to a whopping $149+tax, so I stopped going to them. As you said yourself they only repair major Japanese cameras, they won't even touch the German ones which is pretty useless if you want support for your non Japanese cameras. They are getting picky even with the Japanese made specific units, for example, they stopped supporting Canon F1! So I said to hell with them. Yes they did beautiful work for whatever they fixed for me, but the prices are steep and support is very limited.

Ralf, I'd also heard of Photo Tech's insistence on overhauling an entire unit. They claim they do this so they'll be sure your item works right; that's probably part of it, but there's no hiding their entrepreneurial motivation.

There is a store in Long Island,called KOH's camera. They are a mail order company that advertises in Shutterbug but he has a storefront and it is a friendly reasonably price store that also does camera repairs. Jimmy Koh is the owner,I have dealt with him for years and neer felt cheated or unhappy with his repair work. Like a lot of camera stores he has also added digital but he specializes in brands like Leica, Bronica old Rollieflexes etc. He is worth checking out.