Best shop in London Uk for photo gear?

Dear all, I'll be flying to London this week and I would like to

know, which shop you recommend for photo gear.

There are a lot around tottenham court road station. Cameraworld http://cameraworld.co.uk Jessops http://www.jessops.co.uk (expensive) Jacobs http://www.jacobsdigital.co.uk/ (Jessops clone) There are a bunch more along new oxford st & towards the british museum like Aperture (I think)

 

Jessops may price match, so it is worth going forarmed with a magazine & prices from other places.

 

There is a "pro" store in Drummond St next to Euston Station. (KJP / Calumet ?)

 

And look here http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0013Xi

Also York Cameras opposite British Museum entrance is an official Canon dealer albeit charges premium prices, holds a bigger Canon stock compared to the high street chain stores.

 

For secondhand equipment Nicholas cameras 100 yards from Mornington Crescent tube station (1 stop north of Euston on Northern Line) is a hidden gem / aladdins cave - don't be fooled by the shop John has an offsite warehouse stuffed full of his expensive/rare equipment, gold edition Leicas etc etc........

 

Miek Smith

 

UK

No-one in my opinion can beat Aperture photographic in terms of service and price.

 

They are based on Museum Street, near the British Museum and only 5 minutes walk from Totenham Court Road.

 

ps. I went into Jessops the other week and they told me that they do not price match anymore.

 

Good luck.

I like to get out of the tube at Euston Station, visit Calumet on Drummond St (closed on Saturday, listed as "Calumet London NW1" at www.calumetphoto.com > stores), and then walk south along Tottenham Court Road (TCR) to visit the big Jessops (the good stuff is downstairs), then Jacobs and York. While you're walking along TCR from Calumet/Euston towards the big stores near New Oxford St, you can drop in to a few smaller shops on the way. I remember Kingsley Photographic near the north end (west side) of TCR as being quite good. There is also a Jessops outlet specializing in older stuff in a small square sort of next to and in-behind York.

Maybe I misremembered Aperture as York - Museum St. sounds right for sure.

Spyros;

 

Just where do you live that you have to buyu phoro gear in London to save money? It's about the most expensive place on the planet for that stuff. Or are you just looking for selection?

Spyro,

 

Photo equipment in the UK is expensive and the cheapest online prices (usually from shops outside London) will be on average whatever you can get in Athens with a bit of searching or buying online from Germany.

 

Unless you want to buy second hand, in which case you can try any shop but that is hit and miss as you don't know what you'll find.

 

In general, it wouldn't be worth wasting time going to shops. You'd be better off enjoying London instead.

York Cameras are in Bury Place (just opposite the BM), not Museum Street. They are very good for hard-to-find Canon oddments (I bought the ET-67B hood for my 60/2.8 there today, and the EW-83DII that I use on my 17~40 on the 20D about a year ago, both off the shelf) for which the effort of finding the best deal is not worthwhile. I suspect you have to be a regular professional customer to be able to strike sensible deals with them on cameras and lenses, but I was impressed to see that they had the 300/2.8, 400/2.8, 500/4, and 600/4 all in stock.

Dear Spyros,

 

I am a regular customer of York Cameras and, unlike Mike, have always felt that their prices were reasonable and not premium. Bear in mind that they are located in an expensive part of London and you will realise why they will not be able to match the bargain basement prices of, say, Park Cameras. As far as I know they currently have the Canon 5d at ?2349 and at around ?2900 complete with 24-105 mm IS lens. I don't think that is a bad deal.

 

If you are going to shop in Jessops then be very aware and ensure that you do price match. I was able to save ?70 off ?390 when buying a PowerShot S50 for my daughter some time ago simply by taking a copy of Amateur Photographer into the shop with me - now I think that is ripping people off. I had to buy the camera from Jessops as my daughter had lost the previous camera I had bought her and the insurance company issued Jessops vouchers.

 

I have never managed to find Aperture in Museum Street - I understand they are on the first floor above a noodle bar which doesn't strike me as being the best location.

 

Best Wishes

 

Ian

They are NOT above a noodle bar! They are on museum st. The shop is cleverly laid out and is in fact a cafe + camera store in one. A very good one I might add. Go and see patrick/richard and tell them Sonny sent you - for a good deal ;)

 

Thanks

Dear CI P,Mike,Sonny,James,Joe,Pano,Robin and Ian,

thank you all for your quidance. I know I can find competitive prices in Athens, I am concerned of used lenses bargain though. Yes I will enjoy London sightseeing testing my new 17-40/4.

Dear Sonny,

 

Food AND cameras - I must look in next time I am over.

 

Many thanks

 

Ian

Yes!

 

And they do the best carrot juice in town!