Has anyone bought from cambridgeworld.com???

Stupid post, I know. But, 100 sheets of 4X5 FP4 for 55 bucks! Just

wondering if anyone could vouche for these guys...good experiences?

Thanks so much.

 

 

-Chris

Never bought from them. They look reasonably legit, but then again I'm pretty gullable and don't notice things like that. Anyways they have some 120 tech pan that i'm really wanting so i might be purchasing from them soon as well. lemme know or i'll let you know.

I've bought from them several times and never had a problem either with the firm or the product.

They do look pretty legit. I hope the film is in date...I wonder why they are SOO much cheaper than everyone else? Ah who cares, I found a place where I can get FP4 cheaper than everyone else's efke price.(maybe I can stop stressin about saving a buck and having to go with the film that scratches easier than a dog with fleas). Cool

 

-Chris

I thought this was the same as Cambridge Camera, the most infamous camera store in the world? Maybe not.

I have bought from Cambridge camera since the 1960's, usually just buying name brand items. My last purchases were a couple of years ago; buying 100+ rolls of Verichrome Pan in 120; and some boxes of Plus-X in 4x5. They had Verichrome when B&H was long gone. I never assumed their Cambron lenses were equal to Planars or Summicrons. They were a constant source for oddball lens adapters; D mount to C mount; C mount to Exakta; C mount to Ektra, Kodak R, weird filter stuff, oddball exakta lens cases with the non round cross sections. Popular Photography had articles about beware of the NYC camera kit deals with non brand lenses over 1/2 century ago. I never fell for any of the NYC gems, bait and switches, weird package deals. In the 1970's I ordered alot of school darkroom supplies from Cambridge without a hitch. Mostly I delt with a couple of chaps there; using just FAX and making it easy for them to fill in the blank with prices. I have mail ordered stuff since the 1950's, Cambridge for the 1960's on was jsut another vendor. I only heard of folks having problems with Cambridge via photo.net. There seems to be alot of deep hatred, folks getting burned stories, almost a witch hunt. I really wanted some more Verichrome, and ignored the whining. A store in decline has alot of problems. I dont deny that some folks cannot mailorder, or have had real problems with cambridge. I just have had none; but have had B&H ship the wrong film twice in the last few years.

Cambridge Camera Exchange as a long-standing "rap sheet" with the NYC Better Business Bureau.

 

They will rapidly take advantage of the naive. Back in the 1970's, before I knew of all their tricks, I bought a new Topcon 100mm lens from them. They had the lowest price. But, they took the lens case out of the box, with the hope of selling it to me for extra money. I later bought a 35mm Topcor from them, but demanded that they include everything that came in the box, for no extra charge. So I got that case, which fits either lens.

 

However, I very recently did a deal with Air Watches, which I think is one of their aliases, and had no trouble. Even haggled with them. It was an interesting case of verbal sparring. You gotta know the game. You'll get a bull---- answer the first time you ask, and the real answer the second time. Don't get flustered. I presume it's just like haggling in the market in Jerusalem (or the Lower East Side 100 years ago).

 

A lot of their "old stock" equipment is at least a tad on the overpriced side.

 

Be careful about the shipping price, and film may be short-dated. This is not the sort of place where all the film is on ice.

I remember Cambridge from my early years in photography when I lived near NYC. Even as a 13-year-old kid I quickly realized that when dealing with certain NYC shops you had to be pretty savvy.

 

It's important to understand that cultural differences play a major role in how many businesses operate. In some cultures it is expected that sellers and buyers will haggle over prices and what is being exchanged for the money. Some Americans aren't accustomed to this practice and feel that they've been taken advantage of because they don't understand the unspoken ground rules.

 

So, unlike the blatant ripoff shops that have littered Brooklyn, Cambridge isn't really crooked. Shopping there is like shopping at a flea market or auction. The buyer has to take responsibility for the transaction and be specific about what you expect to get for your money.

 

BTW, you New Yawkers remember the Spiratone store in the city? That was such a cool place. I still scour pawn shops for items with the Spiratone label, like my Portragon lens. It reminds me of those little ads in the back of Modern Photography, next to all the salacious ads with pix of topless women. That was heady stuff for a teenager, and best of all, my mom bought the subscription!

Who, these guys?

 

http://www.photo.net/neighbor/view-one-about?id=2&about=Cambridge+Camera

Kevin...crap, those comments looked pretty scarry. I forgot about the merchant review part of photo.net. A lot of people talk about hagling with these guys on prices...but just want to buy a box of film from their website. I have had shipping problems with BandH...maybe I'll try this FP4 purchase and see what happens. Deep breathe....

 

-Chris

If I saw a Daisy BB gun advertised in Texas with a "free" box of 5000 BB's, I wouldnt assume that the BB's were made by Daisy, or match grade BB's either. Some folks will, and then get all weirded out and "feel ripped off", because of their stupid assumptions. <BR><BR>Folks who are not detail oriented and have poor reading skills often fill in the blanks, and then not get what they assumed. <BR><BR>If in doubt ask questions, dont blindly assume when buying anything. That old lady your English teacher in grade school at least tried to teach you while you you were off daydreaming, making paper footballs, scoping out the chicks too. :) Heck I have made stupid mistakes myself when first starting out, and have learned from them most of the times. <BR><BR>Checkout many vendors and dont get married to just one. Try your local camera store too, if you still have one. With a prepaid special order there is little risk, they sometimes can meet NYC prices.

Hey Chris, maybe it will be fine, but if it's not, try B&H again. I've spent a bunch of money with them and only had one problem, and they made it right without a lot of fuss. They're not the friendliest guys over the phone, which is why I use the website (as someone else said, not rude, just efficient).

Yeh, NYC businesses can seem a bit brusque, maybe even rude, especially if you've never lived in NYC. Everything is fastfastfast, nownownow. I've never felt B&H folks were rude, but they do expect us to have made up our minds or at least narrowed down our choices before calling. They might be a bit curt with questions like "What kind of dSLR should I buy?" But if you're trying to choose between, say, a D50 and D70s, they'll chat and explain the pros and cons of each. And they don't try to sell you stuff you don't need. When I ordered some stuff last year the sales rep talked me out of a couple of small, inexpensive items, saying I really didn't need one and the other doesn't work as well as the advertising claimed. That's pretty cool.

 

While they don't mind discussing options they do tend to push the conversation forward without much chit-chat. And they have a procedure for everything, such as transferring you to another department to finish the transaction by credit card, etc.

 

Anyway, there are a lot of mixed reports about Cambridge and certain other East Coast dealers. I'm not talking about the outright crooks, just one businesses you have to be careful with. They're like my 15-year-old nephew, whose mind works like an evil genie. If you're not very specific about every detail in a conversation he'll deconstruct the discussion so that he can do what he wants to do instead of what he should do.

 

Nephew: Can I go to my friend's house across the street?

 

Mom: No, you need to finish folding your clothes and put them away.

 

Nephew disappears for 30 minutes. When he returns mom grills him. He went to visit a friend next door.

 

Mom: I told you that you couldn't go across the street until you finished with your laundry.

 

Nephew: I didn't go across the street. I went to my friend's house next door. It's not the same thing.

 

==========================

 

Photo customer: Am I getting 36 exposures with that film?

 

Unspecified dealer: Yes.

 

Package arrives with a 24 exposure roll and a 12 exposure roll.

 

Be careful what you ask for. You might get it.

I saw their ad that had a camera bag I wanted, and it was at a good price. Rather tahn order via email, I called to confirm that they actually ahd the item. It took several calls before someone picked up the phone. The guy was nice, and told me that he didn't have one in stock. He said he'd try to find one but never called back. I guess he wasn't successful. The I found a better price... and a shop that actually had everything that they advertized in stock -- Canoga Cameras.

Wow, I didn't know NYC stores tended to be so shady. Maybe I should go to manhattan and open a "Photo supplier...from Texas" store. Lex, I ordered the box of 100FP4 earlier, but if 4 boxes of 25 come in the mail that would be just fine for that price. We shall see.

 

 

-chris

Quite some time ago (and, maybe they still exist but I don't know) there was a NYC shop named 'Abes of Maine'. I don't know if they were really from Maine or not. If you open a shop called 'Moishe's of Texas', I hope you make sure that everything is bigger than life!

CambridgeWorld's website shows a full range of Nova print processors. I ordered one and got an email confirmation. When it hadn't arrived after some time I called them. They said they would call back in a couple of weeks. No such call so I called them again. The guy I talked to said that even though the website showed lots of Nova processors they didn't have any at all in stock. I emailed a cancellation of the order in and, just to be sure, I faxed and snail-mailed in cancellations as well. The fax didn't go through and my letter was returned as undeliverable. I've never had trouble with B&H.

I avoid Cambridge World like the plague. Their Website list a bunch of items that the company does not sell anymore. Cambridge Wrld was a reputable store back in the 1980's but something happened after that and they never seemed to have recovered. Once I thought I was purchasing an item from their website and the page crashed on me while Iwas making the purchase. I was not sure whether the transaction was recorded in their books or not. I tried to call the company but it took me about three days to get a human being to talk to me on the phone. When I asked about the transaction, the person on the phone told me(in a rough sounding voice) "Don't worry about it, we dont sell that item anymore !"