An English Adorama?

[brookref]

<p>Can anyone recommend a good camera shop in London or southern England (Sussex), comparable to Adorama? Or at least, is there a photography district in London, like the area between Union Square and Flatiron District in Manhattan? Or, does anyone know if there are shops in London to buy camera bags?<br>

Thanks!</p>

 

[jenkins]

<p>http://www.ukcamera.com/towns/london.htm</p>

[john_h.1]

<p>Do you really want a camera shop that shows items as being in stock when they are not, tries to 'upsell' you after making an order, has trouble correcting obvious errors and is rude on the phone?</p>

 

[leon_b1]

<p>The photography 'district' used to be around Holborn and the British Museum, but a number of places have gone in the past few years. There are still a few camera places around the area of Bury Place and Gt Russell Street, plus a couple further up Tottenham Court Road towards Warren Street (West End Camera and another one nearly opposite). In Sussex there is the Camera Centre in Hailsham - never been there but their phone service was helpful.</p>

[colin carron]

<p>I am not sure what 'comparable to Adorama' means but my top recommendation is Park Cameras at burgess Hill, Sussex.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.parkcameras.com">www.parkcameras.com</a></p>

<p>Reputable, good prices, knowledgable staff.</p>

<p>Here is a website giving best UK prices for a range of camera gear.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/index.html">http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/index.html</a></p>

<p>For pro gear you can't do better than Robert White in Poole, Dorset.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/">http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/</a></p>

<p> </p>

[alvinyap]

<p>Richard,<br>

I think there are many places that sell camera bags, e.g. Camera World along wells street, Jacobs along New Oxford street has a very nice range of bags - I keep them in mind because I am saving up to purchase a think tank bag and they have a very good range in stock. Fixation UK, near oval tube also stocks a fair bit of think tank and lowe pro bags.<br>

Alvin</p>

[david_henderson]

<p>The structure of the photographic market in the UK is that most of the good values are to be found away from the right rent areas and often online. You can find camera stores in central London but there is no "district" and there is nothing that remotely compares to B&H for example. Perhaps the best in central london IMO is Calumet' s large store on Drummond street, just west of Euston. Its not in an area you're going to want to spend time in for any other reason, and most of their bags are backpacks. For bags, try Jacobs on New Oxford street, maybe a quarter mile east of Tottenham Court Road tube station. That said I bought a bag last week, went to both of these with the Mamiya gear I want to use it for, and ended up buying online later because they just didn't stock what I wanted. Needless to say I saved money too and got delivery in 24 hours. Fact is, there isn't the margin in these products to make big stores, high rents, big stockholdings, and expensive staff terribly easy to sustain.</p>

[brookref]

<p>Thanks lads, very helpful with all that. My experience with English camera stores has been precisely as David indicated, that it's mostly moved online. Any time I've asked non-photog enthusiasts, they always point me to a big electronics stores. Glad to hear there are still some options.</p>

[brookref]

<p>BTW, John, while my experience with Adorama has been excellent over the past decade, I've heard others complain. I'm curious - where do you recommend? Thx.</p>

[john_h.1]

<p><em>where do you recommend?</em></p>

<p>B&H.</p>

[heller_harris]

<p>Just noticed that the Canon G11 will be £569 (GBP) at Warehouse Express, while B&H offers it at $499 (USD). The difference is almost enough to fund airline tickets from London to NYC!</p>