Buying LF lenses in Japan?

[nick_mccooke]

I will be in Tokyo for a week in December. Does anyone know what

prices are like for Nikon and Fujinon LF lenses compared to US /

Europe? Any recommended stockists?

 

Any advice much appreciated.

[eugene_singer]

Nick, Jim, at Midwest Photo Exchange will be making a buying trip to Tokyo during the first week in Dec. Send him an E-mail at Jim@mpex.com, and ask him for the names and adresses of the photo dealers he comtacts in Tokyo. He can recommend the best places to shop for lenses, new or used. Prices on photo equipment are very low in Japan, compared to US/Europe, at the present time.

[jason_greenberg_motamedi]

I have had good luck buying LF film (5x7 Fuji) at the huge Tokyo camera store/chain Yodobashi. I never asked, but saw a number of Fuji and Nikon lenses for sale.

 

http://www.yodobashi.co.jp

 

However language may be a problem. I have always had Japanese speakers with me... There is also a list of stores at this link:

 

http://photojpn.org/DIR/vendors.html

[nick_mccooke]

Thanks both for your input. I'll certainly e-mail Jim. I was going to give Yodabashi a visit - I wasn't sure they covered LF though.

[kasigi]

Yodobashi is probably the best place to go for new lenses and LF film. Make sure you have you passport with you and you can probably get the tax waived. Prices there are usually pretty good. If you are after used equipment, Map camera is a good place to look. Both stores are in the western area of Shinjuku.

 

Have fun!

[andreas_schmidt2]

if you are looking for used equipment, there are a couple of good shops near Shimbashi station (Ohba Camera and Shimbashi Camera). Also in nearby Ginza area, there are many used equipment shops, but most of them do not have a lot of LF equipment.

 

Gin-ichi, which is also at Ginza is highly recommended. They sell some used an also new LF equipment, but prices are a little bit higher than Yodobashi. If you pay with cash, they will give you a discount. They speak English quite well and they know about the stuff they are selling...

 

Another recommendation would be Fujiya Camera, which is close to Nakano station (not far from Shinjuku).

 

Photo equipment is usually cheaper than in the US and Europe, but *only* for Japanese equipment. Don't try to buy a Schneider or Rodenstock lens in Japan, since the prices are shocking.

[jim_chow]

I wrote an article on this for photo.net. See

http://www.photo.net/japan/camera-buying

 

I bought lots of MF/LF photo gear while living in Japan, shot in

some really difficult-to-get-to exotic (for Japanese residents)

places. A couple of magazines I like are Asahi Camera and

Nippon Camera, which have lots of ads in the back (got my Fuji

G617 from a shop in Osaka through one of those ads :-) ). For

artistic shots, there's Fukei (landscape) magazine (not sure if it's

still in print, but they usually feature high quality photos). You can

find all this stuff in the film level of Yodobashi. The "hon-ten"

(head store) is the best. I think I list instructions on how to get

there (which of the 70+ shinjuku station exits to take) in my

photo.net article. :-) BTW, the Yodobashi Camera hon-ten has a

"pro corner" floor. This is where you want to go. They have most

of the common LF lenses on display, many LF/MF bodies (you

can play with them, too!), etc. For Sinar/Arca Swiss, you need to

go to a different shop since a different distributor handles them.

There's also a gray market shop called Lemon Camera in Ginza.

 

Every march, there's an international pro photo fair in Tokyo

(Ikebukero)....great stuff there, like the Art Pan 6x17/6x12 pan

back for 4x5's (yes! That's 6x17 w/ a 4x5! ...works with 90-180mm

lenses). You can't buy this anywhere overseas, not even Robert

White.

 

--Jim