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LF shopping in London


nomennescio

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Apart from general suppliers such as Calumet etc. there is only

'Teamwork' in central London for equipment. 'Silverprint' is a great

place for film/materials. The best LF equipment suppliers in the UK

are outside London: 'Robert White' www.robertwhite.co.uk (near Poole

in Dorset), and 'Linhof and Studio' www.linhofstudio.com (who used to

be in London but have now moved to Leigh-on-Sea in Essex). Another

place is 'MXV Photographic' www.mxvphotographic.com in Uckfield, East

Sussex - a good S/hand camera shop with some good LF stuff. Also, 'Mr

Cad' www.mrcad.co.uk in Croydon is a treasure trove of old/new/obscure

equipment.

Happy shopping..

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Re: Linhof in Leigh on Sea, I live 50 yds around the corner from Linhof and Studio, very handy for film etc. If you're in London, Leigh is less than an hour by train and is a jolly pleasant place being the nearest seaside to London and still a working fishing town.

Here's a picture.

Cheers

Charlie

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The only problem with MXV is that there is no longer any browsing - everything is kept behind the counter in storage.... boo, hisssss....

 

MrCad as mentioned above is an Alladin's cave of enlargers, cameras (90% monorails), old lenses, sinks, trays, books, lenses and a multitude of obscure bits and bobs. Unlikely to find any bargains tho' as they know what stuff is worth....

 

If you want film in readyload/quickload you will have to try the shops in central London that supply the pro market as most places do not stock them. In which case, try the Pro Centre (www.procentre.co.uk) who will bike them to your hotel if necessary.

 

Have fun! Cheers.

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Another vote here for Robert White in Poole if you can make it down there. He's difficult to find and it's best to make an appointment. You really have to be after something in particular as well, although i'm sure the staff there would show you a selection of stuff if you discussed it on the phone with them first. There is only a limited amount of gear on display (although what is there is generally very interesting!) and it's not a place to go for a browse.
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If I had anything less than a month to spend in London I would

forget shopping and go to the museums. Tate Britain

(www.tate.org.uk) has "Cruel and tender", Tate Modern has "The

Camera at Work", and the National Portrait Gallery

(www.npg.org.uk) always has something interesting going on.

The V+A (www.vam.ac.uk) has Guy Bourdin, and even better, it

has a print room where you can browse through and handle their

fantastic collections of prints.

 

That said, if you *must* go shopping, and if you are into vintage

stuff, there are several quirky antique shops with photographic

gear near the Brit. Mus. in Bloomsbury.

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I agree with all the above and also give a mention to Westcliff Photographic who live in the same direction as Linhof Studio near Southend in Essex.

 

I have found Robert White and MXV are both excellent if you change your mind about the gear you have bought or it has a problem.

 

However my last two lens acquisitions have been from ebay and I can't help wondering whether some of the above shrines to LF gear might not be feeling a little hard pressed. I hope they do ok as a visit to any of them is a pleasure.

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I'm just back from passing through London. There is currently a Walker

Evans show at the Photographers Gallery on Great Newport Street -- a lot of

unknown images. Polaroids, etc. The National Portrait gallery has a show of

the early work of Patrick, Earl of Lichfield. Entry is free and the show is not

worth the price of admission. I use Teamwork and find them to be fine. In

general, you're better off for LF in the US. I have picked upa couple of

Noblexes in London == the rebate on the tax (17 percent) is good, and I

saved myself a bundle of money by not getting them in Canada.

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