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Archive 2014 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!

  
 
Veedotcom
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


Now that Calumet is closed there's no where to buy gear immediately in the Philadelphia area . How about a Canon,Nikon,Sigma mall or outlets? B&H maybe?


Apr 17, 2014 at 08:13 PM
galenapass
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


Have you not bought on the internet yet? What exactly is the issue, I don't understand.


Apr 17, 2014 at 09:58 PM
msalvetti
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


The Camera Shop in Bryn Mawr is pretty close (I only know about them because I picked up my MkIV from them on eBay).

Mark



Apr 17, 2014 at 10:07 PM
Veedotcom
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


I like to touch & feel before my money is spent. Never brought from the internet yet. I've been lucky using Craigslist so far. Met a few photographers that were excellent to deal with.


Apr 17, 2014 at 10:34 PM
Sunny Sra
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


galenapass wrote:
Have you not bought on the internet yet? What exactly is the issue, I don't understand.


You can't just "walk" into the internet, pick up a camera/lens, test it..get a feel for it...can you? or have you discovered something we haven't?



Apr 17, 2014 at 10:35 PM
Gochugogi
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


Sunny Sra wrote:
You can't just "walk" into the internet, pick up a camera/lens, test it..get a feel for it...can you? or have you discovered something we haven't?


I used to do that but all the camera stores disappeared. Other than a few lowend models and kit lenses at Costco and Best Buy, it's a no go. Camera stores have gone the way of video rental and bookstores...



Apr 17, 2014 at 10:54 PM
Paul Mo
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


Sunny Sra wrote:
You can't just "walk" into the internet, pick up a camera/lens, test it..get a feel for it...can you? or have you discovered something we haven't?



True. I have a Canon Experience Centre locally - you can walk in with your 5D and bung any L lens on and shoot away. Or just use their bodies and your CF/SD card. It's not retail but having a place where you can handle merch is golden business practice by Canon. I'd love to handle and shoot an RX1 but the anal Sony stores want you to buy the camera before you can shoot a single frame to a card.



Apr 17, 2014 at 10:58 PM
Sunny Sra
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


Gochugogi wrote:
I used to do that but all the camera stores disappeared. Other than a few lowend models and kit lenses at Costco and Best Buy, it's a no go. Camera stores have gone the way of video rental and bookstores...


Yup bunch of stores closed around here:
canoga camera
Hoopers
Calumet
couple of other local stores i can't remember



Apr 17, 2014 at 11:25 PM
howatthunter
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


Allen's Camera still seems to be in Levittown. It's too far for me but I hear good things about them.

http://allenscamera.com/



Apr 18, 2014 at 10:30 AM
tuantran
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


Canon should buy a 3D printer and just send copies to people. I'm willing to pay $40 for a replica of a 1Dx


Apr 18, 2014 at 04:05 PM
jim allison
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


When I covered eastern PA for Hasselblad there were approximately 25 to 30 Hasselblad dealers in the state and those were just the high end stores. There were many more "ordinary camera stores". That was in the late 1970s. There are no more camera stores because there is no more film and photofinishing. They provided the margins that allowed photo dealers to stay in business. They paid the rent. The rest was just gravy. There is also no more photo industry as it was constituted for the latter half of the 20th century. Today the camera business is a mere pimple on the ass of the consumer electronics industry. IMHO this is very bad for photographers, photography and the economy.


Apr 18, 2014 at 06:44 PM
nma
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


jim allison wrote:
When I covered eastern PA for Hasselblad there were approximately 25 to 30 Hasselblad dealers in the state and those were just the high end stores. There were many more "ordinary camera stores". That was in the late 1970s. There are no more camera stores because there is no more film and photofinishing. They provided the margins that allowed photo dealers to stay in business. They paid the rent. The rest was just gravy. There is also no more photo industry as it was constituted for the latter half of the 20th century. Today the camera business is a
...Show more

This is a very complicated situation. A bit sad to see some of the changes. But I don't agree that it is just "very bad for photographers, photography and the economy." IMHO there are winners and losers: We are all winners because there is so much high quality stuff available. The photo business grew tremendously with digital but the money is going to different people. I do not pine for my Canon Elan, nor do I miss the lousy photo finishing I got. Perhaps that was because I was an amateur and I had to pay for the gravy you mentioned. In 1995 I got an Epson 1200 photo printer and a film scanner. I learned photoshop and soon I could make much better prints than those photo finishers were willing to do no matter what I paid. Scratched negatives with fingerprints were frequent. Color balance, what was that? There was a great arrogance in many segments of the photo business. They were selling buggy whips but they did not know it.

Many of the photo businesses were admirable, family-run, honest and helpful. Others would skin me. The photo storefront cannot compete with the on-line retailer. Their costs are too high. They cannot display nor stock everything. As the business went digital, the sales force was not sufficiently educated to provide the service needed. As photo consumers, today we arguably have much more information about what we are buying than we did in the 1970's. The enthusiast photo magazines have been largely displaced by free information on the net. On the average the net is less biased than the Pop Photos of the day, if you read critically. Nostalgia for the good old days seems misplaced in this case.




Apr 18, 2014 at 09:50 PM
galenapass
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


Sunny Sra wrote:
You can't just "walk" into the internet, pick up a camera/lens, test it..get a feel for it...can you? or have you discovered something we haven't?


Yes, it's called lensrentals.com and for a reasonable fee I can pick up and use the camera/lens to my hearts content one week.

The times are a changin.



Apr 18, 2014 at 10:33 PM
galenapass
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


nma wrote:
This is a very complicated situation. A bit sad to see some of the changes. But I don't agree that it is just "very bad for photographers, photography and the economy." IMHO there are winners and losers: We are all winners because there is so much high quality stuff available. The photo business grew tremendously with digital but the money is going to different people. I do not pine for my Canon Elan, nor do I miss the lousy photo finishing I got. Perhaps that was because I was an amateur and I had to pay for the gravy you
...Show more

+1 Couldn't agree more...this coming from a 48 yr old man. My kids have no issues with internet vs. brick and mortar stores. These posts remind me of the older generation - "damn those kids and their rock 'n roll" only now it's "so sad to see these stores go away". Come on folks, embrace change. Consumer spending habits are shifting. Try to be more than those old fogies you used to make fun of. How many times do we have to see the older more set in their way generation not appreciate change before we wake up and realize that the older generation is now us?



Apr 18, 2014 at 10:40 PM
Veedotcom
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


I took my daughter to the KOP mall to purchase sneakers, we went into Footlocker an it was like museum for sneakers,I said to my daughter I wish someone would do this for camera gear! Imagine Nikon ,Canon ,Red ,Black Rapid & have a Apple store like setting with appointments,classes,demos,videos & meet nice people in person.


Apr 19, 2014 at 01:09 AM
Wuwho
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


howatthunter wrote:
Allen's Camera still seems to be in Levittown. It's too far for me but I hear good things about them.

http://allenscamera.com/


I would second going to Allen's Camera. Its a wonderful shop that is PACKED with stuff. Its a true brick and mortar store with a really knowledgeable staff.



Apr 19, 2014 at 01:15 AM
EB-1
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


Camera stores are disappearing everywhere. There just aren't enough buyers. Recently my hometown store since 1974 (Canoga) closed. It's been just awful the last few years. The reality is that cell phones are good enough for the masses.

EBH



Apr 19, 2014 at 07:36 AM
jim allison
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


I certainly admit to being an old fart. However, I'm happy to embrace change when it is positive for society as a whole. I don't gage everything by what's good for me. myself and I.
There were many good paying middle class jobs and opportunities in the photo industry.
Those opportunities and many others are gone forever and have been replaced by structural unemployment that will most likely last for years to come. I do not like the fact
there are many products that I can't touch and feel before I buy. Yes, I know that I can order on the internet from retailers with friendly return policies and I do it all the time, but you do have to pay the return freight if you don't keep an item. Let's just say I'm trying to purchase
a long zoom lens and I want to decide between the Sigma 50-500mm or the Tamron 150-600mm or maybe settle for a less costly or 100-400mm lens. Do I buy all three and send two back? I would much prefer to simply make my purchase over the counter .For many years photography was the most popular hobby in the United States. That is no longer true. There is no industry to support photography and as a consequence there is wide spread visual illiteracy and people are satisfied with the results they get from cell phones. Retail stores encouraged and industry members thrived upon promoting taking pictures and turning
customers into photographers. I fully understand that some people like the present world better then the world as it existed in the 20th century. I however do not. Please remember
to always ask "for whom the bells tolls" when "progress" closes in on where you work
or what you do for a living.



Apr 19, 2014 at 12:46 PM
Jeffrey Myers
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


+1 for Allen's Camera.

He's got a TON of stuff in stock and I got a warranty lens back from him sending it out in about 4 days. Allen, Rob and the rest are super knowledgeable and really nice people.



Jul 03, 2014 at 11:31 AM
henryp
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Camera stores in Philadelphia disappearing!


Veedotcom wrote:
I took my daughter to the KOP mall to purchase sneakers, we went into Footlocker an it was like museum for sneakers,I said to my daughter I wish someone would do this for camera gear! Imagine Nikon, Canon, Red, Black Rapid & have a Apple store like setting with appointments,classes,demos,videos & meet nice people in person.


Imagine indeed. :-)

Henry Posner
[email protected]
B&H Photo-Video



Jul 04, 2014 at 10:49 AM
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