Honesty and good service from mpex

[George Stewart]

I've had nothing but great service from all LF retailers I've purchased from.

MPEX is great: They sold me a new lens for just over the price of the same one used, when the used one had already been sold and not removed from their web site.

Badger Graphic is great: They sent me a custom ordered lens without a credit card - they just included the bill with the shipment.

Quality Camera is also great: I custom ordered a grey market lens from them and when it arrived at their shop they called to let me know that they were charging me $100 less than the already aggreed upon low price, due to an improved exchange rate.

I haven't met a nicer and more super honest bunch of people than those involved in LF photography.

[Dean Cookson]

Just want to add my vote to the Jim at MidWest is a great guy to deal with column. I met Jim at this year's LF Conference and bought a great Canham 8x10 off of him. I recommend MPEX to anyone who asks me where to buy camera gear on line.

[Andre Noble]

'honisty' - isn't that the medical term for the nostrils?

[Paul Schilliger]

Last year, they worked a wonderful deal for me on shipping a large printer overseas. But then I had a personal blow and although the order was already processed, they canceled and sent immediately the money back with some kind words of encouragement. I respect them immensely.

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

I agree 100% with everything George wrote. There are a lot of great folks out there supporting large format photography. They share our passion and genuinely enjoy helping us achieve our goals. They are happy to sell us what we need, but are also willing to just talk photography and share their knowledge. In addition to providing goods and services to support my personal photography, I have also sought the assistance of many of these folks when researching articles and reviewing new products. We are truly lucky to have these fine folks in our corner. I hesitate to even start a list, as I'm sure I'll leave out many who deserve my gratitude, but here goes - my partial list of the dealers, distributers and manufacturers who I owe a great big thanks (in no particular order):

Jim Andracki at Midwest Photo Exchange

Jeff Taugner at Badger Graphic Sales

Ted Bromwell at Bromwell Marketing

Jeff Wheeler at Quality Camera

Rod Klukas at Photomark

Fred Newman at The View Camera Store

Robert, Tre and Matt at Robert White

Richard Newman at Calumet

David Gremp at Calumet

Steve Inglima at Schneider Optics

Ron Leven at Schneider Optics

Hilde Ebbesmeier at Schneider-Kreuznach

Julian Goldstein of Navitar, Inc (formerly D.O. Industries)

Bob Saloman at HP Marketing

Jane Elliot at Nikon USA

Martin Vogt at ARCA-SWISS

Diane Henry at ARCA-SWISS

Bob Watkins at Precision Camera Works

Ian Wilson at Ebony

Eddie Hill at Gandolfi

Mitio Fujiwara at Toho

Burkhardt Kiegeland formerly of Lotus View Camera

Maja Stroebele at Lotus View Camera

Ron Wisner

Keith Canham

Mike Walker

Bruce Hyland formerly of Kodak Professional

Audrey Jonckheer at Kodak Professional

Gary Scott at Fujifilm USA

The late, truly great Steve Grimes

And that's just the dealers, manufacturers and distributors I can think of off the top of my head. For the list to be complete, I'd have to include the publishers, editors, gallery owners and other photographers who have given me their support. And, of course, the fellow members of this, and other forums who have shared their wisdom over the years. So, the next time someone tries to tell you large format is dying, remember all these great people (and more) who are doing their best to keep it going for all of us. We're all in this together, and it sure is nice to know we have so many wonderful folks on our side.

Kerry

P.S. One of the things I've enjoyed most about the LF Conferences the last two years is the chance to just hang out and talk photography with other photographers and talk equipment with the dealers and manufacturers. It was truly a joy to actually meet in person many of the people I've known online and on the phone for several years.

[Emrehan Zeybekoglu]

Recently I have had purchases from Ries and Lotus View Camera in Austria. They both provided good, reliable service.

[Jim Rice]

I also liked Del Hoagland (sp?) Anyone know what happened to him?

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

I have had nothing but good experiences with Henry's in Toronto. I have bought film and a tripod head from them.

[Salty]

Another vote for Jim Andracki, a fine gentleman.

[Yong-ran Zhu]

I have never seen Jim. However, I can talk to him like my friend. I also trust him 100%. I feel confident to buy things from him, but through eBay. Thanks Jim.