I will be spending a few days in New York City soon and am wondering if Lens and Repro is worth a visit for LF enthusists like myself ? I plan on spending time at the renovated MOMA or perhaps some other suggestions for good places in NYC?
I will be spending a few days in New York City soon and am wondering if Lens and Repro is worth a visit for LF enthusists like myself ? I plan on spending time at the renovated MOMA or perhaps some other suggestions for good places in NYC?
B&H is an experience!
And avoid Adorama...
Photo Gizzmo is also a good place to stop. Info at http://www.photo-gizzmo.com.
And be sure to find your way to the Stevenson Gallery, if you're into alt-process prints. Info at http://www.johnstevenson-gallery.com/
Is there still a good "hands-on" display room somewhere? I haven't had the postitive NYC camera store experience since Gil Ghitelman's closed... Lens & Repro would be wonderful if they would let you dig around - it has so much loft/dusty ambiance - but the Kayes never let you just "browse" darn it (and I understand why, but I still wish I could.) I never tried Ken Hansen, but I got the impression that you needed to show cash at the door or be dressed in Armani. I also tried a few small shops on 17th, but they had slim pickings and their used stuff was pretty lame.
I think eBay just Walmartized the good old-fashioned places out of existence.
They don't sell cameras, but I have visited Flax's and the Set Shop - they are great resouces for studio photography and portfolios.
How come you can't browse, Frank? Sorry - don't mean to ask a stupid question but never having visited the Big Apple, I don't get it.
And David, thanks so much for sharing the link for the John Stevenson gallery. There was so much beautiful imagery to feast on; I can just imagine what some of those prints look like in person!
Photo Habitat, Photo Gizzmmo, Foto Care and, just outside Manhattan, Ken Mar and Kohs.
They just feel funny about strangers pawing through hundreds of valuable lenses - they need to wait on you and that keeps you from stumbling upon something...
Lens & Repro is a museum. Half of the stuff doesn't even seem to be for sale. But it's worth it just to see cameras you would otherwise never see. The prices haven't "adjusted" to the current market either. I've tried haggling with them just to see them sell it on eBay for less than I offered. But I still go. Sort of like the woman-you-can't-have, or a Dagor77 lens.
B&H is definitely an experience. Again, good and bad. It's Mecca (although an Orthodox Jewish one, closed on Saturdays) and a nightmare (if you're claustrophobic around crowds) all rolled into one. Calumet usually has a few (very few) interesting pieces and is near L&R.
Most of the good "used" places have dried up. K&M, Alkit, all of the places on 32nd Street, Wall Street Camera, they've all either focused on digital, or closed altogether. Most still have something of a "used" section, but it's pretty anemic and definitely not the toy store of even 3 years ago.
This question seems to be asked regularly every few months. Could a FAQ or something of the sort be posted on the LF page?
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