Washington DC camera stores

[Ben Calwell]

I'll be in Washington DC over the weekend. Are there any camera stores in that area that carry large format gear? Thanks for replies.

[Ted Harris]

Ben



If you are going to be limited to downtown DC there are two:





1)Penn Camera at their main store (11th & E NW if my memory serves)

2)A store on K Street and 20th/21st NW whose name I think is Pro Camera or something like that.



If you have transportation and can get out to surrounding areas there are a number of others. Fuller & d'Albert in Fairfax, Eastern Camera in Prince Georges County (they sell a lot on eBay I think) and one on Connecticut Avenue in Bethesda (Photo Pro or something like that) and Industrial Photo in Silver Spring, MD.



They all have a good selection but Industrial Photo and Penn Camera likely have the largest. The place on Connecticut Avenue is a Canham dealer and usually has one or two in stock. All will have film. All are listed in the yellow pages. Check the names and locations as it has been a numbr of years since I lived in DC.

[Bob Salomon]

"Industrial Photo"

Was sold to Abbey Camera. Abbey camera has closed all of its' stores and its' name is owned by someone else for mail order or email only business at sometime in the future.

Pro Photo has moved to 1902 I St. NW in DC

[Henry Friedman]

I'm not sure that Eastern Camera does much business out of their store in Beltsville anymore. The last couple of times I passed by, they were closed. Photo Pro is in Kensington; there was no large format gear visible when I went in several weeks ago. Industrial Photo hadn't carried large format gear since they became Abbey, and Abbey has been gone for a good long while.

To my knowledge, the best photo shop in Washington is Service Photo... and it's in Baltimore.

[Jim_3565]

In addition to Pro Photo on I St. downtown, there is Photo Pro (not a misprint) in Kensington just outside the Beltway on Connecticut Ave. (MD 185) at its intersection with University Blvd. (MD 193). It is also excellent and probably has a better selection of large format film than Pro Photo does. Pro Photo seems to cater more to the medium format market, but they are a wonderful business. Best selection of used equipment in the DC area, and always reasonably priced. They'll never try to gouge you. Rare in this day and age.

I'd stay away from Penn Camera. They become more and more consumer point-and-shoot oriented all the time and have almost no film-based offerings at all left any more. And their prices tend to be quite high.

[Jim_3565]

Actually, the best answer to the question you asked is "No". I'd try Baltimore if you'll have the time to get up there.

[Randy Bracey]

One of the best for large format is in Alexandria, VA. Actually has some LF merchandise in stock.

Pro Tech Photo, 5710-E General Washington Drive, Alexandria. (Route I-395 and Edsal Road) 703/941-9100.

[Ted Harris]

Randy is right! I forgot about Pro Tech. They also ahve a good selectionof rental equipmetn and reasonable rental prices and policies.



I am surprised at Jim's comment on Baltimore. AFAIK the pickins there ae even slimmer than in DC.

[Jim_3565]

"I am surprised at Jim's comment on Baltimore. AFAIK the pickins there ae even slimmer than in DC."

I don't know of any place in Baltimore. It just seemed like there must be something up there, because DC's a large format wasteland. I get everything in New York or through the mail.

[Bert McDuff]

Sorry to say all or nearly all of these mentioned by Ted are out of business. Penn Camera was bought by Calumet who then went out of business (declared bankruptcy). Eastern Camera is out of business as is Industrial Photo in Silver spring. Pro Photo is still open in the district and does very nice repair work (they have worked on a number of cameras for me). Dont think they rent much; nothing about rentals on their web site. There is a newish company DC Camera (dc-camera.com) that rents 35mm and video stuff including tripods, heads, lenses, etc. Heavily oriented to video work. Closest I know of is Trec in NYC. Rent various 4x5 cameras, lenses, lens/camera kits, etc. If anyone would know, it would be Karry Thalman..send him an email.

[Sirius Glass]

Sorry to say all or nearly all of these mentioned by Ted are out of business. Penn Camera was bought by Calumet who then went out of business (declared bankruptcy). Eastern Camera is out of business as is Industrial Photo in Silver spring. Pro Photo is still open in the district and does very nice repair work (they have worked on a number of cameras for me). Dont think they rent much; nothing about rentals on their web site. There is a newish company DC Camera (dc-camera.com) that rents 35mm and video stuff including tripods, heads, lenses, etc. Heavily oriented to video work. Closest I know of is Trec in NYC. Rent various 4x5 cameras, lenses, lens/camera kits, etc. If anyone would know, it would be Karry Thalman..send him an email.

Welcome to Large Format Photography Forum

I left the area about 18 months ago and the Metropolitan DC area has become an analog photographic desert, but even the Mojave Desert has more plants than the DC area has real photographic stores.

[Scott Davis]

Sad to say the last man standing with anything resembling analog photographic sales and support is Pro Photo (now located at 20th & Pennsylvania). They stock black-and-white film and a little Polaroid. They have an interesting stock of used 35mm and medium format gear. What I do patronize them for is repair services - they handle my Rolleiflexes. I find them overpriced on almost everything, though. A pro-pack of Tri-X 120 is $32, whereas B&H has it for $25, for example. I'm glad they stock it just in case I run out of something and can't wait until it ships from NY, but I don't regularly pay 30% markups for something I don't have to if I'm even just a little patient.

[Bob Salomon]

Ace Photo in Ashburn near Dulles and the Smithsonian has quite a bit.

[Scott Davis]

Ace Photo in Ashburn near Dulles and the Smithsonian has quite a bit.

I keep forgetting about them (and their Dominion Camera cousin in Falls Church) because Ace Photo is so far out they're almost out of the thermonuclear blast radius of downtown. Dominion Camera has an interesting used gear case but mostly 35mm stuff. And while they do stock some film, as with most camera stores they're heavily geeked out over digital stuff these days.

[Bob Salomon]

I keep forgetting about them (and their Dominion Camera cousin in Falls Church) because Ace Photo is so far out they're almost out of the thermonuclear blast radius of downtown. Dominion Camera has an interesting used gear case but mostly 35mm stuff. And while they do stock some film, as with most camera stores they're heavily geeked out over digital stuff these days.

Have you ever visited the Ashburn store? If not, you will be surprised.

[Sirius Glass]

Have you ever visited the Ashburn store? If not, you will be surprised.

They specialize in packs for digital equipment and not much else. They have a sales person who likes to turn Graphic and Graflexes into lamps. He also thinks that film processing is worse for the environment than the digital equipment manufacturing.

[Bob Salomon]

They specialize in packs for digital equipment and not much else. They have a sales person who likes to turn Graphic and Graflexes into lamps. He also thinks that film processing is worse for the environment than the digital equipment manufacturing.

Last time I was there they had new Wista and Canham cameras, among others, every conceivable brand of tripod and heads including RRS, Novoflex, Gitzo, Manfrotto, a large room full of bags and lots of analog cameras as well as digital. Maybe we were looking in different places.

[Sirius Glass]

It has been three years since I was there. I would not go back after one of their people told me that home film development does more damage to the western US streams and rivers than all the mining and dumping of tailings has done since the discovery of gold and silver.