Calumet Closing!!!!!!!!!!!!

[EdSawyer]

Wow, that is a bummer indeed. What will happen with whatever existing stock they have? Local going out of business sales, or divestiture on ebay, etc?

[Curt]

It sounds like they languished in apathy for some time leading up to the end. Surprised, not really, sickened, yes, anything that diminishes analog photography is discouraging.

[John Jarosz]

They were OK up to 2000 or so. After that is was a decline to the bottom. I stopped going.

Now the entire Chicago area has essentially one photo store (Central). Wow.

[resummerfield]

They were OK up to 2000 or so. After that is was a decline to the bottom.....

That's my experience, too. RIP Calumet.

[David Lobato]

I bought a lot of things from them in the 80's and the 90's. Got my 4x5 camera and lenses new from them, and lots of sheet film and b&w chemicals. Their old catalogs were a wealth of LF information, I still have a few. Sad to see another company bite the dust but people quit buying from them for good reasons.

[djdister]

What a disaster. They recently bought out the Penn Camera stores in the DC area, so that would leave this area with very little in the way of camera/photography stores. I was just talking with the Calumet people at SPE in Baltimore this past Saturday and they didn't even hint at this!

So I guess all we are left with in the DC area is actually in Baltimore - Service Photo. That's it, plus a couple of professional labs. Oh well...

[ghostcount]

From facebook/calumetphotographic

Stay tuned, as we are exploring opportunities to reopen select locations to keep serving our customers. We will post any updates here if there are any.

[Merg Ross]

They were OK up to 2000 or so. After that is was a decline to the bottom.

Yes, that was also my experience. I bought my first of three view cameras from them in 1967. However, I have not thought of them during the past fifteen years as their service and stock declined. Before that they were my favorite supplier, always helpful, good quality, and well stocked. Sorry to hear the news.

[Tin Can]

It does seem obvious in the mirror. The new Goose Island store never was good at anything.

This leaves Central Camera, which is an actual old school camera store.

Chicago, let's all make an effort to visit Central Camera more often. It really is a cool old store and they offer voucher parking at the big parking garage, Northwest corner, first garage north of them, and that garage can handle a full size van.

As for Calumet, maybe the warehouse sale will hold some goodies, but Jose was the only one who could find them...

[Karl A]

They were OK up to 2000 or so. After that is was a decline to the bottom. I stopped going.

Now the entire Chicago area has essentially one photo store (Central). Wow.

Is Helix gone?