Paris old camera stores?

**cyrus** · 5-Oct-2009, 18:14

Does anyone here have suggestions for me for places in Paris that sell old cameras? I will be there in a couple of weeks and am a fan of collecting cameras, not necessarily limited to LF.

**cowanw** · 6-Oct-2009, 04:13

blvd Beaumarchais north of the Bastille has many old and new Camera shops.
Regards
Bill

**Philippe Grunchec** · 6-Oct-2009, 05:49

We call it "boulevard de la photo"!

**john biskupski** · 6-Oct-2009, 06:55

In addition to the above, two serious shops worth checking out are Antique Cameras (all formats) in the 8th arrondissement, and Le Comptoir de l'Image (heavily Nikon, Canon, Leica) in the 13th. Best to buy a mag like Photo-Réponses, they have all the used gear shops listed at the back. More specialised, is the hard to find mag 'L'Occasion', which lists all the main 2nd hand sellers, who are now increasingly web-based.

Bld Beaumarchais used to be terrific, but has become down-at-heel and seedy since much trade moved to the web, and quite a few shops have gone, or declined. Hard to find bargains, the euro is quite strong. Still, whenever I'm in Paris, that's where I go to browse (if I can escape my better half). Someone already remarked on a Photo.net thread about visiting romantic Paris that, if you were so accompanied, they would probably be expecting you to be focusing on something else, not camera stores!

**cyrus** · 6-Oct-2009, 09:32

Originally Posted by john biskupski

Someone already remarked on a Photo.net thread about visiting romantic Paris that, if you were so accompanied, they would probably be expecting you to be focusing on something else, not camera stores!

Luckily for me, my soon-to-be better half is a photographer and model.

**Steven Tribe** · 6-Oct-2009, 12:33

I get the distinct impression, through many years on e**y, that the price level is high and quantity of average items is low in France. Dealers seem to try and keep their pre-digital price levels and sellers on e**y based in France seem not to have noticed the international bidding levels. The same is even more the case in Spain and Italy. Incidentally, and going off at a tangent, I have never seen a Krauss objective sold to France, a Suter to Switzerland or a Koristka to Italy! Unfortunately, tracking where things end up is a thing of the past.

**cowanw** · 6-Oct-2009, 13:49

Well, when I went into the large format store in Paris I saw a used 8X10 film Holder for 150 Euros. I politely excused myself as I could not even afford a shutter release cord.
Regards
Bill

**cjbroadbent** · 6-Oct-2009, 15:31

Maybe Bill was referring to Le Grand Format in Ave. Beaumarchais. Whatever, it is worth a visit. I have bought big stuff there. Check it out here.

**john biskupski** · 7-Oct-2009, 01:25

Le Grand Format is a nice store, in fact two stores side by side, one for LF, one for MF.

Some on-line vendors are quite good, but as mentioned above prices are surprisingly high, maybe a reflection of the fairly limited LF market there? Check-out Taos, Galerie Photo, Adaflex, Th Rebours.