Why is it so hard to find a real camera store?

[HeatherFeather]

I got a very nice Canon T2i for Mother's Day with the kit lens and an additional zoom lens. I would like to look at and handle a wide angle or fish eye lens. I live in Tampa, which is not a small town, but I am having a terrible time finding a camera store. When I search, I wind up with Best Buy and Ritz, neither of which is what I need. It looks like there are some stores in Orlando. Anyone have any ideas? Or anyone been to any of the stores in Orlando? Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[ukcatfan]

The Internet killed real camera stores. I would avoid most Orlando shops. They are almost all tourist traps that do a lot of bait and switch activities. They also push a lot of unnecessary things like filters, batteries, etc. If you play hardball with them, the item suddenly is not in stock. There might be some honest shops there, but I would think you are going to have to get closer to downtown.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I agree. We used to have several good camera stores in the greater Houston area. Houston is the 4th largest city in the US and it now has one "real" full service camera store.

 

[handicap18]

The Greater Boston area actually has quite a few "real" camera shops. 1 that has 4 or 5 locations (Hunts Camera & Video) and a number of other "mom & pop" shops. 2 or 3 in Boston itself and 5 or 6 others in the greater metro area. Guess the Northeast just has a greater demand for these type of places.

We also have our fair share of Best Buy's and Ritz Camera's.

 

[giantstu]

We went to Colonial Photo& Hobby and were impressed with there amount of stock and knowledge. http://shop.cphfun.com/#store=photo&dynamic=index

 

[Pea-n-Me]

For the same reason a lot of retail is changing. Look around at malls and other stores. Around here, they're all moving from indoor malls to outdoor malls. Interesting phenomenon since they were originally outside before they went inside years ago.

I went to buy a CD as a gift yesterday (Lullabies for a baby shower) and I noticed that both Borders and WalMart have severely cut the amount of CDs they sell, I'm sure, again, because the market is changing.

I heard a rumor yesterday that BJs is up for sale, can't confirm. I sure was bummed when we lost our Sam's Club last year as well as I shopped there a lot. (Have a membership, but I'm not a huge fan of BJs.)

Some people here like to support Mom and Pop type camera stores whenever possible so they'll stay afloat. I'd try to do that, too, but truth is they either don't sell what I need, or their prices are prohibitively expensive, so I buy most of what I need online.

 

[ssanders79]

North Tampa Photography is the place to go in Tampa.
http://www.ntphotodigital.com/

NTP is one the last real camera shops in the area that I've found. It is located off 275 on West Busch blvd. They have a great selection and better yet they deal with used gear. I've never felt pressured while shopping in the store. They are truly interested in getting you what you need not what they want to sell unlike the big box stores. They may not be able to compete with online prices they exceed in customer service.

What part of Tampa are you in?

 

[RadioNate]

We went to Colonial Photo& Hobby and were impressed with there amount of stock and knowledge. http://shop.cphfun.com/#store=photo&dynamic=index

This is the one I'd recommend. I bought my T2i there. Not a tourist trap at all. The staff can be snobby to newbies but if you have 1/2 a clue they are fine.

 

[The 4 "Quay"balleros]

Why is it so hard to find a real camera store?

Well, it's part of the Walmartization of America. Make the item in ....(with the low labor costs, no regulations and poor material quality) and you can sell it the item very cheap. Thus the item is a disposable item and you don't need the specialty shops for service.

 

[ssanders79]

Why is it so hard to find a real camera store?

Well, it's part of the Walmartization of America. Make the item in ....(with the low labor costs, no regulations and poor material quality) and you can sell it the item very cheap. Thus the item is a disposable item and you don't need the specialty shops for service.

I agree with you on principle, but it does not really cover mid to pro level gear. I doubt wallyword will ever sell much more than an entry level dslr or a 55-200 lens.

 

[The 4 "Quay"balleros]

I agree with you on principle, but it does not really cover mid to pro level gear. I doubt wallyword will ever sell much more than an entry level dslr or a 55-200 lens.

True, but what is the demand for this level of an item? Back in the day(for lack of a better term/time period) when almost every "level" of an item was built to be kept and maintained(as opposed to being disposable). These specialized shops were needed then. Now the average joe buys very pricey disposable items. The average joe is the maker of demand. That's why most specialized shops have gone out of business(low demand=low money).....

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

we have to travel about an hour to get to our camera shop but it is worth is. We go to Dans Camera in Allentown, PA. I am not sure about anything in FL. Good luck on finding what you need.

 

[Gdad]

Since you have a Canon then North Tampa Photography might be worth a stop- I don't buy much there except HC-110 since they don't really stock much Nikon gear. Lately the store seems pretty depleted in general though. Another option in the area is Lake Shore Camera Exchange in Palm Harbor- very friendly family business and they keep a decent inventory. I just bought my D7000 from them- it was kind of nice actually being able to buy it from a real store for once.

 

[WDWFigment]

I'm actually a bit surprised that so many are still around. Despite what another poster said, it has nothing to do with making it with cheaper labor and the item becoming disposable. It has everything to do with larger online retailers, such as Amazon, selling the item without sales tax and at a cheaper price since they order in much larger quantities and have much lower overhead. Most photographers have their gear serviced by the manufacturer, so I doubt that factor ever enters the equation with respect to whether camera shops are economically viable.

I like local camera shops, but there's no way I'm going to pay sales tax plus 10% extra for the same item to "keep them afloat."

 

[ssanders79]

I like local camera shops, but there's no way I'm going to pay sales tax plus 10% extra for the same item to "keep them afloat."

Your exactly right. This could easily amount to $200 or more.

Locally - $1500 dSLR body + $105 tax = $1605
Online - $1350 dSLR body + $20 shipping = $1370.

Savings of $235 by shopping online for the same dSLR body. For me that is a huge savings and a no brainier. Now if I had more money than I knew what to do with then sure I would support the local shop for the the instant gratification of driving to store and coming home with a new toy.

 

[Gdad]

I agree Tom- mostly I buy online also for obvious reasons. But with a newly released camera there is not much out there in the way of discounts (without a lot of work anyway) if you can even find one- so paying the tax was not all that much to justify supporting them on this one. And it was kind of a lost feeling of excitement buying from a store- kind of like the rush of clicking "Confirm Order" and seeing UPS pull up to uyour house all at the same time.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I agree that most of us don't care to pay any extra than we need to.

I think the biggest issue I've seen mentioned on this board re Mom and Pop type camera stores is utilizing them if they've spent time with you, as, in effect, you're paying for that service (and presumably they're far more qualified than a salesperson at somewhere like Best Buy). They'd also be there for you for problems, questions and even classes, etc. Probably something worth paying for for many users.

 

[WDWFigment]

I agree Tom- mostly I buy online also for obvious reasons. But with a newly released camera there is not much out there in the way of discounts (without a lot of work anyway) if you can even find one- so paying the tax was not all that much to justify supporting them on this one. And it was kind of a lost feeling of excitement buying from a store- kind of like the rush of clicking "Confirm Order" and seeing UPS pull up to uyour house all at the same time.

I wasn't knocking your purchase. In your situation, it worked out well! Last Friday, I was kicking myself for turning down your offer because J&R delayed my shipment AGAIN after promising it would ship that day. I was thus going to have no camera for our December trip. Then, miraculously, I saw a NikonRumors tweet that said the D7000 kit was in stock at B&H. I instantly went to the B&H site. I noticed they had the same printer rebate on the body-only, but not on the D7000 plus kit. That didn’t make sense, so I called Epson to confirm it applied to the kit, too. Epson confirmed, so I ordered both. Granted, I’ll have to sell the lens now, too, but who knows if J&R would have ever shipped my order. They had the camera in stock, for sale, in their New York B&M store on Friday, so apparently they didn’t care about fulfilling those pre-orders.

Now I am getting that rush as I refresh my UPS tracking page every hour to see where the camera is!

 

[Gdad]

I wasn't knocking your purchase.... Now I am getting that rush as I refresh my UPS tracking page every hour to see where the camera is!

I know- I'm glad you were able to get one you are going to really like it. The more I use mine the more sure I am I made the right call over the 300s.

 

[WDWFigment]

I know- I'm glad you were able to get one you are going to really like it. The more I use mine the more sure I am I made the right call over the 300s.

Good, I can't wait to play with it!

For those curious, my camera is currently in New York, NY, USA. So for those of you in New York, if you see a UPS truck today while driving, treat it like an ambulance and PULL OVER! We don't want any delays!