New York Camera Stores

New York Camera Stores

What New York Camera Stores Should You Visit?

That's a Good question.

But first a Taxi Driver Story . . .

Happens every day – some guy comes to New York City loaded down with camera equipment, and then they lose half of it. How do I know? They leave it in my cab – lenses, cases, memory cards, batteries, even the whole camera sometimes.

If You are lucky I get to play Good Samaritan.

Sometimes I get to play Finders Keepers.

So you come and you end up visiting several NYC camera stores. The good news is that no matter what you need for your camera, there's a store around here that carries it, even if it's some obscure attachment that you can only get in Tokyo.

Adorama

Here's the great thing about the Adorama New York Camera Store the owners really know their stuff, and they're not shy about going a very long way to get said stuff to you. Of all the New York City camera shops, Adorama's the best first stop for almost anything, even high-end Japanese cameras and equipment that you can only get in Japan.

Become familiar with the term “gray market.” This refers to items that are not imported via regular channels, but rather by individuals who have gone over to find specific items for specific purposes that normally are imported and sold at much higher prices. Adorama does this; their owners make regular excursions to Japan and other high-tech producing places to pick up camera equipment at wholesale rates, often before it's available on the American market. This makes Adorama not only a great New York City camera store, but one of the best places in the U.S. to find cameras period.

And a little bonus: gray market products are the Japanese (or wherever) version, not the American version. Often, US-marketed cameras have special features disabled due to patent problems. Adorama, however, allows you to circumvent that issue.

Chances are pretty good that you'll find any camera or photography accessory you need at Adorama, so you should consider that to be your first shopping stop every time, whether you're replacing something or you just want to have the latest, greatest camera gear.

Fotocare, The Pro Camera Shop

The Fotocare NYC Camera Store owned by Jeff Hirsch, is another good shop. He doesn't have the same range of equipment and cameras as Adorama and others, but he does have the advantage of being an active professional photographer himself. At Fotocare, you'll find some truly odd things that are extremely useful, and Hirsch himself will be able to give you fantastic pro-level advice for free on what you may need for that special shoot. This is a store for professionals, though, so don't even bug him about your crappy little Nikon point-and-shoot – save that for any of the other stores listed here.

More New York Camera Stores Offering Variety And Convenience For The Amateur Photographer

B&H Photo

B&H Photo is known as one of the best New York camera stores. You'll be able to find every imaginable accessory for your normal amateur-duffer photography needs. At B&H, you'll probably pay decent prices – a little more than you might pay at Adorama. So why consider them at all? Because most NYC camera store customers aren't looking for Tokyo cutting-edge cameras – they're just looking for a little point-and-shoot they can use to create beautiful keepsakes for themselves. Adorama often does not offer an extended warranty on their products, and you may not be able to find a camera shop in the States to fix yours if it breaks. B&H, on the other hand, carries standard equipment that you'll find useful on an everyday basis. It is the store for amateurs to shop first.

42nd Street Photo

There are plenty of other NYC camera stores in New York City, of course. One good one for both price and convenient location is 42nd Street Photo – located on Fifth Avenue near 35th Street, as you can no doubt guess by its name. They carry a wide variety of standard-issue cameras and camera gear, so you should be able to easily replace anything you're missing with a quick stop here. 42nd Street Photo does not tempt you to browse the way Adorama does, which means you get in and get out fast. Their prices are excellent, usually between 15% and 20% off the list price on cameras and accessories.

J&R

J&R isn't strictly a New York City camera shop – it's more an electronic geek paradise, with everything from Bose to household electronics to computers and software. However, they have an excellent camera section, which carries anything not too obscure you might need. They also carry everything else electronic you might want, surpassing Sharper Image in many ways (though not in coolness). It's a mistake to come here if you want to get moving fast – that's more appropriate for 42nd Street Photo or B&H. But if you have time to browse around and you want a good deal on your camera equipment, J&R is a one of the New York camera stores worth checking out.

A Few NYC Camera Stores Tips

Now here's another tip straight from my brain to your ears: even if you're not wanting to buy a camera while you're in New York City, it's a very good idea to check out some of the big New York camera stores here. New York City is known for its excellent offerings for photographers, and Adorama in particular is know to be one of the best camera shops in the world.

When you buy a camera, you want to do several things besides check out its written-down specs. The most important of these: actually hold it in your hand and try it out. The second most-important: understand what peripherals are available and how hard they are to come by. A run by Adorama or J&R, including a long chat with some of the clerks there, will give you a year's subscription to Photography Today's worth of information.

Besides that, a run through any of these New York camera stores will give you more exposure to more types of cameras than you'll get when you shop online, even at the same shop's website. The more cameras you get to look at, the more likely you are to pick up the exact right one when you're ready to buy.

Take it from me, the guy with a collection of mismatched left-over equipment I'm hoping someone claims someday: there are more camera types in the world than cheap deals in Chinatown. This is the city to get a look at most of them.