Where to buy photographic equipment and consumables

Carbiens

www.deviantart.com

just another addition i thiought might be useful

Samson

As I seem to spend half my time on this board telling people where to purchase photo kit (which I don't mind doing, I hasten to add), I've decided to make a sticky with my recommendations.
Those of you who are regulars will be familiar with these companies.
I am a repeat customer with all of the following.

Used kit:

www.ffordes.com
UK based.
Great selection, very reliable and always good advice. Prices (even bearing in mind exchange rates and shipping costs always better than Irish retailers).

www.mxv.co.uk
UK based.
Selection not quite as good as Ffordes, but good all the same, reliable too, same point re. pricing as above.

New kit

www.ny-camera.com
German based.
Excellent prices, you will not buy cheaper (or anywhere near) in this country.

www.bhphotovideo.com
US based.
Good prices but to be honest you are likely to get stung for VAT and duty. However, I just could not resist sticking them in, the best range of photo kit in the world. If they ain't got it, it ain't worth having.
BTW, if you are ever in Manhattan and have the time, pay them a visit, you will be impressed. They are on the corner of 9th and 33rd. They don't open Saturday (Jewish establishment).

Darkroom kit

www.thedarkroom.co.uk (RK Photographic)
UK based.
Anything you could want for the darkroom; papers, chemicals, accessories, enlargers, drums, tanks, processors, the lot. Good prices too.

Film

www.mx2.com
Jersey based.
Great prices for film and inkjet consumables, free delivery if you buy 50 rolls or more of film.

www.7dayshop.com
Jersey based.
Great prices for film and inkjet consumables, free delivery if you buy 50 rolls or more of film.

The two companies above are very similar but not the same so compare one against the other for your particular flavour of film.

D-Generate

Would you please put a subsection for Wallpaper/Skins in the same line as deviantART? Much appreciated thanks

www.deviantart.com
www.looroll.com/thesheets/

FinoBlad

Definitely agree with Samson recomending Ffordes and 7dayShop.com

For Used equipment I'd also recomend
http://www.jonathanharris.co.uk and
http://www.robertwhite.co.uk who also sell the very addictive/not cheap Lee filters

For darkroom supplies all sorts of stuff like portfolios, mounts etc try http://www.silverprint.co.uk/ and also http://www.novadarkroom.com for used darkroom equipment

For cheapER new camera imports from Hong Kong try http://www.hksupplies.com/

Finally, closer to home the only Irish companies I would deal with are http://www.dml.ie and Image Supplies who try to hide the fact that they sell film and chemicals etc on their website.

davej

Maybe I'm stating the obvious here but jessops is always worth checking out. Although they're not always the cheapest out there they often have bargain's on sale. Things like filters and other accessories etc (of which I've gotten lots of)..
Also they are sort of the amazon.co.uk of the camera world. They offer free delivery to Ireland over a certain value (£50 or so iir).

Another jersey based site is www.photoglossy.com. I've used them in the past, great for bulk buying film and batteries.

davej

havok*

As for offline shops

Camera exchange on george's st is the best i've found round dublin so far, they've another smaller outlet just off dame st.

DadaKopf

No, no, no. Gunne's on Wexford St is the best!

FinoBlad

Do Gunnes have a website?

davej

I wouldn't imagine so, it's run by a friendly old couple. Because of their proximity to the Dublin Camera Club they get a lot of business from there.

PS: Mods! do your job - clean up/organise this "resource" page.

davej

Sysmod

I concur with the report on Gunnes. Friendly, knowledgeable, good value. There's another shop around the corner - Image Supply Systems - that look to be good value too.

DadaKopf

Where are they?

Sysmod

They are in a lane behind Wexford St.
I know them by position but can't find a receipt from them.

Google tells me

Image Supply Systems, Image House, Liberty Lane Camden Row, Dublin 8 ,
Email :images@indigo.ie Phone ++353 1 4782520 Fax ++353 1 4783953. ...
www.imagesupplysystems.ie/

davej

This is a good uk site:

UK Nights

davej

DadaKopf

Originally posted by Sysmod
I concur with the report on Gunnes. Friendly, knowledgeable, good value.

Totally. I bought a Canon 50mm lens there today. Dublin Camera Exchange sells it for €199. Gunne's sold it for €140 - standard price - and threw in a UV filter 'cos I asked and trusted me enough to come back later to pay off €12.50 on some film I bought.

sci0x

Here are a few numbers of the best camera stores for anyone looking for them:

The Camera Centre: 01 677 5594
BEE: 01 450 9044
HP: 1850 200 277
Hahnel Industries: 023 41606
Canon: 01 205 2400
Sony: 01 413 1700

ka

Thanks these are great links and very helpful :-)

calablanca

No spam please.
If you want to advertise here, contact the admins for banner rates.

tonybrasco

What part of the above did you not understand?
:rolleyes:

tonybrasco

this is ridiculous.
I recently told the owner of that site, whom i got a camera from, about that forum, so he replied to one of the post (without taking notice of the no advertising disclaimer, and his post got removed. fair enough)
But am I not free to mention the existence of his service, which is relevant to a post, where camera suppliers are being listed? He sent me an email to tell that his post had been removed, so I decided to sign up and mention this guy, who is according to me totally relevant to this post.
That's it.
Now you are free to do whatever you want with that information but I think it would be a pity not to share it, it's as simple as that.
Tom

spectacleinrock

Gunnes is the cheapest and most helpful place in dublin! Especially if they know u are a student

michaelpwilson

After many days' searching on the net for the best deal on a Canon PowerShot A80 digital camera, searching sites from the USA to Hong Kong, I found that Internet Cameras Direct won the price war hands down. You might have to pay about STG£14 for delivery to the Republic but it still worked out the cheapest by far (for me). Service was quite good, delivery took two days, excellent packaging. My only gripe is that they never answered an email I had sent to them prior to my purchase. Their post-sales phone support seemed okay though. Just my 2c.

Valentia

That is by a mile the most expensive place i've seen anywhere (except Conn's Cameras of course) for a Canon 10D.

ka

www.7dayshop.com is very reasonable for film paper etc.... based in Channel Islands so cheaper - postage reasonable.

Ka:--)

George_h

I've found that http://www.gogo-power.co.uk does a good range of digital camera batteries. Efficient too

annR

Where do you buy yours?

andrea

I go to Price Storm for my ink cartridges, paper and other things. Although I did buy some lovely glossy photo paper in PC World lately, which seems to work quite well.

Merrion

Hettys Darkroom - B&W processing and printing - and darkroom courses.

Bluefoam

Has anyone used www.pixmania.com

I am about to buy a camera from them....

andrea

I was going to a few times but was recently strongly advised not to use pixmania. Apparently things go "out of stock" that were in stock at time of ordering and especially if you do not order the recommended packs.

djmagra

Samson wrote:

www.bhphotovideo.com
US based.
Good prices but to be honest you are likely to get stung for VAT and duty. However, I just could not resist sticking them in, the best range of photo kit in the world. If they ain't got it, it ain't worth having.

So, just how likely are you to get stung do you reckon?

Valentia

djmagra wrote:

Samson wrote:

www.bhphotovideo.com
So, just how likely are you to get stung do you reckon?

Very likely, in my experience, for bulky items. Memory cards, software on CDs etc come in without being stopped.

Being "stung" is relative though. It is often signifigantly cheaper to pay VAT & Tax than buying here. Budget for the duty & Vat and make your choice after that.

Valentia.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Burago

spectacleinrock wrote:

Gunnes is the cheapest and most helpful place in dublin! Especially if they know u are a student

It's been said a lot already but Gunnes are great. Friendly people who know what they're talking about and reasonable prices.

Kalikat

Okay, this is preaching to the choir, but yet another high recommendation for Gunnes! They've been fantastic every time I've been in there, and TWICE have ordered me things that have arrived two days later - a skylight filter, and a LowePro bag. The LowePro TLZ 2 bag was €24! I've never seen it cheaper elsewhere, and it's nearly twice that price on some online shops.

Y'know how some shops say they'll order you something in, and they never do? Well, Gunnes say it, and mean it. Great shop. I hope Jessops doesn't hurt their business too much.

deklet

undefined
Hi, I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm desperate.
My girlfriend owns a nikon coolpix 4500 and I'm trying to locate a suitable tripod for some landscape work she wishes to do... can anyone recommend anything to me, I am looking for e-needles in virtual haystacks here... please help if you can?

joolsveer

I bought a tripod in Argos last week and I used it for video and stills and it seems to be fine. It cost about €25. This is it http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=2501&productId=103020&clickfrom=name

deklet

Thank you Joo.... but tell me, do you own a Nikon Coolpix 4500? I'm worried that the Hama may not be adaptable

joolsveer

No I own an Olympus 5000 which has a standard tripod fixing (I think it's called a 1/4" whitworth screw) as have the other cameras I have.

tck

Burago wrote:

It's been said a lot already but Gunnes are great. Friendly people who know what they're talking about and reasonable prices.

i just dropped 35mm film (24) in there today, bit pricey - 7.40

as opposed to 6.50 for that place on dawson st. , mightn't be much, but when you are getting a couple of rolls done , it all adds up

Sarsfield

andrea wrote:

I was going to a few times but was recently strongly advised not to use pixmania. Apparently things go "out of stock" that were in stock at time of ordering and especially if you do not order the recommended packs.

I had a very good experience buying my camera from Pixmania last week. Excellent price and 1 working day delivery. Although I did opt for one of their package deals.

Beats

www.cam-ireland.com/
Cam-Ireland - Based in Germany.

www.technikdirect.de
Another site in Germany which friends have used.

www.computeruniverse.net
Mentioned in some posts already.

Reesy

My Pentax ME Super SLR (bought in 1981) has a (common, I think) fault with its winder. I'm keen to get it fixed. I had a dreadful experience with DML http://www.dml.ie a couple of years back (arrogant, crap service) so am keen to find somewhere else in Dublin. Any recommendations as to somewhere I could trust with my precious SLR?

Thanks

Simon
p.s. yes, I think Gunns of Wexford St. (478 1226) are great too. Got B&W film at a great price & bought my Canon A70 there, they beat everyone's price on request. And such lovely people.

bambam

regarding 7dayshop.com, ye should be aware that they do not have any contactable phone numbers. All communications is done through email.

I tried to buy some stuff off them, and asked them to contact me; I'm still waiting....

Also I have read some people stating that they import from the US, and that this may result in warranty problems.

Personally I get a bad vibe off them.

Hacksaw Charlie

I recently took the advice of a colleague who researched buying a digital camera and decided to follow his lead and order a Panasonic DMC-FZ5 from pixmania.com

What a disaster!

First problem:
They couldn't get to grips with the difference between my creidt card billing address and the address I wanted the camera delivered to - work.

Second problem:
The emial from pixmania giving details of the delivery wouldn't support a click-through to the DHL tracking portal.

Third problem:
An anoymus DHL courier arrived at my home address with the box - minus any documentation and literally did a little dance on my doorstep to get me to sign for it. I discovered that morning that the delivery might come to my home address so I worked from home that day. "lucky me"!

Fourth problem:
The box seemed a bit light, "OK", I thought "must be a part shippment" So after checking the security seal I signed for the box. When I brought it inside, it turns out only the additional carry case was in the box. No €400 camera! Called pixmania - "we shipped that sir...", called DHL "no, no other box in the shippment, we delivered it from Paris to you."

It actually took a moment or two to realise what happened, the bottom of the box was carefully opened without distrubing the security packaging and the camera was stolen while in transit with DHL.

I won't go into the hilarious incident with the local Gardai with me reporting a suspected crime in a country unknown! Monthy Python stuff - really!

I spent a week trying to get DHL to issue a "Loss File" to pixmania before they would dispatch another camera. Finally they did.

Cutting this story short, the replacement camera was again shipped to the wrong address [pixmania's fault again] and this time I took my time to make sure there was a camera in the box. But after I signed for it I took it all out to have a play with it and discovered that again it had been tampered with in transit with DHL - this time the battery and SD card were stolen!

Pixmania couldn't send the stolen parts so I shipped it back to them.

I think I'll buy my new camera in a shop, in Dublin, from a person who will put the complete camera in a box and hand it to me!!!!

Caveat Emptor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Faltermyer

Where on Wexford Street is Gunnes?
And where on Georges St is the Camera Exchange?

Have found the deals online, but want to make sure there isnt a chance of getting the camera for similar prices in town.

Valentia

Where on Wexford Street is Gunnes?

Opposite Whelans. Wexford St is only about 30 yards long :rolleyes:

JackieChan

Anybody know how much Gunnes charge for a Sony DSC-S90 ?

I can get it online for 223+13 shipping.
If I get a chance I'll pop in there tomorrow.

dublinguy05

phone them

halenger

http://www.amazon.co.uk

...don't laugh. Seriously. Their prices have been beating pixmania, nomatica, technikdirekt and pretty much everywhere I've seen lately. At least for the big stuff. Take the Canon EOS 350 dSLR - it's about 740 with them.

I bought a camcorder from them also, with a bag and tapes and 1-3 day delivery for less than the cost of the same item (minus accessories) from technikdirekt (DHL were kind enough to loose the package).

rebeve

Hi
I recently bought 2 cameras from Pixmania. When I eventually recieved my order one of the cameras was faulty . Don`t bother ringing or emailing because its a waste of time . You wont get a straight answwer Now thay cant find the camera I`ve sent back . DO NOT BUY FROM PIXMANIA .
Slan
Conor

Takeshi_Kovacs

rebeve wrote:

Hi
I recently bought 2 cameras from Pixmania. When I eventually recieved my order one of the cameras was faulty . Don`t bother ringing or emailing because its a waste of time . You wont get a straight answwer Now thay cant find the camera I`ve sent back . DO NOT BUY FROM PIXMANIA .
Slan
Conor

i very much agree... Bought my first camera from Pixmania, and waited nearly 4 weeks before i got it..