Camera Heaven
They are disappearing - but when you find a good one it's truly heavenly..
I'm talking about good old fashioned camera stores.
In 2003 David Tran opened up his camera store Camera Heaven in what is now San Francisco's "Little Saigon" neighbourhood. It's one of those smaller stores that it would be easy to walk straight past if you didn't know it was there - but once you step through the door you can feast your eyes upon hundreds of cameras ranging from older models from Rolleiflex, Contax, Leica and Canon to the latest in digital P&S and dSLR's.
David himself is often found behind the counter with camera parts in his hands as camera repair represents a significant part of his business. On my latest visit a few weeks ago he happened to mention that the sale of film cameras was steadily going up. Maybe there is life after the pixels.
If you get a chance drop by. Who knows - maybe you'll walk out with that nice, black little Contax I or Pentax Spotmatic I saw there.
David at Camera Heaven
Photo taken with an Olympus 35SP and Kodak BW400CN film
Note: Little Saigon is part of the Tenderloin district and spreads over about two city blocks. While it may not be the most upscale area of the city it is the home of many smaller, quality stores such as Camera Heaven. In 2004, with about 80% of the store owners being of Vietnamese heritage, the area applied for - and received - a $20,000 neighbourhood fund from the city that is being used for clean-up and branding.
I'm talking about good old fashioned camera stores.
In 2003 David Tran opened up his camera store Camera Heaven in what is now San Francisco's "Little Saigon" neighbourhood. It's one of those smaller stores that it would be easy to walk straight past if you didn't know it was there - but once you step through the door you can feast your eyes upon hundreds of cameras ranging from older models from Rolleiflex, Contax, Leica and Canon to the latest in digital P&S and dSLR's.
David himself is often found behind the counter with camera parts in his hands as camera repair represents a significant part of his business. On my latest visit a few weeks ago he happened to mention that the sale of film cameras was steadily going up. Maybe there is life after the pixels.
If you get a chance drop by. Who knows - maybe you'll walk out with that nice, black little Contax I or Pentax Spotmatic I saw there.
David at Camera HeavenPhoto taken with an Olympus 35SP and Kodak BW400CN film
Note: Little Saigon is part of the Tenderloin district and spreads over about two city blocks. While it may not be the most upscale area of the city it is the home of many smaller, quality stores such as Camera Heaven. In 2004, with about 80% of the store owners being of Vietnamese heritage, the area applied for - and received - a $20,000 neighbourhood fund from the city that is being used for clean-up and branding.
posted by Richard | 8:24 PM
2 Comments:
Awesome Rich. I'll have to head over there.
We kind of have one of those here in brighton. Only problem is, the prices are all rediculously high and the guys who work there are grumpy and rude.
They have good stuff though.
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