Recommended suppliers of equipment

Hi,

I thought I'd start a thread, as a sort of index on who you can recommend as a fair supplier of photographic equipment, sales, service etc.

I'll sticky it, but obviously if John or Matt, don't want to leave it as such, feel free to take it down.

If you use, or have used in the past, a supplier that has been excellent (nothing else will do), then give them a plug, so that we know where to go. This can be online retailers, your local shop, mail order; or even someone you know that fixes cameras for a hobby!

I'll start off with uksoftwaretech from ebay. I buy my SD memory cards from them (1gb for £23.99 inc. P&P), and they have been faultless in every way, for three purchases, which is pretty darned good by ebay standards.

I know that there's a guy called Robin that is recommended here, for servicing, so post a link if you have it.

Next..

Cheers

Liam

uksoftwaretech prices do look very good, enough to tempt an impulsive 'Buy It Now'. Then comes the 17.5% VAT sting and their prices suddenly don't look that great.

I rate www.warehouseexpress.co.uk pretty highly.

BTW Robin is from www.harrowtechnical.co.uk, who's advert appears in the header of these forum pages.

These are a few of the companies I've dealt with...

Second hand:
www.mxv.co.uk - often a good stock of older lenses
www.ffordes.co.uk - can be a little pricey, but worth checking out
www.lcegroup.co.uk - always phone, their website is often out of date

Others:
www.ephotozineshop.com (actually Warehouse Express)
www.speedgraphic.co.uk - some great deals on filters etc
SRS Microsystems on ebay
www.srbfilm.co.uk - for anything filter or adapter related

I'm sure there are more!!
Matt

Yes indeed, I would second the plug for Robin at Harrow Technical, where I send my LX's for any service/repair. Excellent expert service.

I have also found http://www.karlu.com/index.php to be a great dealer in accessories (tripods/filters/lighting etc...) with very good customer service.

For 2nd hand equipment I look at :

http://www.rcomputers.co.uk/mxv/pentaxaf.asp https://secure.ffordes.com/index.htm http://www.lcegroup.co.uk/index_group.php http://www.nicholascamera.com/all_stock.html

I would have been happy to recommend Jessops for 2nd hand equipment up until recently, but not anymore following their decision to no longer accept trade ins and discontinue their 2nd hand availability on the web and at most stores.
Whilst I fully appreciate that they are driven purely by market forces and profits, they have, in my opinion, abandoned many of their loyal film customers who made them a high street success in the first place, in favour of new customers wanting cheap ' do it all for you' digital cameras.

Maybe I've finally become a fully paid up member of the 'Grumpy old Men' club.

Philip

I'd have to vote for http://www.parkcameras.com Not necessarily the cheapest, but they are good!

I've been using www.mx2.co.uk for several years for consumables - both photographic and computer. They are pretty competitive - cheap postage and quick. Never had any problems with them and you end up with lots of nice little jiffy bags

Hi all,

Not wishing to put a damper on this thread, but I think a word of warning is in order...

Just to say, as good as both MXV and Ffordes have been in the past, I would say to anyone buying items from either of them, to check the items with a very fine tooth comb. I have had to return more than three lenses to both of these dealers within the last few months due to them not properly inspecting them. Some of the lenses had very obvious faults which had been missed. I get the distinct impression that both of these dealers are skimping on checking items properly.

They do give no quibble refunds, but it still takes time and some cost to return items. Ffordes also seem quite prone to often sending incorrect items.

I recently rang MXV about three Minolta MD lenses they had listed...two were marked MINT- and one was marked EXC++. I asked the sales guy to check them closely while I was on the phone....guess what...one had clear coating marks and another had internal haze, so whoever graded them in the first place clearly did not look very closely....so be warned.

Cheers Steve.

For filters and things I have used Denton http://www.ukcamera.com/denton/cokina.htm, fast reliable and seem to be cheaper than some others.

I know there are a lot of Canucks visiting here and would welcome CDN suppliers except Henry's.

Perhaps that could be made in a Sticky on its own. TKS

I would second http://www.ukcamera.com/denton/cokina.htm. He might be a tad pricier tha some of the mass internet suppliers but he is good to talk to and advise. Delivery is excellent in my experience
Graham

Don't wish to appear cheeky by putting my daughter's weblink on here but she makes a mean bean bag at a great price.

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/loweswood/index/image-support.html

visatek
http://www.vistek.ca/
and London Drugs
http://www.londondrugs.com/Cultures/en-US/StoreLocator.htm?Location=0&Province=0&City=0&Store=0
and our little local shop called "photocentral" in wpg

For Spotmatic servicing in North America, I recommend Eric Hendrickson in Tennessee. (4 faultless repairs and CLAs).

Let's not forget our old pal "Batty" on UK eBay for top notch used gear.

Fellow in Montreal called WIDEANGLEMAN on eBay - again very high end, mint items - don't know where he finds his stuff!

Sorry, this is film camera experience - haven't shopped digital, yet.

I thought for a moment that a "Spam bot" was impersonating Don!

I second warehouseexpress.com, great customer care.

7dayshop.com are great, tons of stuff and brilliant prices (it's worth being on their mailing list)

*ist D etc batteries: Total-power-solutions on Ebay do the RCR-V3s and their chargers cheaply - not the fastest chargers (5hrs) but at £26 for 2 sets inc p&p it's a snip. Or 2xRCR-V3 for £8.50 inc p&p.