Holy Cow — I Found a Real Camera Store!
For the first time I can recall, I found a real camera store outside of New York City. Sure, we have Samy’s and Calumets all over California, but these guys are all the same: the same DSLRs and lenses for sale, and nothing that you can’t get better, faster and cheaper over the Internet. Except for NYC, I haven’t found any stores with interesting stuff that you won’t find everywhere else.
On Saturday I wandered into another camera store out of curiosity. All it said in the window was "OC Camera," so I wandered in while the Mrs. circled the parking lot on the family’s way to our next errand. I just wanted to see if it was anything other than another dull mall shop with a few DSLRs, some off-brand lenses and a thousand kinds of frames, digital keychains and imprinted coffee mugs.
The first thing I see right next to the door is a bunch of Hasselblads in a tall glass case.
Hmm, real cameras!
The next thing I see is a gold Hasselblad (again, curious), and next to it is a section for old Nikons. Not modern Nikon SLRs like the F2AS, but old Nikons: they had an SP from 1956 and a slew of lenses for the Nikon rangefinder mount.
OK, by now I’ve figured out that this is a local strip mall, but not a mall photo store.
Next I saw the Leicas. They had not only new Leicas, but old stuff going back at least to the 1950s. I was so busted, since this weekend I was shooting a 1955 Leica M3 and its original 1955 50mm f/2 lens that had just come back from overhaul at Sherry Krauter. This M3, as well as my 1980 MR-4 meter clipped on top, was what was hanging around my neck as we ran errands with the kids.
And they had Leica SLRs. And they had Nikon, Canon, Minolta and God knows what other kind of traditional SLRs. And they had film, and they had paper. What was in the case that most people who look straight ahead would have seen when they first walk in? A case full of Holgas.
What’s a Holga? It’s a camera favored by many of the world’s top photojournalists. Last year a guy won a Pulitzer prize with a shot made on one, and what exotic camera is around the neck of the National Geographic photographer featured on page 4 of the February 2009 issue? A Holga, the secret behind many of the world’s greatest photos.
I peeked in the back, and they had piles of view camera lenses.
I was only there for a few minutes, just to see if it was worth visiting again when I had more time, and holy guacamole, YES!
I’m sure they had DSLRs someplace, but the key thing I was muttering to myself was "wow, these guys have no crap. Everything here is something worth having!"
I didn’t have the time to check it all out, but I did find a manual to the power winder I just bought to fit on an old Canon New F-1 I got to review. It turns out the old New F-1 won’t work in shutter-priority mode unless you buy the Canon motor drive or winder, a trick Canon pulled to sell more winders. Great; so I have to bolt-on another pound of crap just to get Tv mode? I’m sure I’ll figure out some way to jumper around this one.
In case you’re in Orange County, California, check these guys out in person at:
OC Camera
27680 B Marguerite Parkway (use Crown Valley exit from I-5)
Mission Viejo CA 92692
(949) 347-1276
Hours: 10 – 6 Pacific Time, Monday – Saturday.
They are they guys to check if you’re looking for weird gear for serious shooting. No, its not cheap, but what they sell isn’t what you’ll be replacing in two years like a DSLR.
Which brings me back to clarifying the digital vs. RealRaw issue.
For photos of action, news, sports, people, low-light, kids and just about everything for just about everyone, DSLRs are the way to go. The images are faster, easier, and cleaner than what you can get in RealRaw, with a lot less effort and demanding far less skill. In the middle of writing this blurt, I stopped, shot a bunch of snaps of my baby girl Katie with my D40 and 35mm f/1.8 AF-S and posted them, and got back to writing this. Digital is fast, clean and easy. That’s why everyone shoots it.
Most of my serious work doesn’t fall under the above categories. My serious work, what I’d hang on exhibit or on my walls, is printed man-sized on Super-Gloss and lit with about three lights, is quite different from what shoots well on digital. For contemplative work, I prefer film. I’m a weirdo, but film is where it’s at for serious work, and film gear seems to be what’s all over OC Camera.
