Great San Francisco camera stores?

May 16, 2008 2:54 PM

Great San Francisco camera stores?

Looking to handle a selection of DSLRs hands-on. A previous thread pointed me to Keeble & Shuchat in Palo Alto but I was thinking of going into San Francisco anyway so I wanted a recommendation for a store there. Somewhere with a good selection of used lenses would be great too.

posted by GuyZero to shopping (7 comments total)

Haven't used them yet, but I've heard fantastic things about a shop in my 'hood, Pro Camera Rental & Supply.

At Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/pro-camera-rental-and-supply-san-francisco
posted by NoRelationToLea at 3:09 PM on May 16, 2008

Calumet has a decent selection, maybe not as large as Keeble and Shuchat. I wouldn't say either of them are great since I've had problems with salespeople at both Calumet and K&S.
posted by spindling at 3:21 PM on May 16, 2008

Calumet is pretty hard to beat. They cater to pros and so can be a little stiff initially but they warm up fast and really know their stuff. Their in-store prices more or less match the lowest legit prices you'll find on the web. They have alot of rental equipment if you are looking to try for a weekend or a day before you buy. I've bought a bit from them and they have always been great.

Damn, I sound like a commercial.
posted by gyusan at 3:27 PM on May 16, 2008

Thirding Calumet. Don't bother with anything else in SF.
posted by junesix at 4:21 PM on May 16, 2008

If you need a second option, Adolph Gasser. Me, my SF camera store is Amazon.
posted by Nelson at 7:29 AM on May 17, 2008

Calumet can be snooty to be sure. My friend in the Rental Dept. there said that the guys in Sales work on commission and don't like to waste their time with small-fry questions.

LIke I said: snooty. But good gear, good selection, good prices too. Not all the staff are like that either.

I love the guys here:
Discount Camera - 33 Kearny Street - San Francisco, CA 94108

May seem like a downtown "fleece the tourists" kinda place, but it's not. The service there is fantastic. They've fixed equipment I didn't know was broken while I stood there, super informative. Let you try anything they've got. Nice people. Not always the lowest prices, but service goes a looong way with me. And they seem to have everything I've ever asked for in stock.

I hate Gasser. They're dumbly overpriced, never have anything in stock, and nobody who works there (that I've encountered) seems to care very much.
posted by asavage at 8:54 AM on May 17, 2008

I have happily bought a few things from Keeble & Shuchat. Pricing is almost competitive with Amazon, Adorama, or B&H (but has the joyous instant gratification advantage) for bigger stuff (cameras, lenses and such). They have had at least good versions of all the misc littler stuff I have wanted (filters to lens bag to straps). They stock more brands than I have seen anywhere else for dslr's. I would happily recommend them if you need to physically touch something before buying it.

San Jose Camera and Video is a store I would not recommend. If you had to have something now, and after calling them you found that they had it in stock, you can go there I suppose; I wouldn't. Not good pricing for anything I looked at. No selection of SLR's other than Canon and Nikon, full price for their P&S's. Arrogant sales people that seemingly have no time for actual amateurs.
posted by fief at 7:40 PM on May 18, 2008