Darkroom equipment in Japan
Eric Howard
Does anyone have any ideas? Please reply via email to:
Thanks in advance,
Eric Howard
Donald Nelson -FT-~
In article <yPS2lWc1...@clark.net>, eho...@clark.net (Eric Howard) writes:
> I am interested in obtaining some darkroom equipment in Japan.
> Does anyone have any ideas? Please reply via email to:
>
equipment. Get off the Maranouci Line Subway at Shinjuku-gyonenmae
and go upstairs at exit 12. There are camera shops on both sides of the
street (you'll have to walk around to find them) - I have been in at least
two that sell darkroom supplies (mostly 35mm enlargers -- large format
enlargers are too big for most Japanese homes, I guess).
But there is plenty of paper and darkroom chemicals! Yodobashi Camera
on the other side of Shinjuku station may also stock B&W equipment but
I don't recall seeing it there.
(For those large format users - at least one of the shops sells LF cameras
and lenses -- Nikkor, Fuji lenses; Toyo, Ebony bodies. As I recall this
was Sakura Camera.)
--
ALL OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE MY OWN AND NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF INTEL CORP.
DON NELSON , Intel
Helge Nareid
Donald Nelson -FT-~ <dne...@sedona.intel.com> wrote:
>
>In article <yPS2lWc1...@clark.net>, eho...@clark.net (Eric Howard) writes:
>> I am interested in obtaining some darkroom equipment in Japan.
>> Does anyone have any ideas? Please reply via email to:
>>
>Several of the camera shops in the Shinjuku station area sell darkroom
>equipment. Get off the Maranouci Line Subway at Shinjuku-gyonenmae
>and go upstairs at exit 12. There are camera shops on both sides of the
>street (you'll have to walk around to find them) - I have been in at least
>two that sell darkroom supplies (mostly 35mm enlargers -- large format
>enlargers are too big for most Japanese homes, I guess).
>But there is plenty of paper and darkroom chemicals! Yodobashi Camera
>on the other side of Shinjuku station may also stock B&W equipment but
>I don't recall seeing it there.
I don't know all the shops you refer to, but I've been using Yodobashi
Camera for a few months now - the basic rule is that if it's sold in
Japan, they'll have it (and most of it in stock). Darkroom supplies
are being sold in the basement, and they have just about everything
in stock, including a wide range of enlargers (including an LPL 4x5
enlarger the last time I looked). Medium and large format equipment
is on the 5th floor, and they have just about everything in medium
format in stock, along with a wide range of 4x5s and some larger
format cameras. They also have all the ranges of LF lenses, and also
here the most popular types can be found in stock.
All in all, I'm very satisfied with Yodobashi Camera - they also have
some knowledgable salespeople who speak quite good English. The prices
are competetive for Tokyo, but as you may know there are cheaper
places to buy photographic equipment. If you do more than casual
shopping there, I strongly recommend that you get a "Point Card",
which allows for some savings (I still don't know all the rules,
but I pay less than I did before).
>
>(For those large format users - at least one of the shops sells LF cameras
>and lenses -- Nikkor, Fuji lenses; Toyo, Ebony bodies. As I recall this
>was Sakura Camera.)
I tried Sakura Camera yesterday ... no LF equipment there at all
that I could see, perhaps I was in the wrong shop ... (all the
big names appear to have more than one shop in a given area,
for Yodobashi Camera, you should aim for the "Head Store" just
beside the long-distance bus terminal).
Another alternative is "Bic Camera", which has several shops in
the Ikebukuro area, and the largest of these have an excellent
selection of darkroom equipment and supplies, as well as large
and medium format equipment - but the selection is not quite as good
as in Yodobashi Camera. The few price comparisons I've made also
come out in Yodobashi Camera's favour.
--
Helge Nareid - Nordmann i utlendighet
Optical Engineering Lab., RIKEN, Wako, Saitama 351-01, Japan
E-mail: nar...@optsun.riken.go.jp
WWW: http://optsun.riken.go.jp/nareid/home.html