camerashop

Michael Flores

Behind the Curtains of a Best Buy Camera Shop

I was hesitant when I first found out that Best Buy had a camera shop in their stores. My experience in the past had been a disappointment, walking through their small camera section was underwhelming and most of the associates avoided that area. I didn’t think too much of it, as cameras were not generally accepted knowledge like it is with computers or TVs. Your average employee would have issues talking about ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and the practical application of these terms.

Michael Zhang

The Camera Store Customer from Hell

If you've ever worked in retail at a camera store, perhaps this sketch will tickle your funny bone... or bring back bad memories. At 5:30 in this episode of the comedy show Rostered On is an interaction between a store employee and a customer asking to return a "broken" camera.

Michael Flores

Strange Conversations from Working in a Camera Store

I've worked in a camera store now for about a year and a half, and I've been a photographer for about 7 years. I enjoy working in the camera shop, as it's my one consistent form of income as a photographer.

Michael Zhang

A Clever Camera Store Ad on the Side of a Bus

Over in Japan, the electronics chain Yodobashi Camera places these creative ads on the sides of buses that turn the rear wheel into a lens for a giant camera. Kevin Warnecke spotted this one in Kyoto, Japan.

Michael Zhang

Blacks to Close All Of Its Retail Photo Stores in Canada

Canadian photography retailer Blacks is pulling out of the brick-and-mortar store business. The company announced today that it will be closing all of its 59 stores in Canada on August 8th, 2015, citing an inability to make them profitable in the digital age.

Michael Zhang

This is What Camera Shops Looked Like a Century Ago

Check out this photo showing the inside of a camera shop (and pharmacy) from 1910. It's the image on a postcard that's currently being auctioned over on eBay (with a starting bid of $100) by a seller named 2raccoons. Here's the description:

Up for auction is this extraordinary photograph of a woman in standard Gibson dress standing at a store counter purchasing a Kodak folding camera. The store employee is wearing a jacket and bow-tie which adds charm to the photograph. It is uncertain if the woman is actually buying the Kodak camera, or if the scene here is "staged," but $25 is about what one would have paid for the Kodak folding camera at that time, which can be seen on the cash register.

$25 for a top-of-the-line camera. Not bad. Add a couple zeros to that price and you'll get what many DSLRs are selling for these days.