Best Camera Shops In The South Bay
Cameras (credit: TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)
May is National Photography Month and what better way to help celebrate than to visit a local photography shop? Online sales and big box stores have forced mom and pop shops to close its doors, such as Los Gatos Camera and Los Altos Camera and Video. Thankfully, other brick and mortar businesses remain in the South Bay, some that have been around for decades. Here are five of the best camera shops in the South Bay for new or used cameras.
Camera Repair And Audio Services
501 S. Bascom Ave.
San Jose, CA 95128
(408) 286-1667
www.cameraandvideorepair.com
There's generally only a small selection of used cameras sold here on a rotating basis. But this great store, located in the Burbank neighborhood of San Jose, is better known for providing reliable repair services for digital cameras and other electronic equipment. A majority of past customers have said the service is excellent and typically have a quick turnaround time. Other repair services provided by Camera Repair And Audio are for camcorders, LCD projectors, CD players, DVD players and VCRs.
Fry's Electronics
1077 E. Arques Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94085
(408) 617-1300
www.frys.com
Founded in Sunnyvale 30 years ago, Fry's Electronics has enjoyed great success across the Bay Area and has expanded to other states. Part of that success is credited to offering competitive pricing for a wide range of consumer electronics from computers and laptops to cameras, TVs and appliances. Fry's offers hundreds of point and shoot and digital SLR cameras, lenses, bags and other accessories at stores and through its online marketplace. In addition to the Sunnyvale store, there are two other store locations in the South Bay – in Campbell, off Highway 17 at Hamilton Ave. and in San Jose off Highway 101 at East Brokaw.
ICT Camera
2455 Old Middlefield Way, Unit J
Mountain View, CA 94043
(650) 961-5825
www.ictcamera.com
If you're looking for camera accessories and classic cameras like Hasseblad, Rollei or Pentax, this is your store. Storeowner Manfred Mueller doesn't carry a large selection of used digital and film cameras, however, you will find cameras that are in excellent condition that have been restored for optimal performance. A native of Wiesbaden, Germany, Manfred Mueller has been providing high quality repair services ever since he first opened ICT (International Camera Technicians) 45 years ago. Many of his customers are professional photographers. His clients include Sunset Magazine, Stanford University, San Jose State University and world famous photographers like the late Ansel Adams and Imogen Cunningham.
Keeble And Shuchat Photography
290 S. California Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 327-8996
www.kspphoto.com
Featuring an award-winning color and B&W lab, this store, located in downtown Palo Alto, carries the widest range of film and digital-based photographic equipment in Northern California. In addition to selling new digital cameras like the Hasselblad H4D-60, Canon EOS 1DX and Canon Powershot G1X, the store has a large used equipment department, repair department and rental department featuring 35mm to 4X5 format cameras and equipment. The store also offers a wide variety of classes and workshops, such as photography fundamentals, basic studio lighting and motorsports photography. Keeble and Shuchat Photography has another store nearby also located near the Peninsula-South Bay border, featuring digital scanner and printers, along with medium format cameras like Mamiya and Hasselblad and accessories.
San Jose Camera & Video
1600 Winchester Blvd.
Campbell, CA 95008
(408) 374-1880
www.sanjosecamera.com
Longtime South Bay residents, particularly photography buffs know that San Jose Camera and Video has been around for ages. Indeed, the store at the corner of Winchester and East Hamilton first opened in 1929, thus serving generations of people living in the South Bay. The family owned and operated store carries a large selection of digital cameras inside the store and online including the Nikon D610 and Sony A7. The store also provides warranty and out of warranty repairs, in addition to providing archiving and video transfer service. San Jose Camera and Video also offers photo walks, workshops and photography classes like Photography 101.
