hash@whuxl.UUCP (HASHIZUME) (10/01/84)
According to New York Magazine and my experience, the best places to buy a camera is Hong Kong and New York City. I did not go to Hong Kong, but I did compare prices in NYC to various stores in Japan and did indeed find that it is cheaper in NYC (tax included). It is more fun to shop for consumer electronics in Japan though. I think for any intelligent consumer should decide what to get BEFORE buying especially anything expensive and in a foreign country (it'll be hard to return it to the store). As far as a 2.25" sq or larger camera, my (inexperienced) 2 cents worth is, that the flexiblity, versatility, and cheaper price of a 35mm camera outweighs the advantage of a 2.25" sq camera. The larger format does not really buy anything until you reach view camera format. I know a few pro photographers and they do not really use the 2.25" sq format camera even though coming out of photography school that was THE camera to use once you hit the pros. The larger format camera does affect the psychology of shooting, i.e. one tends to work slower and more carefully and think more about the shot. Good luck and have a good trip. Mark Hashizume AT&T Bell Labs, Whippany, NJ ..!whuxl!hash
bjm@browngr.UUCP (Barb Meier) (10/02/84)
I am traveling to Japan at the end of October and am considering
buying a camera there.
I would appreciate suggestions, comments, etc. in two areas:
1) If you have had experience buying a camera (actually, anything)
in Japan, I would like to know
where did you get it (city and/or store)?
was it really cheaper (i.e. cheaper than NYC discount houses)
had you decided what to get before going?
was dealing with japanese merchants a pain?
2) I'm interested in a medium format SLR or possibly TLR. Must be
at least 2 1/4" square (could be larger rectangle). Please let
me know your experiences being specific about make, model, and
features.
Thanks.
Barb Meier, Brown University
{allegra, decvax, ihnp4}!brunix!bjm