Leica stores and photography spots in London

[terencechong]

will be travelling to london end of February, and staying in kensington. need some advice on where to look at leica m gears around london and where would be good spots for photo opportunities in and around the city. thanks a bunch, t

[eyedeebee]

Terence,

I asked the same question about stores a couple of weeks ago - Aperture seems to be a popular choice.

Aperture Photographic Tel. 020 7242 8681

[terencechong]

hey, thanks for the heads up.. shouldn't be too hard to find... :-) cheers!

[delander]

Best thing is to hope for some good weather and interesting light, if you get that there will be hundreds of photo opportunites. Take a wide-angle lens. Along the River Thames from Westminster to Greenwich, Canary Wharf, St Pauls, The London Parks, Museums, the City of London (financial centre). Lots of quaint areas everywhere. Trains are frequent and can move you quickly from one part of the city to the next, but can be crowded and may be expensive.

For Leica shops there is Richard Caplan, Classic Cameras and few others (inc Aperture - secondhand only). General photo stores will be stacked with normal stuff but not Leica.

A street map will help. The weather is key. Sometimes February can be very good but you cant rely on it.


Jeff

[stunsworth]

If you're going to take the underground buy an Oyster card. You can get these at any tube station. They'll save you a lot of money in comparison to buying tickets. Essentially they're a pre-paid card that you swipe at the beginning and end of your journey. The amount you put on the card is up to you.

Personally London is one of my least favourite cities. Big, noisy, dirty and full of people trying to rip you off. But hey, perhaps I've been unlucky <grin>.

[gravastar]

You might also consider buying day travel cards which will work on the local trains, underground, buses and Docklands Light Railway. Complete freedom to get on and off where you want. The cards are available for several "zones" depending on how far out from the city center you want to travel. I'm not sure how the prices compare with the RF tagged Oyster cards though, but see the link below for info. I live 50 miles out from the City and I always purchase an "All Zone Travel Card" before starting which includes the rail ticket and travel card.

London Travelcard & London Visitor Travelcard 2006 - Public Transport Passes
Travelcards - Travelcards offer you the freedom of London's transport network - Visit London

Bob.

[earleygallery]

Hi,

Main London dealers also include R G Lewis and The Classic Camera (renowned on this site for the -ahem- quality of service, and Calumet now stock new Leica (google the names and you'll find their websites). Also worth a look is Nicholas camearas in Camden.

As for photo opportunities, where do I start! You have all the usual tourist sights and areas of course, but I would also try to see some of the more 'usual' areas too - I like getting lost off the beaten track in foreign cities! I keep meaning to take a few days out, get a London guide book and go out as if I were a tourist here for the first time.

I would also suggest taking the train from Victoria station down to Brighton for a few hours - it was in its heyday referred to as London by the Sea.

Have a great trip.

[magd0328]

Aperture is also my favourite. Just round the corner you can find a rather less popular store... check out the link for one of the many bargains they have in stock at the moment:

Lens Hood 50mm f/1.2

[bill]

It is a rite of passage for every Leica photographer visiting London to go to the Classic Camera.

See how long YOU can be ignored for...
MARVEL at the high prices...
WITHER under the scornful sneers when you ask to actually look at something...
GASP at the clinical atmosphere

Regards,

Bill

[earleygallery]

Originally Posted by bill

It is a rite of passage for every Leica photographer visiting London to go to the Classic Camera.

See how long YOU can be ignored for...
MARVEL at the high prices...
WITHER under the scornful sneers when you ask to actually look at something...
GASP at the clinical atmosphere

Regards,

Bill

Bill, I think you should also point out to our friend some of the negative aspects of a visit to TCC

[chris_livsey]

"Rumours that a certain "dedicated" outlet in London will no longer be a Specialist Dealer.

DAILY UPDATES 26/01

26th january Update


Mmmmm wonder who

[Tim B]

I'll put in another vote for Richard Caplan Richard Caplan situated in Bury Street, off Jermyn Street just behind Fornum & Mason, another store worth seeing for any visitor. Access either from Picadilly or Jermyn Street.

Ignore Richard Caplan's rather pretentious epithet "Where the elite meet and greet" and you'll find an interesting selection of secondhand Leica (and other makes) and usually an excellent stock of new lenses and other accessories. The staff are also friendly and helpful. I've just bought a new chrome 90mm elmarit, which is away being coded at the moment. I was toying with a secondhand (black) one, but as I really was looking for chrome they threw in a UV/IR filter for free as an incentive when I went for the new lens.

Have a good trip.

Tim

[terencechong]

wow! didn't expect such magnitudinal responses... :-) thanks y'all, i'll definitely take into consideration all the points shared.. cheers! t

[spylaw4]

Another vote for R Caplan - the times I've been in I"ve had excellent and friendly attention.
Also for RG Lewis in Sicilian Arcade - ditto.

[jlancasterd]

Originally Posted by terencechong

will be travelling to london end of February, and staying in kensington. need some advice on where to look at leica m gears around london and where would be good spots for photo opportunities in and around the city. thanks a bunch, t

The area around the London Eye - indeed the whole of the South Bank of the Thames going east as far as the Tate Modern gallery and the 'Wonky' Bridge is worth a visit. Even further east you have HMS Belfast, the Globe Theatre and Tower Bridge. The north bank, east from Westminster down past the Battle of Britain memorial and Cleopatra's Needle is also worth a stroll if you are a connoisseur of street furniture - seats with cast iron Sphinx supports, etc.

[terencechong]

nice... appreciate all the tips mates!

[stunsworth]

There's a boat that links the Tate Modern just up river to the Houses of Parliament, to the Tate Britain, which is more or less opposite St Pauls. Both Tates are worth visiting if you like modern art.

[jlancasterd]

Originally Posted by stunsworth

There's a boat that links the Tate Modern just up river to the Houses of Parliament, to the Tate Britain, which is more or less opposite St Pauls. Both Tates are worth visiting if you like modern art.

Sorry! Yes, I was confusing Tate Modern and Tate Britain.

In mitigation I must plead that I haven't actually lived in London since 1988...

[gyoung]

Originally Posted by spylaw4

Another vote for R Caplan - the times I've been in I"ve had excellent and friendly attention.
Also for RG Lewis in Sicilian Arcade - ditto.

I went on one of my periodic trips to London last Saturday (for a non photo committee meeting), and as usual arranged it so I had the morning free to do an intensive survey of these delightful places. Outside london its not easy to find good stocks of secondhand/old stuff to drool over.

Went to Caplans, bought 35/3.5 Summaron L39 and 35 finder, they are very nice when you get inside, and past the expensive shirts and shoes in the other shops nearby (I could have paid more for a shirt than for the Summaron). They had some IIIGs at very good prices too, £495 for Exc ++, and an eye watering M7 a la carte display (orange leatherette anyone? Not for me)
City (?) Camera Exchange on the Strand
R G Lewis had some R stuff cheap, and are nice people as ever.
Classic Cameras, bought M-grip
the scruffy little shop between Classic and Aperture (just junk mostly at high prices)
Aperture, bought 28mm Voigtlander finder
And then Camera Hayes (Hampstead) on the way to the committee meeting, attracted by the Amateur Photographer ad, but really a junk shop, only Leica stuff was Leitz NY A36 filters, a stack of them I could have for only £30 each (!!!)

A nice day, always some goodies to spend my pocket money on,

Gerry

[stuny]

Terence -

Get a good city map and then start wandering. It is a very walkable city with photo opportunities almost everywhere.