WestMichigan Posted January 6, 2011 Share #1 Posted January 6, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello, I'm wondering if there is a Brick & Mortar Camera Shop in the "Midwestern" United States which carries some semblence of a New/Used selection of Leica Products? I am in Grand Rapids, Michigan - bout 4 hours north east of Chicago, Illinois. Hoping to find an alternative to playing Internet/Mail Order Roulette with retailers I have no current relationship with. Also to find an alternative to trekking to New York City to visit B&H Photo in Person - much as I like the thought of seeing their 'orgy' of products in person - I also dislike really big cities and don't feel compelled to have experienced the 'Big Apple' first hand. :-) Thanks Richard in Michigan Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 Hi WestMichigan, Take a look here Leica Retailer in Midwest?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
pico Posted January 6, 2011 Share #2 Posted January 6, 2011 (edited) Hello, I'm wondering if there is a Brick & Mortar Camera Shop in the "Midwestern" United States which carries some semblence of a New/Used selection of Leica Products? I am in Grand Rapids, Michigan - bout 4 hours north east of Chicago, Illinois. Helix Camera 310 S. Racine Ave. • Chicago, IL 60607 312-421-6000 • 800-33-HELIX Helix Camera & Video Try their search. They have a half-dozen Noctiluxes. Prices are reasonable. Noctilux .95 for 10,450 USD It is right off the highway. You will probably even find a parking spot nearby. Edited January 6, 2011 by pico Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted January 6, 2011 Share #3 Posted January 6, 2011 Leica Camera AG - Dealer Locator Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
etp095 Posted January 6, 2011 Share #4 Posted January 6, 2011 Helix Camera 310 S. Racine Ave. • Chicago, IL 60607 312-421-6000 • 800-33-HELIX Helix Camera & Video Try their search. They have a half-dozen Noctiluxes. Prices are reasonable. Noctilux .95 for 10,450 USD It is right off the highway. You will probably even find a parking spot nearby. A half dozen noctiluxes,wow.i've been there many times but have never seen more than 1-2 lenses on display,M8,,and a compact p+s leica on a shelf behind the counter.i guess i need to ask what they have out in the back next time i'm there.Helix has a designated parking lot on the side street across from the building. Central Camera on wabash street in downtown Chicago is also Leica dealer,they have a pretty good selection of used Leica gear.it's only a mile away from helix camera.This store has been around for over a hundred years,not very big inside but lots of stuff all over the place.If you visit this store,you have to pay for parking in a garage. Calumet photo is also a Leica dealer,very convenient location off the highway(division street),less than a mile in a non congested area with parking.They have some used gear,and some new gear.This store is only about 3-4 miles from the other stores mentioned above.They also have another location in the western suburb of oakbrook,but that location doesn't have much Leica gear in stock. A downside to buying in Chicago is the high sales tax,just over 10%.If you buy from a Chicago area store,try to have the item shipped to your home,so you save on the sales tax.since none of these stores has an outlet in Mi. Do you have anything in particular that you looking for?might have some other leads depending on what your interested in. good luck Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knomad Posted January 11, 2011 Share #5 Posted January 11, 2011 A half dozen noctiluxes,wow.i've been there many times but have never seen more than 1-2 lenses on display,M8,,and a compact p+s leica on a shelf behind the counter.i guess i need to ask what they have out in the back next time i'm there.Helix has a designated parking lot on the side street across from the building. Central Camera on wabash street in downtown Chicago is also Leica dealer,they have a pretty good selection of used Leica gear.it's only a mile away from helix camera.This store has been around for over a hundred years,not very big inside but lots of stuff all over the place.If you visit this store,you have to pay for parking in a garage. Calumet photo is also a Leica dealer,very convenient location off the highway(division street),less than a mile in a non congested area with parking.They have some used gear,and some new gear.This store is only about 3-4 miles from the other stores mentioned above.They also have another location in the western suburb of oakbrook,but that location doesn't have much Leica gear in stock. A downside to buying in Chicago is the high sales tax,just over 10%.If you buy from a Chicago area store,try to have the item shipped to your home,so you save on the sales tax.since none of these stores has an outlet in Mi. Do you have anything in particular that you looking for?might have some other leads depending on what your interested in. good luck This is a very nice description of the Chicago options, and it's accurate. A bit of additional detail: Over the years I've seen the occasional bargain on Leica gear at Helix. It's worth checking every now and then. Central Camera is one of the last of the old-time camera shops, there's a plethora of old equipment jammed into every available nook and cranny. It probably hasn't changed much since the 1950s. The used Leica's are in glass cases in the wall behind the counter so it's a little hard to see without asking for sales help, but they've got more of the older gear than most anyone else. Calumet probably has more turnover than the others, the Chicago store is their flagship warehouse facility and it gets a lot of pro clientele. There are usually only a few items on any given day but I've never seen it the same on any two visits, things come in frequently and sell frequently. The prices range from fair market value to the occasional bargain, and the online list is not always up to date. The three stores are in the greater downtown and near-downtown area and probably within two miles of each other and it's possible to do all of them in a day. Parking is easy at Calumet although it's back in an industrial area and a little tricky to find if you don't know the area. It's not too hard to park by Helix either, but for Central Camera assume either pay to park in a garage or take the elevated train or subway in. The upside is that Central is a block from the Art Institute so there's a culture option. Unfortunately Oak Park Camera, once a Leica mecca, is gone in it's original form, two or three owners later it's now just a consumer level photo store. At slightly greater distance but also worth a look if you happen to be in that area is Shiller's Camera in St. Louis. Every now and then something interesting turns up on the shelf. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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