Leica Shopping in SE Asia

[ktmrider2]

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I just purchased a Q3 from AV Camera in Bangkok.  Prices were quite competitive with Hong Kong and B&H in New York.  The Leica Store in BKK wanted US$7075 while AV Camera wanted US $6580 for a credit card purchase.  If you pay cash, AV Camera’s price for a Q3 is $6492.  These prices are a bit higher than Hong Kong but there is a 7% or 8% VAT refund which works out to $460-500 which makes them very close to B&H prices.  I was plotting a trip to Hong Kong from the Philippines $350-500 RT plus hotel just to purchased a Q or M.  They also carry Ricoh GR3’s which are sometimes hard to find.

I provide the above for information purposes only.  I have finally found where all the beautiful film cameras in Thailand have been hiding.  Besides modern digital products and modern Leica film cameras, AV Camera had a very nice selection of used film cameras to include Leica, Hasselblad and Rollie.  My favorite Leica film body is an M2 as the viewfinder is the best Leica ever produced IMHO.  However, I prefer modern film loading and have used an M4 for the last ten years living with the 135 frame lines.  AV Camera had 4 very nice M2’s with three of them being M2R’s.  Now I have been looking (not very hard) for an M2R and have never found one.  Obviously, they have all been hiding in SE Asia.  If I had not purchased a new MP in Hong Kong at the end of February I would have walked out with a M2R.

In addition to lots of used Leica film cameras, AV Camera had three Hasselblad SWC’s, over a dozen Rollies, Contax and Mamiya medium format bodies and lots of used Nikon.  The staff was friendly and spoke English.  The store is less than 100 meters from the BTS stop at Saphan Taksin.

Edited December 9, 2024 by ktmrider2

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1 hour ago, ktmrider2 said:

I just purchased a Q3 from AV Camera in Bangkok.  Prices were quite competitive with Hong Kong and B&H in New York.  The Leica Store in BKK wanted US$7075 while AV Camera wanted US $6580 for a credit card purchase.  If you pay cash, AV Camera’s price for a Q3 is $6492.  These prices are a bit higher than Hong Kong but there is a 7% or 8% VAT refund which works out to $460-500 which makes them very close to B&H prices.  I was plotting a trip to Hong Kong from the Philippines $350-500 RT plus hotel just to purchased a Q or M.  They also carry Ricoh GR3’s which are sometimes hard to find.

I provide the above for information purposes only.  I have finally found where all the beautiful film cameras in Thailand have been hiding.  Besides modern digital products and modern Leica film cameras, AV Camera had a very nice selection of used film cameras to include Leica, Hasselblad and Rollie.  My favorite Leica film body is an M2 as the viewfinder is the best Leica ever produced IMHO.  However, I prefer modern film loading and have used an M4 for the last ten years living with the 135 frame lines.  AV Camera had 4 very nice M2’s with three of them being M2R’s.  Now I have been looking (not very hard) for an M2R and have never found one.  Obviously, they have all been hiding in SE Asia.  If I had not purchased a new MP in Hong Kong at the end of February I would have walked out with a M2R.

In addition to lots of used Leica film cameras, AV Camera had three Hasselblad SWC’s, over a dozen Rollies, Contax and Mamiya medium format bodies and lots of used Nikon.  The staff was friendly and spoke English.  The store is less than 100 meters from the BTS stop at Saphan Taksin.

yes they [AV Camera] are very nice, and have a good selection, a few km down the winding road is mega plaza, top floor has a lot of camera shops sometimes LOADED with vintage leicas, but not much english, and seriously buy at your own risk, some of the products need hardcore CLA's