Lens and Repro has closed!!!!

[TheFlyingCamera]

Shock! Horror!!! One of the absolutely coolest camera stores in the world is now kaput. This from their own website - they are now merged with Calumet's New York store.

http://www.lensandrepro.com

 

[Double Negative]

Well that's a bummer. I just bought an ND filter from them not long ago.

 

[erikg]

Wow. I wondered what was going on with their website. They were the unofficial home for Graflex SLRs in my mind. Can't imagine Calumet will carry on with all of what they did.

 

[AgX]

I never ever heard of them. But what I can deduce from their background image, it could have been a shop intriguing me.
Their prop department shows cameras where they don't belong, but some nice cameras among them.

I got no idea how such store could merge with a Calument store. (At least not those I know. One Calumet store ceased offering films years ago...)

 

[jordanstarr]

Damn...if a used camera store can't exist in NYC, I don't know where it would. Hopefully not a trend of things to come or that it wasn't due to finances or lack of interest in film photography.

 

[frotog]

Not so surprised. They weren't so cool in the last twenty-some years.

 

[removed account4]

bummer ...


AgX
they had a sophisticated clientele
and were the only place i have ever found
that was able to sell a $300 camera or lens for 3 or 4x that ...

 

[Roger Cole]

bummer ...


AgX
they had a sophisticated clientele
and were the only place i have ever found
that was able to sell a $300 camera or lens for 3 or 4x that ...

Which might explain why they are not in business anymore.

 

[DREW WILEY]

If they didn't charge those kinds of prices they would have gone out of business way sooner.
Running a brick-and-mortar store isn't like selling on EBay. You've got overhead. And it was obviously a business model which worked for a long time. And that lens price you complain about
might have been a reasonable deal in its day. At least they knew what they were talking about,
which wasn't always the case if you gambled with a classified ad in Shutterbug.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I'll miss the place. It was pricy but great for obscure and hard to find parts, and was an excellent source for rentals. I bought things there like 5x7" Graflex-type filmholders and one of my 5x7" Press Graflex bag mags, which have an unusual fitting (they weren't even sure what it was for until I brought my camera in). I also got some masks for my 70's era Linhof zoom finder.

 

[artonpaper]

I bought used equipment from them. A Speed-a-tron kit and my big ole Gitzo for my 8 x 10s, and I would rent equipment from them, like PC lenses and those wide angle Hassies. I always loved their collection of prints on the wall, that terrific portrait of James Joyce Bernice Abbot is most memorable. I was on West 17th there last Friday wondering how they were doing. I guess this is the answer.

 

[Peter Schrager]

that store was was the greatest candystore for large format at one time...when Stu Kay;god bless him ran the place. he helped me with my first 5x7 camera by selling me a mint 10" ross lens; putting it on a lensboard; and then proceeding to give me a carrying case for the above. Told me I could always sit on it and he was right!! So blessings to you Stu Kay for getting me started in large format...I will never forget your kind act to a young and broke photographer!!
Best, Peter