Tons of film cameras in Billings, MT shop

Was driving through Billings, Montana a short time back and saw a sign painted on the side of a building: CAMERAS.

I stopped and looked through the window and saw film photo gear stacked all over the place. I waited until the guy got back from lunch and went in to take a look.

Miranda. Topcon. Leica. Canon. Nikon. Alpa, and on and on and on. Enlargers from Leitz to Beseler to fold down portables. Photo junk and gear from minox to 8x10 cameras. All for sale and all film cameras.

The guy is named Kyle Gipson and the shop is called CAMERAS. His phone is 406.259.1776 or 1.800.664.1776

Visiting was worth the wait for him to get back from lunch. Picked up a few old Zone VI catalogs and some developing gear. The place is stacked floor to ceiling with film cameras and accessories and is a fun visit and looks to be a good place to find some older film cameras and stuff.

Sounds like a little shop I stumbled into in Owen Sound, Ontario in July. From what I could see, there was very little for sale. A few tripods, some framing and the usual digital gear seemed to be the main retail traffic. The girl at the counter found me some 120 TMAX in the back room. The rest of the shop was a veritable museum of photo gear. I was amazed at the stuff that lined the walls. It's like every retired film camera in the north went there to rest. They didn't seem interested in selling anything, though and I didn't have time to wait for the owner, so I left the shop as I found it.

I bet there are shops like this all over the place. (well, actually in towns that are just a bit too long of a drive for a casual visit.)

Cheers,

Looks Like I might have to make a run up to Owen Sound one weekend.

Bill

Like-dislike those shops

There are frustrating shops all over the world...photo joints with wall-to-wall cameras, which may or may not be for sale. I'd prefer they not torment me. Hit camera on Avenue Road, Toronto, has a ledge all around the interior stacked with cameras which aren't for sale (Or sometimes are, according to a staff member). There is also a nice camera shop in Georgetown north of Toronto (They had negative carriers for 6x9 cm and all kinds of weird stuff) full of old cameras on display.

These 2 shops have, admittedly, nice vintage equipment for sale in designated cabinets, so I can't complain too much.

But none of this comes close to any single camera show, the likes of which we get about 6 times/year in Toronto.

The best of all were photo jumble sales held in the front yard of a retired repairman in Johannesburg. He'd put out thousands of items on the last Sunday of the month (probably still does) and could occasionally be convinced to wander into his house and bring out a Welta Perfekta, Leica, Ihagee Klapp, or special Rolleiflex. He allowed me into the inner sanctum a couple of times, and what I witnessed was...well, that's a story to go into a book.