I going to New York for my work on march 4.I don't have a lot of time but i woud like to go to a leica shop to see lens and accessories or anything interesting for leica m6.Where shoud i go? I will be in a hotelon 48 street and 5th avenue.Something not to far.At what time it's open and what time it close?Thank's in avance Pierre

-- pierre cantin (cantinp@videotron.ca), February 19, 2002

Answers

Je prend la permission de te répondre en francais. Il y a la LEICA GALLERY, sur Broadway sud (sortie station 8th rue, si je me rapelle bien). Il y a beaucoup de livres dédiés au Leica. Une exposition d'un photographe important. Je pense que c'est fermé le lundi. Sur le meme étage il y a le commerce Stan Tamarkin spécialisé en Leica et Hasselblad. Un autre commerce spécialisé s'appelle Ken Hensen, mais c'est dans le nord de la ville. Tout ca est a vérifier. Bon voyage. J- P.Auger, Montréal.

-- Jean-Pierre Auger. (paphoto@videotron.ca), February 19, 2002.

Nothing in NYC is farther than a cab ride away from where you'll be staying, but nothing is closer either. B&H is a must-see, they're on 9th Ave around 34th St. Tamarkin (if they haven't moved yet)is on Broadway in Soho, as is The Photo Village. There are so many good camera stores in NY your head can explode. Stay away from the places that also sell electronics and luggage, they're just rip-offs.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), February 19, 2002.

Alors, je ne suis pas chauviniste vis a vis l'anglais, mais je pense que si on ecrivait en francais, ou n'importe quel autre langue d'etranger, nous arriverons bientot au Tour de Babel, n'est-ce pas?

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), February 19, 2002.

Just wanted to add, that if you do go to Tamarkin, which is next to the Leica Gallery. Visit the Leica Gallery. Usually a very good Leica show is on display.

-- Glenn Travis (leicaddict@hotmail.com), February 19, 2002.

Jay, I quite enjoyed Jean-Pierre's lapsing into French. Let's don't discourage him, d'accord?

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), February 19, 2002.

Oh, and a recent post said that Tamarkin is, or already has, moved to 5th Avenue. If he's already moved, you might not want to go from your hotel to Broadway, only to find him on 5th Avenue where you started.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), February 19, 2002.

Rich is a great guy and has good prices. Check out his website at:

http://www.photovillage.com/

-- John Collier (jbcollier@powersurfr.com), February 20, 2002.

Je recommande également The Photo Village, Inc..

Rich Pinto est de confiance.

-- Lucien (Lucien_vd@yahoo.fr), February 20, 2002.

Since you'll be at Fifth and 48th, the nearest -- and best -- Leica shop is Ken Hansen Photographic. He's at Madison Avenue and East 53rd Street. I've bought all my Leica gear there. He and his staff are attentive, their prices competitive and then some.

Ken Hansen Photographic, Inc 509 Madison Ave. 18th Floor New York New York, 10022 Telephone: 212.317.0923

Good luck.

-- Gulley Jimson (gulleyjimson@hotmail.com), February 20, 2002.

I also concur that Rich Pinto is well worth dealing with at PhotoVillage. Highly honorable, good prices, savvy advice.

-- Patrick (pg@patrickgarner.com), February 20, 2002.

It seems to be international day. I wish I spoke French, too.

-- Richard (rvle@yahoo.com), February 20, 2002.

Skip the boutiques (unless you have a lot of time) and go straight to the source, B&H. They're awesome to deal with online, so I figure probably even better in person. I've read from someone who's been there that it's highly organized.

-- James (snodoggydogg@hotmail.com), February 20, 2002.

www.bhphotovideo.com for directions, etc. You can see what they have in stock before going there.

-- James (snodoggydogg@hotmail.com), February 20, 2002.

As Bob pointed out, Tamarkin is moving- but not to 5th Ave. The new store will be at 215 Park Ave. South, at 18th street. They'll be on the 19th floor. I was in the shop last week (at it's current, old location) and was told they'd be at the new place as of March 1st, with the grand opening celebration n Monday March 4th (how lucky for Pierre!).

The interesting thing is that I was told Eli Kurland will be moving his shop into the ole Tamarkin location, so folks who want to go to the Leica Gallery and then go down the hall to check out the latest toys will find another great shop, but not Tamarkin!

for more info on Tamarkin, check their website www.tamarkin.com - sorry, I'm HTML stupid.

Bon chance!

-- drew (swordfisher@hotmail.com), February 20, 2002.

Yes, Tamarkin is interesting as is Photo Village, B+H less so in my opinion. By 3/4 Tamarkin will have moved to a new location. New York has a large photo district and I'd say that one of the more extensive selections of used leica gear is at Adorama on 18th between 5th and 6th avenue. Remember many of the photo district camera stores are owned by Hasidic Jews and close for the sabbath, so no shopping friday afternoons and saturdays. Puts kinda a crimp in the weekend. Leica Gallery always has wonderful photographs on the walls, but try to check the Internat'l Center for Photography (6th Ave at 43rd) or the Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibition at the Howard Greenberg Gallery 120 Wooster Street (until 3/9).

-- Andrew Meissner (meissner@predawnraid.com), February 20, 2002.

Tamarkin est bon et B&H est immense. Le meilleur etablissement est Ken Hansen a 509 Madison Avenue a la 52eme rue. Ken et ses collegues sont tous des photographes accomplies et la selection d'appareils photographiques est enorme. En bref, ils sont les meilleurs a New York.

-- Albert Knapp MD (albertknappmd@mac.com), February 20, 2002.

Thank's you everybody I know where to go now .It funning that i arrived the day tamarking open like Drew say.It to bad i can't ask a good place to eat !

-- pierre cantin (cantinp@videotron.ca), February 22, 2002.

James wrote: www.bhphotovideo.com for directions, etc. You can see what they have in stock before going there.

Please beware. They advertised a used 90mm Elmarit-M (#11808) for $550, I called to confirm. When I came to pick it up, the salesman pulled out a rather old and grungy Elmarit. I noted that the number and photo on the site did not match the lens he was holding, and his response, rather than the civil apology I was expecting, was to patronize me, demanding why I would ever imagine someone would sell a modern lens for $550. I came back with their site's printout and took them to task, but am not likely to return.

-- Armen Yampolsky (dylak@hotmail.com), February 23, 2002.