Japanese photo shops

[photomann]

[font color=\'#000000\']Yodobashi Camera in the Shinjuku part of Tokyo is the best!  There are other camera stores in the area as well.  The following link http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~ito-nori/spot/camera.html shows a map where the store is relative to Shinjuku station.  Yodobashi actually has seven stores in the immediate area... each with their own specialty.  One store has everything digital and computer related.  Another is mostly traditional camera stuff... it's 6 floors of camera stuff.  The selection is outstanding but the prices are sometimes better in the US.  They could be better than the UK.  

Be sure to get a point card as you can accumulate 5-15% of the value of your purchases on the card.   You can use the points (1 yen per point) toward future purchases.  I think you have to wait till the next day when you first get the card.  After that you can use the points/credit just minutes later.  I usually make my larger purchases first then use the credit toward everything else.

Sayonara,
Doug...[/font]

[Fabrice C.]

[font color=\'#000000\']Hello.

Yodobashi Camera that has been mentioned is a possible choice indeed. There are also Bic Camera and Sakuraya which are just about the same size and prices.
I don't know about Yodobashi card but Bic Card is quite easy to use even the very first day you subscribe to it. My advice is buy something cheap (100ens for some lens cleaning paper) and ask a card to be made. Then buy your most expensive item and ask the points to be added to your card. Then buy the next item separately and pay as much of it as possible with your points etc...
As for the tax, if you intend to stay less than 6 months, most of these big stores will accept to sell dutyfree : they will staple a document in your passport and you will have to show the item at the Japanese customs when leaving the country (to prove that you did not buy it to resell it to some Japanese person and pocket the price difference). I have never done so, so I cannot tell if they really ask for the item.
Anyway, the consumer tax is not that expensive (about 5 percent... compared to 12 percent in France..)

Regarding the location you will find these stores nearby every big station. Shinjuku was mentioned, but there is Also Ikebukuro for instance. Also, if English is an absolute requirement for you, you maybe had better go to Akihabara the so-called electronic town. You won't find something (much) cheaper than anywhere else but there are so many foreigners visiting that most shop clerks should speak English... There are also numerous second-hand shop. One remark, it is maybe a place more adapted to computer stuffs buying but digital cameras and videocameras are sold at the same place.

Finally, I am sorry but this time I cannot agree with Michael... prices Camera equipment in Japan are very interesting... provided that you do not go to the big stores that have just been mentioned.. (Granted, Singapore or Hongkong is even cheaper...).Why did I mention this stores then ? because you expressively asked for English speaking stores and the cheaper ones are not...  
As for the prices, I bought all my equipment in Japan and it was way cheaper than what I would have had to pay for in France or, if I judge from the prices on the internet, in the USA.  I bought my D100 last year for 176000ens which translates in 1300 Euros or 1540US$ (874GBP....) I saw the price in France when I returned home for Christmas and gulped...
If you want to find some cheap equipment, there is a site : www.kakaku.com that will list the prices for a given item from the cheapest to the most expansive store in Japan.. However, as I said earlier, this site is in Japanese and the cheapest stores are usually internet stores and the order can only be done in Japanese.. (the good part is that you do not need a credit card to pay for you goods, you just pay on delivery).

Well, I hope it is of some help...

Enjoy your stay in Japan.

fabrice.

PS: you wrote :
 

I'd appreciate information on good (English-speaking) shops

   [/font]

[Fabrice C.]

[font color=\'#000000\']Thank you for the Tip... I'll go check their webpage... The second hand gear shop I usually go to is not bad, but it is a little bit pricey so I guess I'll have a go at Fujiya...[/font]

[Fabrice C.]

[font color=\'#000000\']The warranty is indeed limited to Japan but this is not really surprising... If  I went to the USA and bought something, I wouldn't expect the warranty to work when I go back home..
If you have a problem with something you bought abroad your only resort is usually to send it to a friend of yours that lives in this country (except if you bought it on the internet and they accepted to deliver it to your country..)

As for the prices, as I said before, you do not save a lot  indeed if you buy in shops like Yodobashi Camera or Bic Camera; that's for sure.... Things change considerably if you go to carefully selected shops...[/font]

[alexramsay]

[font color=\'#000000\']I have to spend a couple of weeks in Japan next month - does anyone know anything about buying digital camera equipment there? I'd appreciate information on good (English-speaking) shops, prices, the tax position (I live in the UK) etc. Thanks.[/font]

[font color=\'#000000\']Further to Doug's comments, you won't find very good pricing in Japan. Typically there is little discounting.

Michael[/font]

[BernardLanguillier]

[font color=\'#000000\']If you are looking for second hand gear, I can confidently advice you Fujiya camera, located 200 m away from the North exit of  Nakano station (a few stops away from Shinjuku on JR chuo line). Station staff should be able to explain to you how to get there since it is a famous shop.

They web site (in Japanese only unfortunately) can be found at www.fujiya-camera.co.jp.

I have purchased a lot of gear from them second hand for me and friends back home (Nikon and Hassy) and was always very happy with the availability, price, condition and level of knowledge of the people. I dealt with them in Japanese, but saw them dealing with other foreigners in English without problem.

Best regards,
Bernard[/font]

[Graham Welland]

[font color=\'#000000\']Yodobashi is a fantastic place to find the latest and greatest gear. One thing that hasn't been mentioned here though is the subject of warranty and repair/return. While you are in Japan things are fine but once you return to the UK you will find that your warranty isn't worth the paper/card it's written on. I got burnt on a Sigma lens that I sourced for a friend. In summary, the sigma had an electronics fault that was only found a month or so after returning to the UK. We ended up having to eat the cost of the lens as none was interested in providing any type of warrnty service.

The main advantage I found with the Tokyo stores was the fact that there was availability of accessories for the camera systems. (In my case Panasonic vs Leica accessories). Ditto for Fuji branded stuff for my XPan (Fuji TX-1).

Price-wise I don't think you are saving anything other than tax.[/font]