I stumbled onto this shop while browsing in the Wanchai Computer Shops. Had been looking for a Sony…read moreE lens the last 2 days and have been quoted some ridiculous prices. There was a good range of Sony Cameras and accessories as well as other products. Darren the sales person was able to show me a Sony E lens for 10% less than the lowest quote I have been offered so far. Carmen the resident photographic expert gave me lots of helpful hints. It was easy to see that Carmen was passionate about photography. They all spoke good English. I was most happy to purchase the lens from these guys. It tested well on my camera and did what it was supposed to. Obviously I was a little apprehensive about the warranty etc. But for the price, I took a punt. I have since been able to register the lens with the Australian Sony website and the serial number posed not problems, for what it is worth. Overall it was a very pleasant experience without having to haggle. Alan's contribution was a nod to agree on the price and an advice to me NOT buy the Nikon Lens to Sony E mount adapter yet as there was problems. I wish these guys well and hope they continue to look after their customers.

On the last count, I think there were 60 billion photo processing shops in HK. It seems you can't…read morewalk any where in this fine city with tripping over yet another photo store. However, let me highlight one of my favourites, the Agfa Digital Express. Located in the dingy little "art" tunnel between the end of the esco and IFC mall, it is funny little pile em high, sell em cheap sort of store, that does digital photo printing, passport photos and other photo related services. The lovely lady owner/manager is super efficient and speaks enough English to get by. She has the printing machines in the store, so when you need it within an hour, it actually is within an hour. Photo printing aside, I always come here for my passport photos (to be fair most places are much of a muchness), but also my laminating. It is the cheapest place I have found to do laminating at only a couple of HKD per sheet, which is surprising as it is a store in Central. The lovely lady also will laminate to your spec, say you wanted to laminate a postcard in the middle of an A4 sheet (don't ask, it's for my diving), she'll do it no questions, other places mutter about plastic and heat and softness - grrrr! Last note, she also sells a variety of photo related gifts and bits, just in case you really wanted a coffee cup shaped like a zoom lens.

I never knew that I could opt for a more attractive passport photo. Came here for my Chinese visa…read morephoto after my friend told me that they touched up her photo for her here. It was $60 for 5 prints, which seemed like a fine price to me. I was wearing a white tank top. She advised that I wear a scarf to cover my shoulders and that it would look better for the backdrop. I thought it was good advice. She didn't retouch my photo much, but I must say it is the best-looking one I have taken yet. The entire process took five minutes. She spoke English fairly well, so she won the argument on which photo of the three shots she took that we should use ;)

Sells a whole range of New and Used cameras, nainly of well known and popular brands. I was helped…read moreby an assistant who appeared to be knowledgeable. The price quoted was not cheap. I guess neither would be the rent. One camera guru appear to recommend them. You have to do your homework and judge for yourself-.

Elegant store in the iSquare building on Nathan street, Tsim Sha Tsui - not the cheap seats. I…read moreneeded a UV filter 62 mm - they had the one in stock that I was looking for. However, their initial charge was 500 HKD ($63.70 USD). Salesman reduced it to 450 HKD ($57.30 USD) when I paid cash. Same filter is $32.50 from B&H and from Adorama. I pointed this out. Salesman had no comment. Guess they have to charge a significant markup to help with the rent. I won't deal with them again.

Wing Shing Photo Supplies is probably the best photography store in Hong Kong. It is neither one of…read morethe giant chain stores, selling stock-standard consumer units, nor is it one of these local photography stores, tucked in the back of a computer centre somewhere. What you get with Wing Shing, is a very well stocked shop, staff that are more knowledgeable than in the Fortress or Broadway, but all of it with a slightly better safety-net then the local mom and pop stores in Sham Shui Po. Don't get me wrong, shopping here is still quite difficult, especially if you're not a Chinese speaker. The staff, whilst knowledgeable, can be pretty grotty and aggressive, but just let this pass over you, do your browsing, and buy if you want or need to. The shop stocks brand new camera ranges; Canon, Nikon, Go Pro, etc., lenses, bags, tripod, filters, as well as some of the more obscure photography accessories; dollies, pro-sumer DV cameras, microphones, waterproof cases. There is also an excellent lens departments, with both new and used lenses. The staff here are particularly knowledgeable and geeky, and will be up to run you through the difference in products whether they be the known brands or Chinese copies. If you know exactly what you want to buy, and perhaps are after some of the less quality critical products, like bags or clear glass filters, you may be better off going to the mom and pop stores in Sham Shui Po, which will be significantly cheaper. However, if you want to have a browse and play with all the camera kits, and get a bit of decent advice, then Wing Shing would be a good first port of call.

I will not do business with people who will tell you in the face - MONEY FIRST!!!…read more Gladly paid a higher price to the sales man that showed me what I needed and other options at DC Fever at Sim City Mong Kok.

Let me start off by saying, I really wanted to love this place…read more I just traveled through Europe and Asia shooting 120mm film and Hong Kong was my last stop. Paranoid about my film going through the x-ray machines I decided to get everything developed here. My first encounter was with this woman at the counter. You can tell she is tired, angry and cannot wait until 8:30pm when they close. I put my film on the counter and say I want to get them developed and scanned. She very quickly scoops my film in a bag, and says ok come back in a few hours. Great! or so I thought... I go back a few minutes later because I realized she didn't ask me for any specificity on my order. I ask her a few questions and she immediately scolds me for not telling her what I wanted. She makes me pay for my order which is fine but she also patronizes me and yells at me in the process. I decide to come back the next morning at 11:30AM which is what their facebook page, this yelp page and other places say they open. I waited outside their door for 45 minutes and no one came. How do you operate a business like this? There is no sense of professionalism or respect for their customers. I go back and get my film, she rushes me out the door. I drop off another roll this time and ask for the same specifications. When I went to pick up my film I left my receipt at home. She promptly says "There's a $8 HKD processing fee if you don't bring your receipt". I did not want to go back again so I just paid for 8 dollars. Normally if something like that happens you'll expect them to ask you a few questions or search for your order. NOPE. She doesn't even put down my 8 dollars yet and she hands me my film and rushes me out the door. I mean, seriously - how disrespectful is this place??? Not only did I feel like she ripped me off, everything on my order was wrong. DO NOT COME HERE WHATSOEVER.

I remember first visiting Dot-Well three years ago. It was when I bought my first 35mm roll of…read morefine-grained Kodak Ektar 100. I didn't think much of it but now I always come back here to regularly buy film because they sell a varied (and some discontinued) stock and are, in most cases aside from specialty film, affordable. For those just starting in film photography, I recommend skipping slide (color reversal) film and buy negative film to start with. A good emulsion is ISO 400, Kodak and Fuji films work very well. There are a lot of film cameras all around the store ranging from simple point-and-shoots shoots to medium format cameras. Back when I was interested in buying a 35mm camera, I would've bought it here but got swayed by the cheaper prices in Sham Shui Po. About 90 percent of people who enter the shop are regulars, and 9 out of 10 of that crowd come for the film processing. They use fantastic Kodak photographic paper and can process 35mm and 120mm film rolls (C41 process) for just 20 a piece. Truly affordable. Black and white films ironically costs 15 dollars more, even though it's much easier to develop. If you'd rather develop your own B/W film, they sell Adox and Kodak developers for a much cheaper price than elsewhere. Negatives/slides to CD are also a popular service, with the most expensive service (120mm slide to CD) coming at 60 dollars. Everything else is cheaper than that. Regular 35mm negatives to CD costs 30 dollars and is what most enthusiasts go for. Tip: Get your film processed before 7pm as it can get really busy (lines extend outside the shop). Be prepared to wait and chat up a fellow photographer.

For ages, if you wanted to buy GoPro cameras in HK, you had to go to the now defunct bike shop in…read moreHappy Valley. Nowadays, you can get them pretty much everywhere. However, I would like to recommend the Digital Foto "GoPro" store in the Wan Chai Computer Centre. Based on the first floor, u-turn left and left form the esco up, take a right, and it is one "block" down, on the corner to your right, A lot of stores sell the cameras, and a couple of consumer accessories (like poles and spare cases). However, this shop sells everything, or near enough! There are a lot more "pro" accessories on offer, like filters, base plates, mic mounts, both official GoPro merchandise, and other third party accessories. Shopping there can be a bit of a hassle, in that typical HK way, where there are about eight guys sitting around the shop, and they collar you the second you walk in, hovering behind you and giving you a running commentary on everything you look at. What I'm trying to say, is that it's not so easy to browse, look and touch for yourself. However, to be fair, the staff are pretty knowledgeable and do know their product range well. When you do decide to buy, ask for a discount. The price listed is rarely the final price. If necessary, go for a wander, and come back. You will probably not find cheaper elsewhere in the Computer Centre, but always worth a poke about. I typically get 10-15% off, which does make it cheaper than anywhere else in HK. Interestingly, the other thing this store does a lot of, is Instax film cartridges. It always a bit of a slog getting these bad boys (especially without Hello Kitty branding), but they seem to stock a lot. Again it is the cheapest I have found in HK.

I told my helper to buy a new charging cable for my car tv stereo. She was not sure about the size…read morebut the sales guy promised that she could return it, if it didn't fit. Firstly, he charged her $250 for a cable that cost approximately $15-20 on Alibaba and secondly he didn't want to return it when we realized that it didn't fit. I questioned why he overcharged my helper since she is not knowledgeable on the price level on these type of products. He was not counter-argue and told me to leave his store. Not sure why he treats his customers like this since it's extremely bad service. Not recommended to use this store. Attached a picture of him laughing when cheating his customers.

If you are a photographer, you will have a brand. Most often you will be Cannon or Nikon (and never…read morethe twain shall meet it seems). If you are a photographer in Hong Kong, you will most likely be buying kit, as it is cheap (tax free) and plentiful. However, you may find it hard to test gear out in the photo stores, as the shop owners hate having to unwrapped the shrink-wrapped lens in the window so you can have a play. And we photographers like to have a play! Now, if you are a Cannon boy like me, you should trot your way over to the Cannon showroom on the 20th floor of iSquare in TST. This place is the place for all things Cannon. They have all of their cameras and lenses out for you to test and play with. The staff there are really knowledgeable and understand f-stops, frame rates, 4:2:2, you get the idea. They also have other Cannon products there, so not just cameras. The reason I highlight this showroom, is that it is a good place to test the gear you want to buy, which I find such a rarity in HK. You can also buy in the showroom, which means you will be getting genuine goods at the rack rate, however, you can also make a list of what you want and then head into Mong Kok to see if you can get a deal. Third party dealers may not be cheaper, but they can often throw in bits and pieces, say cases, straps, cheap lens filters. If you are tech geek and just want to play, they have some mental "paparazzi" lenses overlooking Hong Kong, so you will at least get a great view out of their 20th floor window.