Great range of product. Miserable staff (but actually quite…read morecharming). Hardcore sales tactics "You are wrong, we are right. Seriously, forget what your professional photographer friend said about Canon, it's the Practika you need". Let you get hands-on with stuff, so you can see it working - which is a huge bonus. But, after all that, then you have the pricing. Good web sites beat John Lewis by around 30%. John Lewis beats most high street stores by around 10% - and often give a better warranty. Other high street stores are probably 10-20% cheaper than Spectrum. When you add it all up, the real cost of buying here is phenominal.

Had a passport photo taken here. It was only after the photo was taken I was told it was the…read more'£12.99 special' which is more than double the price you would pay anywhere else in London. Nigel who took the photos was very friendly however I was not shown the photos or given an option before printing. The photos provided were unusable and rejected by the passport office as they were taken against a dark grey background. I went back in to the store the next day where I was offered a replacement however as the photo printer was broken I would need to wait 20 mins. In fairness the background was much improved but instead of receiving a set of 8 different photos (as with the first attempt) I was given 4 photos - of what I assume was the worst shot. This is not a photo I will be using in my passport. I have since given up and gone two doors down where the cost came in at £6. It also turns out this is where Nigel had gone to print out the photos charging a considerable markup. To cut a long story short - avoid at all costs. Rip off merchants.

Located virtually next door to the Savoy Hotel, is the London Camera Exchange in the Strand;…read morethis shop branch is just part of a nation-wide franchise, under the LCE Group and they have other branches up and down the UK, trading under the same name. The only thing, I like from this shop is the Think Tank camera bags. But I have strongly dislike the customer service from these people. You'd be better off shopping at Richard Caplan (Pall Mall), Classic Camera (Bloomsbury) Aperture Photographic (Fitzrovia), Calumet (Euston & Soho) and/or Fixation (Vauxhall)

Went here while on vacation, and I was very pleased. Robin gave an excellent consultation and I…read moreleft happy with a new piece of equipment. Yes, it cost more than ordering online or purchasing in the US, but I would have missed all those extra shots without my new 18-270 Tamron. :) Well worth it. Go check them out! Look at their used filters/lenses/etc because they have lots of stuff to choose from.

Great service and staff have gone out of their way to accommodate my needs on a number of…read moreoccasions. Keep up the good work guys

From the owner: We are specialists on Digital Imaging. Some of the services we offer are…read moreDigital Printing, Film processing, Passport photos, DVD transfer, Custom framing, Photo Gifts and Commercial Printing services

Aperture Photographic is what I'd call a perfect sanctuary for vintage camera lovers…read more At this branch of Aperture Photographic, they will mostly deal with Leica and Nikon cameras and lenses and a few other camera brands. However, if you are looking for anything that is Hasselblad, then I would go to the other Aperture Photographic/Camera Cafe on Museum Street, which is just off Great Russell Street. At this branch, they have a 35mm film processing service and I must say, they seem to do a really good job at it. All the retail staff here seem to know there stuff and the customer service is really good.

I really like this place. It is an offshoot of the Camera Cafe and Aperture Photographic branch on…read moreMuseum Street. The have moved all their classic Nikon ( read film Nikon F/F2/F3 ) here together with their Leica and Medium Format kit. They also now have have a photo lab with a 24 hour turn-around for C41/B&W 35mm/120 their standard print size for 35mm is 5x7&1/2 which is a very nice size print. I had a roll of BW400CN developed, printed and scanned here and was quite impressed. Their lab could be a little more sterile, but it will do. Also they will just develop and scan if you are not interested in prints. I was the first person to request high resolution scans here an they gave me a CD with 10-12MB jpeg images on it so I could compare film with output from my M9. The extra charge for slower high res scans was £3 which I thought was fine. I have to avoid the place really, the last time I went in I left behind a 35mm f/1.4 lens and walked out with a 35mm f/1.2 lens and bleeding credit card. Go here if you like classic cameras, if you don't like classic cameras, go here for the tea, coffee and cakes.

How refreshing not to have to go to a chain of shops or a supermarket, to get photographic…read moreequipment. A personal service you'll never get over the internet from people who know what they are talking about. And it seems to me they're not to pushy either.

Excellent service but a little pricey. The staff there could have had me over but they chose not…read moreto. A great bonus point to them for that

Red Dot Cameras has recently relocated from their original shop in Old Street and now they are…read morecurrently located on the Goswell Road. Red Dot Cameras usually have a decent selection of Leica cameras both brand new and second-hand and they also stock the Japanese brand, Artisan & Artist; which specialise in camera accessories designed for mostly Leica Before Red Dot Cameras moved and relocated to Goswell Road from Old Street, the London Graphics Centre (an upscale artist shop) was in fact located at 86 Goswell Road; and that was fairly recent. Well, I have to say Red Dot Cameras have a pretty good website, that keeps being updated every so often. But a visit to Red Dot Cameras is always worth my time.

This place is owned and run by a husband and wife team. They are very personable; he is friendly…read moreand nice, she is friendly and sour. They are a Leica dealership that also sells Billingham bags and a few very funky little Manfrotto tripod - table top stand thingys. They also have a broad and ever changing range of second hand equipment that includes anything you might screw in, mount on or wrap around a Leica or other rangefinder camera. They often have a fair selection of Voigtlander and Zeiss lenses as well as a vast selection of used Leica lenses. It's the only Leica dealership within walking distance of the city (Jacobs doesn't count as a body and 3 lenses do not a dealership make). Their new prices are in line with everyone elses, the bags are possibly cheaper from Fleabay, but you can come in here and try them out, their secondhand lenses are cheaper than Fleabay and warranteed for 6 months by the shop, again, you can also have a look at them here and check them out on your M8/9 or whatever. I like the place, it's just a little too close to my place of work, which makes it a dangerous place for my credit card.

Just one word ... Thanks !!!read more

Aperture always seem to have an item that I'm always on the look out for…read more For example, I was here the other week and I've purchased yet another powerful Nikon SB600 flashgun. And a couple of months ago, I needed a special set of Nikon batteries and lucky for me they had them in stock. Richard, the Bloomsbury Retail Manager, is always very honest with me, before I'm making a purchase of Nikon and other photography/camera related goods. Patrick & Richard from Aperture Photographic always demonstrate the best retail customer service at a personal and professional level. And if you are looking for retro Nikon cameras from the past, then I would definitely recommend Aperture Photographic, either in Bloomsbury or Fitzrovia. As of January 2015, this shop branch of Aperture Photograhic, no longer deals with Nikon and Leica cameras and lenses. During the Christmas Holidays 2014, both the Aperture Photographic shops were in the process of swapping round, all of their stuff from Museum Street to Rathbone Place. However, if there is anything you are looking for, the retail staff of Aperture Photographic are always willing and happy to help.

Nice shop , the attendants are pleasant. The choice is not collossal but prices are good…read more Efficient mail delivery as well.

Like a lot of people I enjoy photography as a hobby. I have a fairly battered SLR which is pretty…read morefun and recently I have been experimenting with films and equipment. As a result I was on the lookout for a good camera supplies shop. A few summers I ago I went to a Calumet store in the States to buy some lenses and I was excited to find out they have a store in London. It is a small store on Wardour Street with a range of camera equipment on display. I go to buy film which is kept in fridges at the back. It is a professionally focused store and so there is a lot of cool stuff. They have a catalogue so, if you don't see what you're looking for immediately (which is likely given the small size) it is worth checking the catalogue. The people serving are really friendly and informed, and happy to help with enquiries at any level. Calumet is a great shop if you're looking to take your photography a little further.

This is a great place for semi pro or serious amateur kit. Think film, paper, lighting equipment,…read moretry getting a super-clamp, or a gold reflector in a hurry now that Jacobs and Jessops have closed down. I'm in here quite often, the staff are good, they nearly always have something I want. This is part of a small chain and they also run courses in all manner of photographic subjects put of their Euston branch. I like it.

Absolutely scummy company. I ordered a camera and some lenses for them with next day delivery I…read moreurgently needed for an event. I even called to confirm that it would indeed be next day delivery. I got the items 4 days later! When I contacted them about this their response was basically "Tough luck". No appologies, no offer to refund the extra shipping fee. I decided to return the products as it was of no use to me as the event I needed them for had already passed. When they received the products they started inventing reasons as to why they cannot accept it. They absolutely LIED about the camera having been used more that it actually had been (or they sold me a previously used camera, who knows). Only when I threatened to issue a chargeback did they offer me a refund. And I still had to remind them to refund me the shipping fee.

The people at CameraWorld have decided that not going through the trouble of dealing with returns…read moreand refunds is worth the potential loss of future business. Even though they state on their website that they offer a 14 day return period, they simply ignore return requests. It would be one thing if they responded and perhaps gave you a reason as to why they won't accept a specific return, but instead they simply ignore your emails. And when I called, they guy I spoke to asked me a couple of random questions while literally pretending to type something on a keyboard. Rather embarrassing.