Before the days of Power Mac Centers, there was Digital Walker. For the longest time, they were one…read moreof the few stores that were authorized retailers of Apple products. I got my first iPod from them. I continue to frequent their store for other Apple-related products and accessories. Of course, over the years they've expanded their product lines and are now among the top retailers for premium gadgets including smartphones, tablets and cameras. If you're looking for a gift for your technophile husband or you simply need a good gadget for yourself, make sure you check out this store first. I highly recommend their line of headsets/earphones. They have big brands like Marshall, Urbanears, JBL and Sennheiser. For those into photography, Digital Walker carries Canon and Nikon cameras. All set on your gadgets? Then protective gear might be a good purchase for you. They carry brands like Speck, Belkin and Crumpler, too.

Fujifilm is considered as one of the leading photography and imaging company in the world. Whenever…read moreI have to develop images or I need photos to be digitally reconstructed, this is the first place that I go to. Fujifilm has all types of advanced digital and photofinishing equipment to make sure that they provide the best service to their loyal customers. I don't really print photos anymore. All of my memorable photos are stored inside my laptop. I usually go to Fujifilm for digital reconstruction. I have pictures of me and my family taken when I was a still a child and unfortunately, most of them are no longer in good shape. A lot of these pictures have been torn to pieces and there's no easy way to fix it unless you're an expert in using Photoshop. Good thing Fujifilm is here to fix all of these photos. When they were finally done digitally reconstructing the images, all of the photos looked good as new. It only took them an hour to completely finish everything.

All things analog have been getting a resurrection lately. The dust is blown off old vinyl records,…read morean old record player is given new life, and even the shutter of an old analog camera goes off again. More and more of my friends have been taking their old analog cameras for a spin again. Since they know that I have penchant for film photography, inquiries regarding film-processing centers is something I've been asked repeatedly. So for you old school shutterbugs out there who want their rolls of film developed, my suggestion is to visit the Fujifilm branch located in the basement of SM Megamall A. The shop does C-41 Processing (for color negative films) but they also accept cross-processing jobs for slide films. Having a roll processed will cost you less than Php 200. I usually don't have my photos printed. Instead, I have the photos scanned and saved into a CD. I just personally prefer to have a digital record of all my photos rather than having them printed out and gathering dust in my room. The whole service takes an hour, ample time for you to check out the rest of the mall.

After Mayer Photo, my next favorite store in Hidalgo Street is Henry's. I like them not because the…read moreprices are competitive, or that they offer stuff that no one else has. There's only one reason, really: their store has an air conditioner. Yes, I'm that shallow. Sue me. The Quiapo heat is just too unbearable! Kidding aside, I feel that the main strength of Henry's (aside from the air-con part) is that they are more hobbyist and consumer oriented. They have a more relaxed vibe as compared to the other shops in Hidalgo that are more for professionals and hardcore hobbyists. With Henry's, they have pastel colored Instax cameras and equally colorful instant film as well as a myriad of GoPro accessories. This is not to sell them sort, however. Henry's sells top of the line cameras, too. If you're visiting Henry's, just remember that it isn't on Hidalgo itself. After you reach the corner of the street, turn left. It's the second shop there. You won't miss it!

Before you swipe that credit card at one of those camera equipment stores at the malls, do check…read moreout Hidalgo Street in Quiapo first, as I'm sure you'll find a better deal here. This street is actually known for photography equipment, even for professional photographers. Henry's Camera is one of the nicest camera stores here--and the air-conditioning, glass windows and all do help make this place look more reliable and trustworthy. And, they actually really are. I bought my Nikon DSLR here, my friend has purchased her Canon DSLR here, while my sister has purchased her Fujifilm mirrorless camera (one of those X series ones) here as well. It's a legit place to get good deals (if you're paying with cash) for good cameras and other high-end photography equipment. Their staff are also very helpful and accommodating, and they won't mind answering your bizillion queries about their products. TIP: If you're purchasing a camera using cash and don't feel like carrying around a wad of bills to Quiapo (highly unrecommended), across Henry's is an SM Outlet Store that has a BDO ATM inside the mall. It's just a few steps away.

Hidalgo Street in Quiapo is a photographer's paradise. Whenever I go here, even if I have no plans…read moreon buying anything, I end up with my wallet lighter. You might call it unsafe and frenzied, but it's all part of Hidalgo's appeal. One of the most famous characters in Hidalgo and probably the whole of the Manila photography community is Mang Ramon of Mayer Photo. Camps are firmly divided into two: those who love him and those who wished he fell off a cliff. A rudimentary search on Google would net a dozens of horror stories that customers had with Mang Ramon. You're probably wondering why he hasn't run out of business yet. The reason is that 9 times out of 10, Mayer has the cheapest and most competitive prices in the whole of Hidalgo. I find that the sure fire way to incur his famous wrath is to be obviously canvassing for the best prices. So the best tip I can give you is to canvas everyone first then get your money ready. Go to Mang Ramon and ask for the price. If (and It will be) cheaper than the others, buy it ASAP and you'll be on his good side for life.

This was the store where I bought my underwater camera, also because after going around Hidalgo…read moreStreet, I found that they were the only ones who are carrying or at least ordering from overseas the brand and model I want to get. They seem to know this, too, as when I said that I will look around, the owner said that they are the only ones offering that model in Hidalgo. I made a reservation for the camera, and made a down payment, which is required for their reservation. The owner said that I would be getting it one or two months later. I said I would pick it up two months later, on February, as January was a busy month for me, and February would be just in time for a summer trip. While it is a plus point that they are offering an otherwise hard-to-find model, there was some lack of communication and miscommunication from their end as the staff did not inform me as promised when the camera arrived. When I started calling for it on February, they said it was still not available. The owner later confessed that they already sold the unit reserved for me and just proceeded to do a rush order of a new one for me, which at least arrived in time for my trip. While my experience was not perfect, I do appreciate the pricing as I saved about P4,000, since their price is lower than those I canvassed in malls.

Camera Cart Studio is located in the famous Maginhawa Street in Quezon City. They offer photography…read moreworkshops, photography merchandise, studio rentals and photography equipment rentals. We reserved the studio for a photo shoot and we were all surprised to see how cool Maginhawa Street was. It was my first time there and I must admit that I found the place really cool. We rented the place for four (4) hours with a rate of 600 php per hour. We didn't find this rate too high because it includes the ff. along with the studio space: 3x 400W - Rimelight Fame E-4 1x Octabox (150 cm) 1x Large Softbox (36" x 48") 1x Small Softbox (10" x 20") 1x Strip Light Softbox 2x Sets 2-in-1 48" Umbrella (Reflective and Shoot Through) 1x Beauty Dish 1x Barn Door 1x Snoot 1x Honeycomb Grid 20 degrees 1x Honeycomb Grid 30 degrees 1x Barndoor with Color Gels 1x Wall - White 1x Background Canvass - Dark Gray 1x Background Canvass - Sky Blue 1x Background Canvass - Black 1x Background Canvass - Green 1x Background Canvass - Pink 3x Large Light stands 2x Medium Light stands 2x Bowl Reflector 1x Snoot 1x 5-in-1 Reflector 1x Benro Tripod with ballhead 1x Radio Trigger 1x Red Colored Gel 1x Blue Colored Gel 1x Yellow Colored Gel 1x Ladder The size of the whole studio is 20ft x 20ft. Wifi was free and it was really fast. The place also has a toilet room, dressing room, and free drinking water. It is also fully air-conditioned. The studio was just the right size for everyone to move around. The wide space was really good and both the model and photographer were comfortable with the set. We didn't have problems with anything and the whole shoot went by smoothly. I recommend Camera Cart to anyone looking for a good place to have a photo shoot. It's the perfect place!

I was driving by the Scout area the other day and while waiting for a car to clear the road I saw…read moreShutter Master Pro so I decided to check it out. It's every photographer's dream! I'm not a professional photographer but I super enjoy it as a hobby. I love how photos can stand the test of time and how so much memories come from a single still! Shutter Master Pro has all sorts of equipment for any photographer, from amateurs to professionals. They have lenses, straps, programs, tools (and many things I didn't even knew existed!). It's also good to know that they hold classes there for all levels of photographers and different aspects of photography. I love how it's super well designed too, with brick walls and wooden crates! I ended up getting a monopod for my new toy, a go pro! I was super happy to find out that the prices weren't so bad either. I ended up coming back twice in the same week, good to know this place exists!

Shutter Master Pro is the glammed up name of Aperture Trading, the go to place of photographers and…read morehobbyists alike for camera lighting equipment and other accessories for more than a decade running. Their old store in Banawe was as basic as they came. There was no design or aesthetics involved. It was just a place to do business. They've since moved to a bigger and way better place in Morato. Shutter Master Pro looks like a completely new store. It's as if they joined one of the extreme makeover reality shows. The whole vibe of the place is awesome. The place is liberally sprinkled with wooden accents, from shelving to upcycled crates that act as tables. There's even a brick wall that can act as a photographic backdrop. Even if you aren't buying anything, just roaming around inside is enthralling. They attached a café of sorts to the store so you can have a cup of Joe while waiting for them to ring up your equipment order. This is the place they hold their photography seminars as well.

Have you ever tried getting an ID photo from a makeshift street corner studio? Well, I had. And the…read moreexperience can only be described as hilarious. These establishments sure use digital cameras. But before they print your photo, they apply questionable amounts of retouching techniques via Photoshop. Why? I have no idea really. Maybe Mr. Kodaker, as photographers are fondly called, is of the opinion that everyone wants to look 'chinito' or K-Pop-ish and white. One time I was surprised that my hair was obviously dark brown and straight in the photo when in reality my hair is undoubtedly curly and black. There was also an instance when my eyes looked slanted after my eye bags were magically erased in the picture. In order to prevent these things from happening, I decided to just get my ID pictures from photo booths of old. And there is one near the entrance of Landmark Department Store. It's Foto-Me and I call it my old reliable. For PHP 80.00 you get unadulterated ID pictures almost instantly. My appearance is far from perfect, but I want my photos to look exactly like me, especially when I have to submit them to companies and government agencies. Only one person operates the Foto-Me booth, so it closes whenever the staff is on break. Operating hours correspond to that of Landmark's.

The photographer is good n nice, as well as the woman. This big man wanted to charge "1k per…read moreSoftcopy!!!!" This guy is obviously greedy And a termite to the business- in another transaction the same guy refused an upgrade that initially he offered. never go to Aura branch.

hindi helpful ang staff, tapos pinababayaran ng 1000 pesos per picture in excess sa package mo and…read moretake note soft copy 1000 pesos each! Great image sm aura bad experience

This place has saved me so many times!…read more There were times in college when some book I needed wasn't available in any bookstore. The only copy was in my school's library. I would run to Copylandia to have it photocopied. When my thesis partner and I had to make hundreds of copies of our survey, we would run here again. And when I needed to make several copies of sequence guides, shot lists and scripts, I'd come here. Just know that there will be times when the place is full of people all waiting for their photocopies. If you don't need it right away, they sometimes allow you to leave it overnight or leave it with them in the morning and come back in the afternoon. But hey, it's cheap and the quality is pretty good.

This Copylandia branch has been with my misery of photocopying event materials and flyers back in…read moremy office secretary days. I can say this branch would've been my favorite photocopying place in all of Ayala. Why? Let me count the ways. One: The staff here are friendly and accommodating. There hasn't been a transaction I've made here that got my blood pressure skyrocketing to the stratosphere. They are fast, and they obviously know their machines well. Two: The line is manageable. More often than not, Photocopying services are flocked by so many people, it takes you super long waiting for your turn. And all the more annoying if you're only going to photocopy one page or two! I've never experienced that in here. You can probably blame their "hiddenness" in Greenbelt 1, which is just convenient to me altogether. Three: They can do bulk photocopying and would even cut to size for you! Of course you would have to ask that as a "favor", so be friendly. Four: They have many choices of paper quality, types and sizes. If you're in need of large photocopying services, this is the place to be. Five: Their price range is....okay, I guess. But it's a mall shop. Expect it to be higher than usual.