Good camera store in Atlanta (Georgia)?

photolab61 · 08-11-2008, 02:59 PM

Hello from Berlin (Germany)

End of august my wife will go to Atlanta for a job and will stay there for about two weeks. Actually the € ist so strong against the $ that it would be a really good deal for me to buy lenses in the United States.

Can anybody give me some adresses of good camera stores for Pentax cameras and Lenses for Pentax cameras in Atlanta? Im especially interrested in the Sigma 50-500 ("Bigma")

Thx for your help
lab61

*Jun Park* · 08-12-2008, 11:11 AM

In the Atlanta area, the Wolf Camera Ultra in Buckhead is about the only B&M store that has a decent Pentax selection. There is a small independent shop called Camera Bug on Briarcliff that carries Pentax but they don't have a large inventory. There is another independent camera shop called Showcase that only carries Nikon & Canon but they do have a great selection of accessories. And of course there's KEH, which probably sells more used equipment that anyone else, but they don't have a retail showroom. When I buy from KEH, I look up the equipment online, call their sales phone and tell them I'm going to come pick it up. I really don't save on the shipping costs since they charge $5 for pickup

but I can get my "new to me" stuff immediately.

I really wish I could tell you that there are a lot of local shops that carry Pentax but sadly that's not the case...

Please let me know if I can help in any way.

Originally Posted by photolab61

Hello from Berlin (Germany)
End of august my wife will go to Atlanta for a job and will stay there for about two weeks. Actually the € ist so strong against the $ that it would be a really good deal for me to buy lenses in the United States.

Can anybody give me some adresses of good camera stores for Pentax cameras and Lenses for Pentax cameras in Atlanta? Im especially interrested in the Sigma 50-500 ("Bigma")

Thx for your help
lab61

*straightshooter* · 08-12-2008, 11:40 AM

Originally Posted by Jun Park

In the Atlanta area, the Wolf Camera Ultra in Buckhead is about the only B&M store that has a decent Pentax selection.

I haven't been to that Wolf in a long time and I'm a little surprised they still carry a good selection of anything since the rest of the Wolf stores don't. But then that always was their "pro" store.

Originally Posted by Jun Park

I really wish I could tell you that there are a lot of local shops that carry Pentax but sadly that's not the case...

Yeah, Atlanta is a virtual wasteland as far as good b&m stores go. Sad for a city this size.

CW

Big Dave · 08-12-2008, 12:10 PM

Lab61,
I did the research for you. Wolf Camera in Atlanta has a full selection of Pentax lenses and some third party lenses. I called them to confirm this. You can check their prices at the Wolf website. Their prices are typical for camera shops and higher then many on-line outlets of course. I'm sure their cheaper then europe. Here is their contact information.

Wolf Camera & One Hour Photo
3393 Peachtree Road Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30326
(404) 237-3388 WolfCamera.com - Free Shipping & No Sales Tax on DIGITAL CAMERAS $100+

Dave

Originally Posted by photolab61

Hello from Berlin (Germany)
End of august my wife will go to Atlanta for a job and will stay there for about two weeks. Actually the € ist so strong against the $ that it would be a really good deal for me to buy lenses in the United States.

Can anybody give me some adresses of good camera stores for Pentax cameras and Lenses for Pentax cameras in Atlanta? Im especially interrested in the Sigma 50-500 ("Bigma")

Thx for your help
lab61

geauxpez · 08-12-2008, 12:54 PM

That's pretty much the best suggestion that I have as well. I guess you could order your lens from B&H & have it delivered while you are in town.

If you are a fan of old film cameras. Then I would recommend making a stop at Jack's Cameras in Decatur. Steve is the owner and he will talk your ear off about anything having to do with analog photography. He has just about every make and model of film camera on his shelf, so it's a great place to handle several different cameras and compare features.

*straightshooter* · 08-12-2008, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by Big Dave

I did the research for you. Wolf Camera in Atlanta has a full selection of Pentax lenses and some third party lenses. I called them to confirm this.

Dave, you got a lot better service wherever you called than the Wolf stores I've been in lately. Mostly what I've gotten in person is total indifference and lack of interest, and the Southlake store is the worst. It's only a few miles to the store you mention and some day I'll have to try it. The problem is in Atlanta, a 10 mile trip can take anywhere from 20 minutes to way over an hour depending on traffic.

CW

*Jun Park* · 08-12-2008, 05:24 PM

This is one of the little secrets that I've been holding on to for a while (at least until now!) but the Wolf Camera Ultra that used to be by GA Tech was a pretty good store. I bought my FA* 28-70/2.8 and FA* 300/4.5 from that store. The problem with Wolf Camera is that you have to weed out the hacks who are working the counters. If you find one, be sure to seek that person out again the next time you have a question. But I have been to and bought from the Wolf Camera Ultra in Buckhead. I even talked to someone who appreciated the quality of my FA 77/1.8 lens! But you're right, the quality of the help and selection at a Wolf definitely falls under the category of YMMV...

Originally Posted by straightshooter

I haven't been to that Wolf in a long time and I'm a little surprised they still carry a good selection of anything since the rest of the Wolf stores don't. But then that always was their "pro" store.

Yeah, Atlanta is a virtual wasteland as far as good b&m stores go. Sad for a city this size.

CW

*Jun Park* · 08-12-2008, 05:27 PM

Where is Jack's Camera? Is it near the square? And most importantly, how good is the lens selection?!?!?

Originally Posted by geauxpez

That's pretty much the best suggestion that I have as well. I guess you could order your lens from B&H & have it delivered while you are in town.

If you are a fan of old film cameras. Then I would recommend making a stop at Jack's Cameras in Decatur. Steve is the owner and he will talk your ear off about anything having to do with analog photography. He has just about every make and model of film camera on his shelf, so it's a great place to handle several different cameras and compare features.

Big Dave · 08-12-2008, 05:43 PM

CW,
I am not from Atlanta and won't buy local, because I can't afford it. The reason that I picked this store was because the guy was friendly and they had the product availble. Maybe you could suggest a better store that hs a good selection. I was just trying to be helpful.

Dave

*straightshooter* · 08-12-2008, 06:35 PM

Originally Posted by Big Dave

CW,
I am not from Atlanta and won't buy local, because I can't afford it. The reason that I picked this store was because the guy was friendly and they had the product availble. Maybe you could suggest a better store that hs a good selection. I was just trying to be helpful.

Dave

Dave, I was saying I can't suggest a better store. That store you mentioned is over in an area of town where you do usually get better customer service. More Beemers and Mercedes than Chevys as opposed to more pickups than cars where I live. LOL So you probably found the best store for his wife to go to.

CW

geauxpez · 08-12-2008, 06:48 PM

Hey Jun, Jacks' camera is in the shopping center on the corner of N. Decatur rd and Clairemont. It's on the Clairemont end of the strip. His lens selection is hit & miss -- it all depends on what has walked in his door. His prices are wildly variable as well, but it's still a really cool little shop to knock around. Just keep in mind that he won't be the least bit impressed if you use the D (digital) word. (c:

Sometimes you can pick up cheap used consignment gear at Wing's camera on Briarcliff just off Clairemont.

*Michaelina2* · 08-12-2008, 08:10 PM

Don' know if KEH has counter sales, but iit may be worth asking about...

KEH.com
2310 Marietta Blvd., N.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30318
404-892-5522

photolab61 · 08-31-2008, 09:45 PM

Hello,
many thanks to all who answered me.
I printed out an adress list of all Wolf's camera stores in atlante and gave it to my wife before she left. I also printed out (fron the B&H store pages) the product descriptions for three lenses who are most interresting for me now. They were the Pentax DA 17-70, the Pentax FA 50/1.4 and the Pentax FA 35/2. The prize for the Pentax D55-300 was only a few dollars less than here in germany. For that price i can buy it also here in Germany. And the Sigma 50-500 must wait a little whily. Actually i have not enough money for it.

My wife entered one Wolf's Store. I don't know which store. I suspect it was the first store she could find near her Hotel (the Atlanta Hilton at the Peachtree Dunwoody Road) or near her office wich is located in the King and Queen Towers.

This one shop was not the best choice i think. They had only the 18-55 kit lense. I think they were also unable to aks other Wolf's Stores in Atlante for the three lenses. So we decided to order one lense in the B&H online store. She ordered FA 50/1.4 which has the best prize in comparison the the german prizes. The prize for the lense in the B&H store is 299$, which is actually about 135€. In Germany i had to pay about 250€ for that peace of glass.

Now we are waiting if B&H will be able to ship it to her office until she left Atlanta on friday morning. Otherwise one of her colleagues from the Atlanta office will carry the lense when he will come to Germany next month. But it looks good. The tracking information tells us, that the package just reached Atlanta. So i think she will get the package on tuesday - or maybe on wednesday.

Next time we will do it in the same way. We will ask one of her colleagues to order what i want in the B&H store and give it to any colleague who will come to the german office. And next year we will go to the States together...i hope so.

Best regards
lab61

BTW:
Is there any forum member who lives in Wisconsin near the western side of the Lake Michigan? I'm looking for some contacts in the region between the cities of Milwaukee, Madison and Rockfort. Because i suspect that i have relatives there in one or two small villages in that triangle.