RFSG travelling gear guide

[dankwan]

Hi RFSGers! As part of my job, I travel a lot and as usual, I am travelling, this time to Istanbul where I intend to dig out and discover where all the gear areas are.

As part of information exchange, I have already started and will continue publishing all the camera gear areas are, in each of the cities I visit. I have just published the location of Beijing Camera City in google maps.

If someone finds some place interesting either for shoots or gear, please do the same!....

Please also let me know if you have anything you need or are looking for and I will try to carry them back for you. Cheers

 

[meven]

Hi RFSGers! As part of my job, I travel a lot and as usual, I am travelling, this time to Istanbul where I intend to dig out and discover where all the gear areas are.

As part of information exchange, I have already started and will continue publishing all the camera gear areas are, in each of the cities I visit. I have just published the location of Beijing Camera City in google maps.

If someone finds some place interesting either for shoots or gear, please do the same!....

Please also let me know if you have anything you need or are looking for and I will try to carry them back for you. Cheers

Your lucky to be in Istanbul, it is definitely one of my favorite cities in the world. I just love the atmosphere and the old Otoman architecture there. Enjoy!

 

[DoveVadar]

Istanbul! There is a mini lab doing B&W and C-41 at 3Lira ($2.60?) per roll. I sent all my rolls there before coming back. Take a tram, alight at Sirkeci Station, walk up away from the sea and turn left, follow the tram route and you will see it on the left side of the narrow road. It is run by 2 old gentlemen and the sign-board is green. It is the cheapest lab in whole of Istanbul. There is another one at Sirkeci station, instead of turning left, go straight up. They do E6 processing. Maybe 6Lira per roll.

For the best seafood, go under the Galata Bridge or take the ferry out Bosphorus Line. You will reach a remote island by the sea with the best fish in the world!

By the way, there are some Leica shops there. Leica there are cheap if you pay by cash only. Credit card will have to add VAT. The last I saw a few chrome M7s going for less than $2600. Cheap for us but expensive for the Turkish. So might be your best chance to wack some Leicas there. I have PM you what Leica stuff to help me buy already

 

[blacvios]

Istanbul, lovely memories. That was the last trip before i started up my baby factory. Many great places for photography, the buildings(Blue mosque, saint sophia) and people going about their livelihood. Remember to take a cruise and just make sure your wallet is not at the back pocket and bring plenty of film.

 

[dankwan]

Istanbul! There is a mini lab doing B&W and C-41 at 3Lira ($2.60?) per roll. I sent all my rolls there before coming back. Take a tram, alight at Sirkeci Station, walk up away from the sea and turn left, follow the tram route and you will see it on the left side of the narrow road. It is run by 2 old gentlemen and the sign-board is green. It is the cheapest lab in whole of Istanbul. There is another one at Sirkeci station, instead of turning left, go straight up. They do E6 processing. Maybe 6Lira per roll.

For the best seafood, go under the Galata Bridge or take the ferry out Bosphorus Line. You will reach a remote island by the sea with the best fish in the world!

By the way, there are some Leica shops there. Leica there are cheap if you pay by cash only. Credit card will have to add VAT. The last I saw a few chrome M7s going for less than $2600. Cheap for us but expensive for the Turkish. So might be your best chance to wack some Leicas there. I have PM you what Leica stuff to help me buy already

Hi Francis, haha I go to Istanbul once every 2/3 months or so, my favorite seafood restuarant is the floating ones across the galata bridge and Hamdis at the end of the square there. Normally I stay at Taksim which isnt too far from Sirkeci. I am actually very familiar with the city...

 

[techstg]

That's cool with all the tips, places and helping to buy item... Hehe..
For me I might be dropping to Netherlands again for the 4th time..sometime in mid of June.
As Normall my first priority other than work.. I gonna paint the city as much as I can..
Can't help as a graffiti writer..


Europe great place to shoot with all the achitectual..

 

[dankwan]

Hi Guys, my first trip report: Guangzhou film/camera district

If you are every in GZ, go to DaShaTou district (literally means Big Sandy Head), there is a very vibrant secondhand and camera market there.

Basically 1 city block, but only limited to 1 street, there are 2 mall there. One is the secondhand mall, which sells primarily everything electronic. There are like 3/4 floors and each floor has a specialty. Secondhand cameras are on the 2nd and 3rd floor. Dont expect miracles, its a crap shoot there, most of the shops sell disassembled camera parts, sensors etc etc. There are a few shops there that look fairly decent but generally its a spare parts mart. Basically a sungei road thieves market except in a mall with a/c

They do have a few interesting shops there, at least for me, the tactical flashlight shops are quite fun, they sell all kinds of LED flashlights, including Fenix, Surefire, Cree. prices seem reasonable but you do need to bargain.

The smaller mall next to it is where the cameras are. Only 3 stories, I found film only at the GF, small stand next to staircase and on the 3rd floor. The only interesting film that I found was 4X5 ERA film there (quoted RMB 10,000 sheet of 10) and of course tons and tons of lucky....

The shops on the 2nd and 3rd mainly sell digital and some old film cameras. There is one more interesting shop on the 3rd floor that sold old seagulls and others. However dont expect to find a cheap Rolleiflex 2.8f...its all quite pricey in GZ.

They all seem to also sell LF there and Shen Haos are in every window. Pity I didnt have time to really look. They seem very well made.

No exotic developers there as well, mostly Tmax and D76, although I did spy some bottles with Chinese letters on them....could have been china made developing solutions, with my mandarin so bad, I did not attempt to ask what they were....

There are some shops streetside and lots of people playing mahjong and cards on the sidewalks.