Where is the best place to buy DSLR and lenses in Tokyo

Hi everyone,
Where is the best place or area to buy brand new or used DSLR and lenses in Tokyo ? Inexpensive and reliable. Thank you for your information.

http://japancamerahunt​er.com …g-in-tokyo-pt-1-shinjuku/

image monster wrote in post #15940136
http://japancamerahunt​er.com …g-in-tokyo-pt-1-shinjuku/

Map Camera has a great selection of used equipment on the 4th floor (for Canon).

For new stuff it's worth looking at a few others in the Shinjuku area too.

If OP is in USA, the best place in Japan to buy from is mail order from B&H in NYC.

A long time friend is from Japan originally, and he now resides in USA. He goes to Japan for extended periods, for family/business. He went to Japan and decided to find bargains in stores, not merely in Tokyo but other areas as well. After much shopping the best he could do was to EQUAL what he could have gotten from B&H. The only true saving that could have been had was to buy the body in one country, the lens from the other country!

In extensive business travel around the world over several decades, with many many trips to the Far East, I gave up trying to find 'bargains' in photographic equipment abroad. I would seek, instead, products/accessories that were not yet imported into USA, particularly electronics. Even in used gear, one finds used prices are often higher in Japan simply because there is a prevalent collector market that drives prices higher than in other markets.

Wilt wrote in post #15941150
If OP is in USA, the best place in Japan to buy from is mail order from B&H in NYC.

A long time friend is from Japan originally, and he now resides in USA. He goes to Japan for extended periods, for family/business. He went to Japan and decided to find bargains in stores, not merely in Tokyo but other areas as well. After much shopping the best he could do was to EQUAL what he could have gotten from B&H. The only true saving that could have been had was to buy the body in one country, the lens from the other country!

In extensive business travel around the world over several decades, with many many trips to the Far East, I gave up trying to find 'bargains' in photographic equipment abroad. I would seek, instead, products/accessories that were not yet imported into USA, particularly electronics. Even in used gear, one finds used prices are often higher in Japan simply because there is a prevalent collector market that drives prices higher than in other markets.

True for the most part…a bit of a tormenting Catch 22 actually. I lived in Shinjuku, which has a number of excellent camera stores, Map Camera and Yodobashi to name a couple. Joints selling used Leicas (as well as all other brands) dotted the area. But when it came time to buy cameras, it was from eBay, B&H, or US-based Cameraquest, because Tokyo prices were too high.

One exception, and I don't know if this is still true, was the price of Zeiss lenses. The Zeiss were about US$100 cheaper at 100 yen to the US dollar, and at the time I bought mine, the yen was at 120 to the US dollar. For example, the Zeiss 50mm 1.4 ZS (M42) currently cost US$670, the Nikon and Canon mounts even more, but my ZS cost around US$450 (this said, these days I would just buy a used Contax Zeiss, but that's another story).

I was in Tokyo 3 weeks ago. If you factor in the exchange rate (which has been very favourable for a couple of months) and tax free shopping for tourists, prices are better than reliable Internet sources in Europe. The USA may be a different story.

If you are there anyway, it's worth a walk around Shinjuku regardless.

I usually buy gear when I go to Japan, but it is more of a tourist thing. A trip to Yodobashi in Akiba or one of the other large electronic stores is a must. Price are better than in Europe, but not necessarily better than in the US... I also buy gear when I go to the US