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Saturday, April 9, 2011

Broadway Camera opens 4th Store in Central City Mall

It's definite! Broadway Camera is expanding again. Rated #2 in the Vancouver/Lower Mainland area, Vancouver's second largest camera store is expanding south of the Fraser River. In order to compete with #1 - Lens & Shutter which has a store in Abbotsford and with Photo Expert (who has maintained a monopoly in Delta/Surrey until now), Broadway Camera has decided to put a store into the newly renovated Central City Shopping Center. They open today.

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The new Central City location of Broadway Camera

My experience with Broadway Camera is that they have very knowledgeable sales staff. None of the people that they hire are non-photo shooters. They know what they are talking about and they have always been very informative with regards to knowledge about equipment. Now having not been paid to write this blurb about Broadway Camera you can be sure that you're getting the truth about Broadway Camera and not a bunch of bullshit. OK. The above experiences that I have been having with Broadway Camera has been nothing short of excellent. And frankly, at their Vancouver store, they have always been quite busy (you do have to wait to get your turn with a customer service rep). It takes time for the customer reps to get to you, however when they do, they give their 100% attention to your photo equipment needs. And if you're the type that gets pissed off when you have to wait or can't deal with not being the first in line, then, pal, that's your problem, not theirs.

Now these guys have probably been feeling the fall-out from having a similar name to the "fraudsters" in Brooklyn, New York (Broadway Photo interchangeably used with Broadway Cameras) who were forced to shut down. The guys who run Broadway Camera in Vancouver are nothing but standup, ethical, good-hearted guys who have absolutely no affiliation with that bunch of crooks down in the States. The Broadway Camera that you deal with in Vancouver, Richmond, Coquitlam and Surrey don't use bait and switch tactics or questionable tactics or threats to sell their cameras. They are reliable, knowledgable and above all, honest . Don't hesitate to use our Broadway Camera guys to buy your next camera or your next piece of photo equipment.

I have never been to the Coquitlam store. I don't drive, I use the Skytrain and the bus and frankly, the Vancouver store has been more convenient to get to until now. I will probably go up to the Broadway Camera (Surrey Store) either today or tomorrow. Today probably may not be the best day to go up there because of the opening day rush. I'm sure that when the opening rush settles down, I'll get a better read of the customer service that this new location provides and will be able to put together a better review of the store. But right now, in my experience, their customer service remains a solid #2 (next to Lens & Shutter) in my books.

Edit: as of April 20th, 2011.

Been in there at least 4 times to browse...and fondle equipment. The staff there are great. Sasha and Aaron, the two staff-members that I have had the distinct pleasure of having a conversation with are awesome guys and I'd tell anyone to talk to them with regards to getting camera equipment.

I have to tell the readers of this blog that I'm like a friggin' kid in a candy store with this place. I had the opportunity to fondle a 24-70 f/2.8 (just held it to feel the weight; it had some weight to it but not too heavy) and managed to take a shot each with the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 and the 14-24mm f/2.8. God, I love those two lenses. Sure wish I could take one of 'em home.

Shot focal length fully wide. Should have ramped up the aperture to f/8 instead of shooting at f/10. OOOOPS...oh well...but I'm leaning towards the 14-24 for landscapes.

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17-55mm f/2.8 shot of store interior facing out into concourse

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14-24mm f/2.8 shot (same view) much wider and much nicer.

Both shots were handheld as I didn't want to use the tripods they had and forgot to bring my 190XB.

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