Episode 94: Camera Shopping at Roberts Camera and Blue Moon

We are back with Episode 94 of the Camerosity Podcast.  For this episode, we decided to revisit a topic we covered all the way back in Episode 30, which is talking about camera stores with people who work in camera stores.

Joining us for the discussion are Meredith and Corey Reinker from Roberts Camera (aka UsedPhotoPro) in Indianapolis, Indiana and Zeb Andrews from Blue Moon Camera and Machine in Portland, Oregon.  Of course, two of the Camerosity hosts, Paul and Stephen both used to work in camera stores too, so between those four, we were well represented.

Much has changed in the photography space since we did our last camera store episode.  Releases of new cameras like the Pentax 17, Rollei 35 AF, and recent announcements of a new "film like" digital Yashica SLR have caused a lot of ruckus and it will be interesting to hear how actual camera store people see these latest developments.

Joining Paul, Stephen, Theo, Mike, and our special guests was a long list of callers including A.J. Gentile, Betty Ann Cochrane, Brad, Dan Hausman, Hong Lee, Howard Sandler, Larry Effler, Miles Libak, Pat Casey, Shane from  Discord, and Will Pinkham.

During the show we ask Meredith, Corey, and Zeb a wide range of questions ranging from what differentiates their stores which has allowed them to remain successful well into the era of digital photography.  We cover what the modern camera store customer looks like today and what makes photography appealing to a younger crowd.  We cover both lab and home developing, what one camera both camera stores wish there was an unlimited amount of, how they acquire their inventory of used cameras, and Zeb shares a cool story about how Blue Moon developed a roll of film which had images of Mount St. Helens erupting.

Mike gets excited that he received a bottle of the new Adox Syrup 110 developer and attempts to break down the myth that C41 home developing is difficult.  Theo and Zeb counter that you shouldn't be shamed into developing your own film and that the consistency of a professional lab is worth it.

While most episodes are a lot of fun to record, while doing this one, it was amazing how fast the two hours went, and I wish we could have talked to Meredith, Corey, and Zeb longer.  Who knows, maybe we'll return for a third Camera Store episode some day!

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

For our next episode, we don't have a dedicated topic and will open up the Zoom recording to anything you'd like to discuss.  If there have been any questions or topics from previous shows you'd like to revisit, or share with us your latest camera GAS pick up, we'd love to hear from you!  This next one will be a free for all!  We will record Episode 95 on Monday, July 7th at 7pm Central Daylight Time and 8pm Eastern Daylight Time.

In This Episode

• Introducing Roberts Camera / They Used to Sell Jewelry
• UsedPhotoPro Was Started with Corey and Nelson Kopech in 2011
• Blue Moon's Origin Story / Blue Moon's Owner Jake Has a Passion for Vintage Typewriters
• Blue Moon Slits Their Own Minox Film / They Source New Cartridges Direct from Minox
• What Does the Typical Camera Store Customer Look Like Today?
• What Inspires the 18-24 Crowd to Buy a Particular Camera? / Is there an Upgrade Path to a Leica?
• Mike Breaks Down All Film Shooters into One of Three Broad Categories
• How Were Roberts and Blue Moon Able to Navigate the Film to Digital Switch When Others F