The first thing on my list of souvenirs for Tokyo was a vintage camera. I loved the idea of finding a camera that may not be readily available in the U.S. It would also be cool to tell people that I own a camera that I found and purchased in Japan.
Vintage camera shops are one of the top places that Americans go to in Japan. In the U.S., digital cameras have increased in popularity in the last few years. Most Americans buy their vintage cameras on online flea markets like Facebook Marketplace. There are also in-person flea markets that also sell vintage cameras at an even higher price. Film cameras are also gaining popularity, offering warmth to photos that the sharpness of a digital camera can’t capture.
Since Japan is the home of many sought-out camera brands like Canon, Nikon and Sony, there are far more options for second-hand cameras than in the U.S. Some second-hand cameras may be less expensive than in the States. I have been wanting to get a smaller digital camera for a while, and I have scoured the internet looking for a camera that is in good condition and reasonably priced. However, it has been difficult to find a camera that fit that criteria. From scrolling on TikTok, I saw the endless options of places to buy a vintage camera in Tokyo at a fraction of the price from back home.
As someone who loves photography, I was interested to see how the vintage camera market compares to the U.S. Right off the bat, I noticed how many more camera stores there were in Tokyo than in the U.S. In my hometown of San Antonio, there are only a handful of camera stores in the city, and the best options you have for in-person shopping is going to the big electronic stores like Best Buy or you might be lucky and find one at a thrift store. Although the camera store I went to in Tokyo was small, there were other stores that had multiple floors of camera gear.
I went to Lemon Company, which was in the basement floor of MODI shopping mall in Shibuya. It had a wide variety of cameras and gear despite its size. There were digital cameras and film cameras, but the popular Kodak keychain camera was, unfortunately, sold out.
Some of the most interesting cameras I saw were vintage film cameras like the Great Wall DF 4, which was 20,800 yen (around $130). These cameras were sold in China in the 1980’s as a low-budget camera for the masses. Chinese-made cameras intended for the Chinese market are very rare to find in the United States. It was very exciting being able to see such a unique camera that took inspiration from the first cameras made.
Towards the back of the store, there was a bulletin board filled with photos taken by film cameras and labeled with which camera it was taken with. It also showed what type of film was used to achieve the soft tones of the photos. Film cameras ranged from about 6,800 yen (around $42) up to 238,000 yen (around $1500) and film rolls were between 1,000 yen (about $7) to 4,000 yen (about $25) per roll. I enjoyed the board because with film, you have to take a gamble with the way the photos turn out, but by displaying the results of cameras and film, it helps customers decide which option is best for them.
Overall, the store had a great selection of cameras that could be used for many types of photography. Their selection was unlike anything I’ve seen before. Although I didn’t find exactly what I wanted, I was determined to hunt for a vintage camera somewhere else in Japan. As a camera and photography enthusiast, I was excited to go to the mecca of cameras. Photography for me is not just a hobby, but a way to tell stories in a visual way.
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