Taipei Travel

A place if you want to have additional gear for your camera (with reasonable price). Every corner lies a camera shop that offers both brand new and semi-used/second hand camera gears

They like you to pay in cash for the cheaper prices, english is not that widely spoken but they will always find someone.

The Camera Street and surroundings in Taipei are a must for every serious photographer, not to go to buy right away, but to visit shop after shop for orientation and pleasure. The prices turned out to be roughly the same as in Japan and about the same or higher than, for example, in the Netherlands. The range is one-sided and consists mainly of system cameras, lenses and accessories. The cameras appeared to be packaged in foil and no working cameras could be tried / tested in the visited stores. The lowest price for a Canon G1X Mk 3 turned out to be US $ 780 in July 2019 including a 5% foreign buyer discount. Not one of the stores visited had the camera in stock. When purchasing new equipment, no old equipment is exchanged. There is only one store in used *no digital* just behind the Camera Street sign. The stores that purchase / sell used cameras and accessories can be found in section 1 Xingheng Road and section 2 Civic Blvd, MRT exit 1, Guhangua Market, Zhongzheng District. For a very good looking Canon G1X Mark 2 with accessories, US $ 110 was offered. Price lists were consulted in all Camera Street area stores visited, but only in two stores was the price quoted and meaningful information provided. Finally, in addition to authorised import, there is also unauthorised import, which is called parallel or grey import and is legal. The prices of goods imported in parallel are lower and the warranty conditions differ.

The Camera Street and surrounding area in Taipei are a must-go for any serious photographer, who should not immediately consider buying, but simply go from store to store and see what is on offer. The prices, which, depending on how the goods enter the country, still have some gradations, are just like in Japan, equal to or higher than, for example, in Europe. The range is also fairly one-sided. A compact camera of any brand turned out to be difficult to find, while most things didn't trade. The second-hand market would largely go via the internet. If lower prices are already being asked, they will come from the gray market. The warranty is also a problem and comes with most purchases from the store and not from the factory. Finally, most cameras are packed in foil and no working camera could be tried !!!

Nothing much, I was expecting a lot of second hand store with vintage film cameras. Unfortunately, most of them are new digital cameras with reasonable price. Nothing amazing.