Fireside Camera

It's hard to find a real camera store in SF today. Wolf and Ritz are closed. The cameras at the Wharf look fishy. Pros: They know cameras and are very helpful Cons: Not downtown more

I don't know if it was because I went in 20 minutes before closing or what, but the sales guy was incredibly unhelpful. I walked in and said I was considering two particular cameras, a Pentax and a Nikon. He immediately told me they don't carry Pentax. I said fine, well can you show me the Nikon. It took them 5 minutes to locate a battery for the Nikon I was considering, and then the sales guy literally sat on a stool looking out the door and answered all my questions with Yes or No without looking at me. I asked for pros/cons, features to consider, etc and his only response was "this one has 10MP and this one has 6MP, nothing else matters". Finally I told him if this was all the help he could give me, I was going to buy on the internet. He then spent a few minutes digging for a brochure and then walked through it with me, doing a statistical comparison that I'd already done on my own. Pros: Prices weren't bad Cons: Really bad customer service more

I have to say, these guys in there are as patient as you want. Makes novice or pro's feel comfortable. They are COMPLETELY knowledgeable about every item in their store. Pros: Personal service and patience Cons: Not open late. more

I buy off the internet for the most part. When you really need to see it and hold it before deciding to buy it, an in-person experience cannot be beat by a doubleclick and a thumbnail picture. That was the case with a camera bag decision I faced. These guys were the only ones in town to have both bags I was considering. They were patient and thoughtful as we discussed which would be best for my needs. After I made my conclusion, sure I could have walked out and bought on the net, but that wouldn't have been fair to Fireside. Besides, their prices were cheeper than other SF storefronts and only a few bucks more expensive that the best price I could have found online -- I'd much rather do my part to keep a quality local business going. Pros: Walking distance, friendly, fair Cons: Medium-sized shop cannot hold every piece of equipment you might need more