Actor and filmmaker Andy Serkis (the voice of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy) pictured recently at the Cameras London stall on Portobello Road.
Keeping it simple is key for at least one of the dealers taking part in the upcoming Photographica, the annual camera fair.
Juliano Ribeiro of Cameras London has been a regular buyer at Photographica but this year is the first time that he will be exhibiting, bringing Rolleiflexes - his favourite vintage camera - plus lenses, compact and single lens reflex cameras.
Perhaps reflecting fresh generations whose photographic experience involves quick shots on smartphones and display on Instagram, Ribeiro says: “The market has changed a lot since I started. A few years back people were more interested in classic film cameras; now the most popular are the compact point and shoot cameras and simple SLRs for students.”
He has stalled out at Portobello Road every Saturday (Stall 18) since 2010 and his busy stand is surrounded by people taking photos of each other as well as buying
“I only trade on Saturdays and I love meeting people from all over the world at my stall. I have more than 35,000 followers on Instagram and it’s very rewarding to see customers happy and coming back.”
Organised by the Photographic Camera Collectors’ Club of Great Britain (PCCGB), this year’s sold-out Photographica will run at the Royal National Hotel in Bloomsbury, London WC1, on Sunday, May 19.
Expect antique, collectable and retro cameras plus modern classics and all things photographic.
Zeiss Contarex Cyclops
Camera specialist Peter Loy will be offering at the fair a Zeiss Contarex Cyclops with the original receipt from Westminster Photographic in Oxford Street dated June 22, 1962. It is now priced at £375.
He says: “The Contarex was Zeiss Ikon’s professional camera in the 1960s. The cameras were ‘over-engineered’ and very heavy. The lens quality was superb, even by modern standards.”
