Where to Buy Digital Cameras At Cheaper Prices?

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Our low-key loot from Quiapo

Ever since typhoon Ondoy struck the Philippines and I started taking pictures with my new dSLR camera, my promise to share where we bought our dSLR with great savings slipped my memory. To make up for this memory gap, I will divulge the place and narrate in this post practical tips on buying a camera there. This place is not the typical easy-to-locate (and usually a landmark) air conditioned mall where you can just conveniently park your car in the available parking area, or disembark from a jeepney or taxi right where the entrance of the mall is.

I am talking about Quiapo, Manila. A place I am not familiar with and the safety wherein I distrust. Undeniably, this is also the place to find great cheap bargains of almost anything under the sun, from men's boxers to pirated DVD's, from faux designer watches to original digital SLR's. Yes, Quiapo is where we bought our Canon Rebel XS, particularly in Mayer Photo, Palanca Jr. (formerly Hidalgo, but still known to pro photographers as such).

Since we are practically greenhorns in the field of photography, we just knew about this place to buy (and sell) digital cameras and accessories at cheaper prices from a friend seriously studying photography under the costly tutelage of a known pro photographer. She lent to us her photography instructor's name for us to name drop, in the hope of getting a bigger discount. While this information may not be new to many photographers, I hope this will serve helpful to newbies like me.

How To Get There
If you are going there by car, we suggest you park in SM City Manila or any other place nearer where you can be sure of your car's safety. Of course, please keep in mind common sense safety precautions like not leaving any valuables in the car, not wearing jewelry, or being cautious with cellphones and wallets while walking or commuting. From SM, we rode a bus that a vendor tipped us to take to Hidalgo. This bus, which we also took going back, follows a service trip just within the vicinity. By the way, most of the people we asked while we were still in the vicinity of SM do not know Hidalgo, so asking them for directions did not do us any good.

If you are commuting from Pasig, click these contributed directions from Yahoo! Answers Or you may try Google Maps.

Modes of Payment
We were uneasy carrying a wad of cash around Quiapo. So we acted cautiously but casually. It was a good thing that Watsons has BPI and BDO ATM's inside, where we withdrew additional funds. It is right across the rows of camera shops along Palanca Street. If luck is with you and the ATM's do not go offline, I suggest you do the same thing we did because most shops charge around 4% to 5% more if you buy using a credit card.

Getting Your Loot
After some time of permeating the entire alley of camera shops, we still could not find Mayer Photo, only to find out that it is situated at the corner, beside Henry's, another shop recommended by some photographers.

Kuya Ramon, whom we presumed as the shop owner, was friendly and was trying to be helpful in suggesting the Canon EOS 1000D and in giving us a camera bag as additional freebie over the 4GB Transcend memory card, Canon EOS lens cleaning cloth, Canon lens pen and Canon EOS screen protection film. His sales clerk was also helpful in showing us the features of the camera. From what we overheard from the other customers there, we deduced that they were "repeat" buyers. So, this must mean something positive.

Unlike worrying about carrying a wad of cash around Quiapo, you do not need to be anxious about carrying around a big camera box with its product shots and features printed on the box screaming, "Hey, I'm valuable!" This is because Mayer wraps your purchased item with newspaper, then a red plastic bag similar to those used in wet markets. It was as if we just bought a few kilos of fish or meat. But it is still imperative to be cautious.

After our yet unconfirmed cheap purchase, we went back to our car parked in SM Manila. But before we went off, we checked out some dSLR displays in its camera shops, and rejoiced over saving around P4000 to P5000! It was indeed worth the trip.

But if you do not want to go through this kind of shopping trip, you may check out Kim Store, an online shop that sells gadgets at cheaper prices. But the last time we checked, it offered different pricing schemes for the same camera model. It has a package much less than what we paid for in Hidalgo but it did not include the other freebies we got, and I think with no warranty. If you want to check its latest prices and gadgets, click here.