[Closed] Jessops

... has just been bought by Peter Jones.

Well, him and others.

The collapsed High Street camera retailing brand Jessops has been bought by a group including entrepreneur and Dragons' Den star, Peter Jones.

Also, no stores re-opening.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21285587

Wow, never thought he would enter the high street so visibly, or moving it purely to internet

I want a high street camera shop who'll give me advice and let me fondle the DSLRs. When are the shops reopening??

I want a high street camera shop who'll give me advice and let me fondle the DSLRs. When are the shops reopening??

And three in Cardiff.

I went in to Jessops Exeter on the off chance they would have a Paterson tank...

The man in the shop replied "A paterson tank, no, we don't have any of those, in fact I've never even heard of one, what is it?"

I never went back in.

you mean they didn't shut the shops? I presumed from the website that they had.

Ace Cameras in Bath used to be good (I have not used them for a few months). I presume they are one your good camera shops in Bath list? 🙂

The one that used to be in the Podium (Bath Optics?) has sadly bitten the dust since Waitrose evicted them from the shopping centre (along with many other shops) at such short notice.

i have two film developing tanks, three print tanks (one will do 16" x 20"), motorised base and an LPL 6700 enlarger. I will use them again...

Who or what is Peter Jones? I don't have a TV at the moment so not seen dragons den.

He should of pitched on Dragons Den

"Hi, I'm Peter Jones et al and want to buy a failed high street company....."

paterson tank? Nope I don't know what one is either. I've been interested in photography since about 2003.

Are sales assistants all supposed to know about outdated stuff?

Do you go into John Lewis and ask for an 8-track player, or a gramophone??

Someone the other day suggested HMV & Jessops should combine, so they can share floorspace. Can't remember if it was on here (don't think it was, but I think that's quite a good idea.

Who or what is Peter Jones? I don't have a TV at the moment so not seen dragons den.

You appear to have an internet, though.

If only there was a way, that could help you find out who someone was...

Ah, well. Library?

The actor ???? 😕
I though he passed away ages ago 😕

Yeah, the actor 🙄

Ah Peter Jones. He used to be on the R4 stalwart comedy shows (ISIHAC and Just a Minute). He was a good egg.

paterson tank? Nope I don't know what one is either. I've been interested in photography since about [b]2003.[/b]

Are sales assistants all supposed to know about outdated stuff?

Do you go into John Lewis and ask for an 8-track player, or a gramophone??

PMSL... Jesus wept..

Are sales assistants all supposed to know about outdated stuff?

Do you walk out of your LBS disgruntled that they can't sell you a new mech and shifter because Di2 is the future and cables are outdated?

Not quite the same thing. Digital has replaced film almost completely, whereas lots of old bike kit is still going. It'd be more like storming out of HMV because they don't have any 78s

Billyblackheart, why are you wetting yourself with laughter?

I looked up a Paterson tank....and did actually recognise it as 'one of those small developing tank things' but wouldn't have known what it was called. Only used one once at school about 20yrs ago.

TINAS, cables aren't outdated though so your analogy doesn't fit. How many bike ranges this year have NO cable based mechs & shifters across their entire range? Compare that answer to how many camera manufacturers are still making film cameras in any way, shape or form...?
Digital cameras are 'the norm'. Nikon stopped making film cameras in 2006. 7 years ago.

You better call Nikon http://www.europe-nikon.com/en_GB/product/film-cameras/film-slr-camera-f6

I know there was a thread on it elsewhere, but I really hope they survive as when you have a good store, with good staff, jsut lieka good LBS it is wonderful. There was a great one in Basingstoke near the station, with some real informed photographers.

I bought a great deal of kit from them as they were so good. They even let me exchange a D200 for a 5D (+ cash) when I realised I hated the crop sensor. (first digi cam after film).

However, I think in Basingstoke they had at least 1 other store, maybe 2. That were utter cack! What kind of screwed up business model is that?

Kev

Sorry....yes, they make 1 pro-level film slr still. Silly me. I wonder what percentage of their sales that equates too...

I was chuckling to myself by you suggesting that developing film is outdated, then saying you've been into photography for a whopping 9 years.

As a nipper, a Paterson's tank was always on my mind...

You said

Nikon stopped making film cameras in 2006. 7 years ago.

But now you say

Sorry....yes, they make 1 pro-level film slr still.

I was just clarifying so the argument is sound.

I want one of these;

[i]In 1900, George Lawrence built the world’s largest camera to take a photograph of the Alton Limited locomotive. The camera weighed 1400 pounds (640 kg) and used a 4.5? × 8? glass-plate negative[/i]

[img] [/img]

goodness knows what the equivalent Megapixels is but the detail it captured is incredible;

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

goodness knows what the equivalent Megapixels

Well when you consider that 35mm Film is equivalent to over 180Megapixels my guess would a 6foot 'negative' would be quite high 🙂

I was chuckling to myself by you suggesting that developing film is outdated, then saying you've been into photography for a whopping 9 years.

So what if he has? He's right, film is outdated by anyone's measure.

Not sure about 35mm film being equivalent to 180 megapixels btw. From wiki (which tallies with what I'd read before)

A 36 mm x 24 mm frame of ISO 100-speed film was initially estimated to contain the equivalent of 20 million pixels,[8] although this estimate was later revised to between 4 and 16 million pixels depending on the type of film used

Jessops aren't the only high street camera shop. They might like to have made you think so by buying a lot of them up in the late 90s (or creating a franchise, I was never sure as the staff often stayed on), but there are still lots left.

For e.g.

Lancashire is catered for by lots including: Wilkinson at
Preston
Burnley
Bury
Blackburn
Kendal
Carlisle
Lancaster
Southport
Warrington

I have an amazing pro camera shop 100m down the road from me in Bollington - they've been there 26 years.
http://www.bobrigby.com/

It might take a little work to find all the good ones, and you wont be as anonymous as when going into Jessops, but there's a chance you'll be ok paying RRP due to the level of service. Build a relationship and you may not even be out of pocket at all.

I'd be interested to know how many F6s they actually sell, must be tiny compared with the D800 / D4.

but there's a chance you'll be ok paying RRP due to the level of service

I have to say, two of the places I know are run by old school camera type blokes who are quite snobby about lesser kit.

Not sure about 35mm film being equivalent to 180 megapixels btw. From wiki (which tallies with what I'd read before)

I know a few pros who say the D800 is better than 35mm and on a par with Medium Format and the D800 is only 36Mp.

billyblackheart, I could have been 'into' cars for a only a week & would still be correct in stating that carburettors and manual chokes are outdated.
What does the length of time I have been interested in photography have to do with the validity of the statement.

To be honest until digital, photography never appealed as I couldn't afford my own developing equipment & the cost of getting a roll of film developed only to find that most of the images weren't particularly good was prohibitively high.
My first digital camera, a Konica Minolta DImage Z3 was a revelation.

Next you'll be telling me that 3.5" floppy drives & TDK D90 cassettes aren't outdated because a few people somewhere might use them still...?

thebikechain - I didn't realise that a mistake by myself followed with a correction by yourself constituted an argument...if only I had used the word 'mainstream' in my original statement I could have saved myself all that embarrassment.

stumpy01 - the trick is just to ignore the pedants.....

Wonder what Peter Jones has in mind for Jessops? Seems like an odd move.

[i]Wonder what Peter Jones has in mind for Jessops? [/i]

he's going to run it alongside his thriving bootmaking business.

I know a few pros who say the D800 is better than 35mm and on a par with Medium Format and the D800 is only 36Mp.

Don't get me wrong I have access to a Nikon D1 for work purposes I use a D5 and my snappy snap camera is a D40 but of the prints I sell or exhibit are taken on a variety of film cameras 120 and 35 developed on archival paper. To say film is outdated is in the eyes of many just wrong...Old Fashioned perhaps or niche/elitist yes, but not [i]outdated[/i].

Agreed, footflaps. I do try.....but I thought I'd treat myself seeing as it's Friday...

Hope Jessops does keep trading, but I think they will have to change quite substantially. Perhaps they will keep the stores shut & just become an online concern?

To say film is outdated is in the eyes of many just wrong...Old Fashioned perhaps or niche/elitist yes, but not outdated.

Synonyms in my view.

Outdated = mostly replaced by something newer.

Perhaps they will keep the stores shut & just become an online concern?

Outdated = mostly replaced by something newer.

Quite possibly so others might read it as inferior, has no place in the market etc. I'm all for digital and workflow and output has undoubtedly improved because of it, but film isn't going to die anytime soon 🙂

bbh, I don't mean to cause any offence with the term outdated. There is nothing wrong with outdated. Many people think I am outdated as I prefer to buy CDs and then rip them to mp3 rather than just download my music. My method is a valid one, but I am under no illusion that is is anything but outdated.

My Dad still listens to tons of music on vinyl. Outdated? Definitely. So what? If he went into HMV, most of them would know what vinyl is, but most of them probably wouldn't know what an Ortofon cartridge is.....

Well as this thread is full of pedants...

Don't get me wrong I have access to a Nikon D1 for work purposes I use a D5 and my snappy snap camera is a D40 but of the prints

The D1 is truly archaic and most camera phones out perform it!

The D5 doesn't exist yet, you'll need to wait another 3 years (they redo the flagship every 4 years).

MrSalmon, when I bought my Nikon D80 & lens Jessops were the cheapest.
They were also the cheapest when I got my p300 & price matched when I got my sb-700 flash.

Presumably, if they get rid of their stores & associated overheads they will be able to compete better with the likes of Amazon.

The D1 is truly archaic and most camera phones out perform it!
The D5 doesn't exist yet, you'll need to wait another 3 years (they redo the flagship every 4 years).

As in the bottom of the D5 range there are three of them aren't there not the 100 200 etc

So what? If he went into HMV, most of them would know what vinyl is, but most of them probably wouldn't know what an Ortofon cartridge is.....

Apparently Vinyl sales are currently higher than they have been in a while and are increasing. On Radio4 the other week John Lewis were on saying they are going to sell music, but exclusively on vinyl 😉

Vinyl sales are currently higher than they have been

Higher than when? Pre CD?

[url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9687000/9687919.stm ]http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9687000/9687919.stm[/url]

This was the programme.

Ace Cameras in Bath used to be good (I have not used them for a few months). I presume they are one your good camera shops in Bath list?

When Tim Brooks took control after the 'family' left at the AGM at the Belfrey in Brum Tim stood in from of all the managers and head office staff and said, Jessops will never sell mobile phones.

He might be right, but I think Jessops missed a massive opportunity not to get on board with mobile technology.

Me, I left the Co. a few months after that AGM, I am sure there are a number of reasons why Jessops failed in the end, but that stood out to me at the time.

In the early years under the Family there were some great, well trained staff on board, then budgets staff targets and commission all slowly filtered in, photographic experience went out of the window, sales was where it was at and Jessops lost a great deal of regular customers.

My little store relied on repeat business, we had a great customer base all on first name terms with the staff, I used to spend so much time after work doing home visits much to the annoyance of HO.

HO used to change our price matching policy daily in the early Internet days, some days we could match, some days we could not, we even had to check if we could match our own online prices, it was a mess!

I still bump into some of my old customers and they all ask when did it start to go wrong?

and yes everyone in my store new where the Paterson tanks were stored;)

Staff no. **01, ski, signing off this post

I wish the brand well and hope it lives on, for old times sake...

I loved working at Jessops, worked in the Norwich, New Oxford Street and Leeds branch about twenty years ago for a staturday/summer job. And yes I know what a Patterson tank, as well as cibachrome, tmax and a million one other photography bits and pieces you learnt from working there.

Five point if any former jessops staff can tell me what a JEP4003536 is or for those who joined later JESP4003536. Did anyone ever see one of those fictional ****IT items of stock that new staff had to find on the system?

Loved looking through people photos as well! Ohhh wasn't meant to tell you we did that - beach holiday pics were always the best!

As in the bottom of the D5 range there are three of them aren't there not the 100 200 etc

That's not how the Nikon numbering scheme works:

D1, D2, D3, D4 are the FX flagship pro sports / journalism cameras, new one every 4 years.

D40, D60, D80, D90 are the top end DX cameras.

D100, D200, D300, D800 numbering is slightly inconsistent, as it was top end DX but from the 800 onwards they are FX Pro Landscape cameras.

D5100, D5200 are the entry level DX SLR models

Oooh, an argument about the nomenclature of Nikon digital cameras!

*pulls up chair*