The camera shop of Santa Fe.
Eighty-seven years of helping New Mexicans take better pictures. Stop in, give us a call, or send a note. We'd rather talk cameras than ship a checkout cart.
Opened by Gene Autry
on the Plaza, 1937.
The Camera Shop of Santa Fe was first opened in 1937 by Gene Autry, specializing in film development, film camera sales, and accessories. The original location: the heart of the Santa Fe Plaza, at 109 East San Francisco Street, across from La Fonda.
Today, owned by the Ortega family, the Camera Shop continues to help New Mexico photographers with cameras, lenses, accessories, and the kind of advice that only comes from eighty-seven years of doing this. We share our 2nd Street home with Visions Photo Lab, our co-located partner for printing and darkroom work.
Read the Full Story
Our departments.
Pick up the phone. We'll talk you through it.
We've intentionally taken online checkout off the table. Cameras are personal. What you need depends on what you shoot, where you shoot, and how you shoot. Call us, and we'll match you to the right gear the first time.
Cameras
DSLR, mirrorless, point & shoot, action. Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, Leica, GoPro and more on the floor.
Lenses
Wide, primes, telephoto, macro. Try before you buy.
Used
Hand-checked. 30-day warranty. KEH partner buying days.
Accessories
Flashes, memory cards, batteries, tripods, gimbals, bags. The small stuff that makes the big shots possible.
Services
Printing, repair, lens rentals, trade-ins.
Exclusives
Leica and limited allocations.
Government Sales
SAM-registered. Active accounts at Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and federal agencies. BPA contracts and Net-30 terms.
A camera shop's timeline.
From a Plaza storefront in the era of black-and-white film, to today's full-service photography headquarters.
Gene Autry opens the doors
109 East San Francisco Street, on the Santa Fe Plaza. Film development, film camera sales, accessories.
The Plaza years
A go-to spot for photographers traveling the Southwest. Polaroids, Brownies, the entire era of mid-century photo culture.
The digital shift begins
35mm SLR systems become the standard. The shop becomes an authorized dealer for the major Japanese brands.
Ortega family ownership
Local family ownership preserves what mattered: real advice, fair pricing, no pressure. The mom-and-pop ethos in a chain-store world.
Move to 2nd Street
Co-located with Visions Photo Lab. Custom darkroom, mounting, finishing all under one roof.
National lab vendor
SAM-registered, supplying Sandia, Los Alamos, and federal agencies. Government procurement becomes a meaningful part of the business.
Same shop, three eras in
Authorized Leica dealer. KEH partner buying days. Photo printing, repair, rentals, trade-ins. Still answering the phone.
What our customers say.
Photographing wedding sunsets and needed to rent a polarizer, they were so helpful with how to use it and even threw in a conversion piece for my filter. Friendly people, convenient hours.
A New York store could never tell me when the camera I needed would arrive. Peter at the Camera Shop got it in within two weeks, kept me updated, and shipped it 2-day air so it landed in time for my birthday.
The staff explained a lot about my son's camera, even cleaned the lens for him. Of course we bought from them. Prices comparable to anywhere else, and the help was a different league.
The staff helped me get started with my first film camera. Extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Exactly the kind of place that doesn't exist much anymore.
Driving through Santa Fe on July 4. Called and got voicemail, figured they were closed. Got a callback, met me at the shop. Walked out with two lenses and more knowledge than I ever would have had at Best Buy.
Mom-and-pop camera shops are a rare thing now. The folks here treat you like a person, not a transaction. The kind of place a city should be proud of.
Let's talk cameras.
Send us a note and we'll get right back to you. Whether you need help picking gear, want a trade-in evaluated, or have a procurement question, we'd love to hear from you.
Monday to Friday, 1pm to 5pm · Weekends by appointment
Questions we hear often.
Where is the Camera Shop of Santa Fe located?
Does the Camera Shop sell used cameras?
Can I get photos printed or film developed there?
Do you work with the federal government and national labs?
Who founded the Camera Shop of Santa Fe?
Do you rent lenses or cameras?
Are you an authorized dealer?
Find the shop.
- Address
- 1808 2nd St. Suite C
Santa Fe, NM 87505 - Phone
- (505) 983-6591
- Send us a note
- Open the contact form
- Hours
- Monday to Friday · 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Weekends by appointment only