[Leica] shops in Pittsburgh

["Patrick G. Sobalvarro" <pgs@sobalvarro.org>]

My wife and I spent the week around Christmas in Pittsburgh, which despite
all the jokes people make is one of my favorite cities.  I love
photographing industrial landscapes, and Pittsburgh is a superb place for
that; but it's also just a neat city with a palpable sense of history that
I've simply never found in California.

Unfortunately for me, the only used camera store I visited was the
Pittsburgh Camera Exchange, which is next door to Bernie's on East Ohio
Street and is its used-camera outlet.  Their prices are about 1.5 to 2
times the prices one finds at Keeble and Schuchat in Palo Alto or at the
better mail-order places like KEH.  Still, they're staying in business, so
I imagine they find buyers willing to pay.  Big store with a lot of Leica
stuff, much of which is not on display -- you have to ask.  I asked about
IIIc's and IIIf's and was shown a IIIf BD with slow speeds not working and
lots of brass and dings showing, price $500.

Bernie's runs a museum of photography next door to the shops.  $3 to get
in, and it's worth it if you like daguerrotypes and tintypes and that sort
of thing.  It's not big, but there are lots of photographs and some
interesting old equipment.  They also have some worn and hideously
overpriced used books.

If you want a good deal, though, walk over to Suismon Street a couple of
blocks north and go into Max's Allegheny Tavern, where the Kaesespaetzle
and warm potato salad will comfort you on a cold day and the Penn Pilsner
is fresh and hoppy.

For my next visit, can anyone recommend shops in Pittsburgh with more
competitive prices?  My wife's father lives in Pittsburgh, so we visit
regularly; I'd just never thought to look for equipment there before this
trip.

- -Patrick