Adolph Gasser’s Camera Shop
by Troy on Nov.11, 2009
Last week when I decided to upgrade from the Canon XTi to the 5D Mark II, the first question was where to buy it? The common price seemed to be ~$2699 — and was available at both Amazon and B&H with free shipping.
But before I placed my order, I placed a call to Adolph Gasser’s to see if they would match the common price — and they could. Moments later I was in possession of one sexy and powerful beast of a camera.
As I unboxed my new best friend, I realized there was an issue with the focusing screen: it had come loose and fallen out during shipping. I immediately called Gasser’s and an employee named Richard picked up the phone. When I told him what happened, he quickly apologized and ordered me a new one. Yesterday Richard called me again, letting me know the replacement had arrived.
I tell you this because in this day of internet price wars, it was important for me to support a local camera shop that has been servicing San Francisco photographers for 3 generations. And I’m glad I did. If I would have had to return the camera to Amazon or B&H, it would have taken several weeks for me to get the replacement. Realizing that his shop faces tough competition from the internet, Richard went above and beyond the call-of-duty to make sure his customer walked away happy.
I asked Richard if he could provide any history on Adolph Gasser and how his camera shop came to be. He pointed me to Adolph Gasser’s obituary in The Chronicle:
Adolph Gasser was born in San Francisco on Jan. 7, 1912, and was raised in the Richmond District by his parents, Adolph and Marie Gasser.
Gasser graduated Polytechnic High School right before the Great Depression started and managed to land a job as a repairman with a camera shop. It was there that he learned how to customize photo equipment.
Gasser quickly gained a reputation as a skilled technician. In 1936, he opened General Camera Repair, his first business, where he met Ansel Adams and Immogen Cunningham.
Gasser enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943, serving with the Photo Division of the 509th Composite Group. While stationed in the Pacific Ocean, he loaded and maintained aerial cameras on B-29 bombers. The cameras would not work in the cold temperatures that exist in high altitudes. Gasser solved that technical problem, and the cameras successfully captured images of bombs dropping on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He also gave a separate camera to the tail gunner to take photographs of the explosions after the plane was flying back to the island.
After the war, Gasser still owned General Camera Repair and became a technical consultant for Nikon Corp. in Japan as its cameras were gaining acceptance. He helped the company solve a number of problems and eventually held patents for “sync systems” that enabled a camera’s flash and shutter to operate simultaneously.
Throughout his career, Gasser used his camera expertise to create specialized equipment. He designed an enlarger, used to make prints from film or negatives, for Adams. And in 1948, he engineered and built a camera known as the “Big Eye” for the San Francisco News, which the paper used for taking photographs at sporting events.
In 1950, Mr. Gasser opened the Hobby Center, a retail shop that sold model trains and airplanes as well as camera and art supplies. That business later became Adolph Gasser Inc.
Son John Gasser took over the daily operations of his father’s photography business in 2000, but the senior Gasser remained involved.
“He enjoyed the work,” John Gasser said. “He was interested in people. He was interested in the changes, how they affected the industry.”
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November 12th, 2009 on 2:01 pm[...] Adolph Gasser’s Camera Shop (Caliber) [...]
November 11th, 2009 on 2:22 pm
I’m so glad you wrote this post… I’m going to contact Adolph Gasser’s tomorrow.
November 11th, 2009 on 4:26 pm
do it! ask for Richard and tell him i sent you.
November 11th, 2009 on 2:23 pm
Great story, was always curious about their history. Glad they took good care of you…
November 11th, 2009 on 2:25 pm
Nice photo of the shop Troy and congrats on the upgrade. I am still on an XT myself and saving for either the 5DmkII or the 7D. So, I was just wondering how you are finding the jump to full frame and the difference to your lenses – which did you already have that are working well for you on the 5DmkII? Also, an opinion question what should one get first from these: computer/software upgrade, better external storage, lens, camera body? Be interested to get some feedback as I am agonizing over the next step. Cheers, Ed
November 11th, 2009 on 3:03 pm
well, its been about 1 week — and so far so good. it performs wonderfully well in low-light conditions. its a bit heavier than the XTi, but ill get used to it.
as for the lenses, my 50 F/1.4, 17-35 F/2.8, 28-135 F/3.5, and 135 F/2.0 all work on the MKII. i much prefer to shoot at the actual focal length (no crop-factor), and the wide angle is just so….wide!
im not sure what your computer set up is, but what i did is this: upgraded PC > upgraded camera > upgraded storage > (will eventually) upgrade a few lenses.
hope that helps!
November 11th, 2009 on 7:45 pm
Just wanted to chime-in on the weight issue —
When I first got my 5D and zoom lens I thought the heft of the beast was going to be a really big problem, but I got completely used to it in my hands within days — and actually I think the extra weighteven makes the camera steadier hand-held. (((heavy objects, aside from boobs, don’t jiggle as much as lighter ones is my theory)))
The camera strap around the neck is what I see as the main problem — a couple hours of that can really still get to me.
And everybody PLEASE remember the first rule of photography — to put that darn strap around your neck (((or at least wrap that strap solidly around your wrist like I was watching Brad do on the Halloween photo-walk))).
November 12th, 2009 on 8:13 am
“heavy objects, aside from boobs, don’t jiggle as much as lighter ones is my theory”
Don, you crack me up sometimes.
November 11th, 2009 on 2:45 pm
Great post. Is great to have a shop like Gasser’s in town. I wish I could say the same about the greedy vampires operating Discount Camera.
November 12th, 2009 on 8:13 am
yeah, that place sucks. i called them, too and they refused to give me a price over the phone. avoid Discount Camera at all costs.
November 11th, 2009 on 2:59 pm
Awesome post. I love reading about the history of people in San Francisco.
November 11th, 2009 on 3:59 pm
I bought a used Contax RTS with a Zeiss 50 mm f/1.4 from Richard at Gasser’s when I visited San Francisco in May. It was a surprise find and very much an impulse buy. He offered a great deal (far lower than the sticker price) and even threw in a few rolls of film. I’ll stop by again next time I’m out there…who knows what I’ll find, right?
I love old shops like Gasser’s. I’m glad that people are still doing regular business at old-school shops like theirs.
November 11th, 2009 on 4:47 pm
This post sure makes me want to spend (more) money and take (more) pictures. That’s probably what I’ll end up doing, too.
November 11th, 2009 on 5:14 pm
Yes! Score one for the local businesses! Glad to hear they were able to hook you up.
November 11th, 2009 on 5:44 pm
My wife and I are looking to get into photography. Thanks for the heads up on a great local shop to check out. We’ve been looking on buy.com and amazon and I’ve felt guilty about not checking out a local business but didn’t want to get run over the coals by someone thinking we are tourists.
Also Troy, enjoy all your pictures. Give a guy something to strive towards.
November 12th, 2009 on 8:15 am
thanks, Mike!
are you on Flickr? id love to check out your photos
November 13th, 2009 on 9:36 am
We haven’t set anything up yet. Actually looking at getting our first DSLR so it’ll be nice to actually talk to someone at the store about it. We borrowed a friend’s when we went to Europe last year, but hope to take our own this year.
November 11th, 2009 on 8:42 pm
Good for you supporting a local business. I have purchased my last few cameras from Keeble & Shuchat in Palo Alto (my local camera shop). With all of the conflicting reviews for most products on the internet, I find it helpful to consult a real camera professional. And I, too, have had a great experience with an easy return.
November 12th, 2009 on 9:16 am
Cool, that’s where I bought my 20D four years ago.
November 12th, 2009 on 1:01 pm
It’s great that they were able to match that price!
November 12th, 2009 on 2:58 pm
Nice write-up.
I’ve received nothing but excellent service from Gasser’s. I’d spent months trying to track down and purchase a Nikon 18-200 VR lens (almost impossible to get at the time) — and finally walked into Gasser’s.
They had one, but it was part of a D80 kit. Not only did they price match B&H… they were happy to split the lens package out of the kit to sell it to me. This was at a time when other retailers were totally gouging customers who were trying to buy this hard-to-stock lens.
Bravo.