A first rough guide to Yangon's camera shops - MYANMORE magazine
Even with Downtown divided into streets dedicated to different industries, finding a niche service in Yangon can be very, very difficult. Camera equipment and repairs are, if anything, even trickier to locate. This seems to be the first guide for the camera shops and repairers in Yangon. If anything is missing, please let me know!
Royal Digital Camera
(1)34th street, downtown
(2)37TH STREET, DOWNTOWN
This is the best equipped, most well-known camera shop in Yangon, despite the fact that it’s tiny and quite difficult to spot. They stock a very good range of mainly Nikon and Canon bodies and lenses with Sigma, Tamron and Tokina lenses to boot, as well as peripheral product lines like Go Pro’s and some specialised professional video cameras. They also boast an outstanding range of tripods, camera bags and gimbals alongside more specialist products like strobe lights, graduated Neutral Density filters and camera mics. Price are in Kyat and larger purchases come with a one or two year Royal Digital warranty. The staff also speak some English which is helpful for those who don’t understand Burmese camera terminology. This should be your first port of call when purchasing camera equipment; the prices here are a good benchmark against the other shops.
Pisen
35th street, downtown
Another extremely well supplied shop downtown, Pisen has the best selection of lights, bags and general accessories in Yangon, although they don't stock many bodies or lenses. Prices tend to be slightly lower than Royal Digital, but the staff only speak a little English. They are also very good at replacing or trading faulty items.
DCM world
maha bandula park st
The stock in this shop is a bit irregular, but it has the lowest prices on SD cards in particular that I could find in Yangon. Whether they are genuine products I can’t say - but I’ve had no issues with them so far.
Canon Camera Store
Dagon Centre
This small Canon showroom is tucked away in the corridor between Dagon Centres 1 & 2 and looks somewhat out of place; it’s brightly lit, spotlessly clean and very clearly branded. As you would expect, it deals exclusively in new Canon gear and the staff are fairly knowledgeable about the products they sell. There are several camera kits with lenses out on display, and some lenses available to purchase separately. They also sell a small selection of Canon branded bags, tripods and accessory kits. As it deals in new, branded Canon gear, expect a warranty either directly from Canon themselves, or at the very least from the store. Prices may be a little higher than you would find in a non-branded store, however.
Sony Store
Myanmar Plaza
A Sony reseller in an incredibly modern store opened in Myanmar Plaza. The spotless shop stocks TV’s, sound systems, game systems and other Sony products, but there is a substantial portion of floor space dedicated to the range of Sony cameras. They stock pretty much every camera Sony offers at the moment: from the basic point-and-shoot Cybershot range, to intermediate interchangeable lens cameras, all the up to Sony’s outstanding full frame, mirrorless Alpha range (the highest body price is a whopping 4,190,000 kyat!). As is always the case with branded stores, prices may be a little on the high side – but with Sony in Myanmar in particular, this may be the only worthwhile place to purchase it. Purchasing an Alpha here also guarantees a 1 year national warranty backed by TMW Enterprise Ltd, who operate the store.
Image Camera & Accessories Online Store
(1) No.3, 3rd floor (right), Zeya Thiri Kyaung Lane, Yeiktha street, Waizayayanta housing, Thangangyun Tsp.
(2) No. 117/127 (E-1), 36th Street, Middle Block, Kyautada Tsp, 11071 Yangon, Myanmar
A store and showroom that primarily uses Facebook for advertising, communication and online sales, Image Camera & Accessories Online Store offers some of the best deals for quality camera equipment in Yangon. Besides cameras, you can find dry-boxes, camera flashes, tripods, camera rucksacks and even DJI-model drones for reasonable prices. They update their stock and run promotions on their Facebook page fairly regularly, so it’s worth checking out every now and then.
The second store on downtown 36th street is much more accessible, and I would encourage you to visit that over the original store.
Myanma A-hala
Anawratha between 39 &40th street, next to Lotteria
Myanma A-hala is a fairly large camera, video camera and phone store set apart from the area around 33rd/34th street that hosts many of the others, which meant it took a while to find. It sells an excellent range of digital cameras– perhaps even more than Royal Digital – with Fujifilm, Nikon, Canon, Panasonic and more all on display. Unusually for a Burmese camera shop, Myanma A-hala even has a small number of second hand products for sale, including some analogue cameras. They also have a good selection of accessories, from Yongnuo flash guns to strobe kits and a wide variety of tripods. The owner speaks pretty good English if that’s a concern.
Fujifilm Sule Square
Sule Square, Sule Pagoda Road
The first Fujifilm store in Myanmar is now open. Prices are not unreasonable, and they have the best selection of Fuji kit in Myanmar. Definitely worth checking out - I have bought several lenses and bodies from them. They have also poached Ko Nay Win, of Ko Nay Win camera repairs, as one of their camera repairmen. One point of caution though - their stock can be slow to arrive as it is shipped from Japan.
REPAIRS
Zinmaunglinn Camera Repairs and Cleaning
Zinmaunglinn was the owner of the heavily trafficked camera store, The Eye, a small shop downtown which sold a number of old time photographic curiosities. The Eye is gone, but Zinmaunglinn still runs a business from his home in Thingangyun Township, cleaning and repairing cameras for local photographers. He services all digital cameras, but specialises in Canon and Nikon. An SLR sensor clean will cost between $30 and $50, and a replacement shutter unit will cost between $50 and $150.
Zinmaunglinn will send a trusted taxi driver to collect what needs to be repaired and return it for a fee of 5000 Ks. He comes highly recommended.
09-73027117 //
Ko Nay Win camera repair, Sule Pagoda
Ko Nay Win operated out of this small shop on the south side of Sule Pagoda, but has recently been poached by Fuji to repair cameras for the new Sule Square store. His brother has taken over the business. While Ko Nay Win was absolutely excellent, I cannot speak for his brother. Worth looking into either way.
https://www.facebook.com/konaywinfcs/?ref=br_rs
Han Win Tin Camera Repair (recommended by Royal Digital), No 129, 33rd street (middle block)
Royal Digital Camera recommends Han Win Tin for sensor cleaning, and if you thought that Royal Digital was hard to find you this place will come as something of a surprise. Han Win Tin works beneath an awning in an alleyway off 33rd street, and at first glance it looks absolutely nothing like a camera repair shop. Where is the dust-free, sealed environment? Where is the spotless equipment? Han Win Tin doesn’t have any of that, but he does the job pretty well anyway. We took the plunge and had a sensor cleaned there for an astonishing 1000 kyat, and it was actually a very good job. Not for the faint of heart, however.
Sule Pagoda, West side
One of several small camera shops tucked into the Sule Pagoda roundabout, this shop stands out due to its ‘Camera Museum’ display, which hosts an enormous variety of analogue cameras and photographic oddities (many of which are not for sale). The shopfront promises camera repairs, but we can’t guarantee anything as we have never used them. Still, worth checking out for the camera museum if nothing else.
ONLINE SHOPPING
Shop.com.mm
Perhaps not the most obvious choice for camera gear, but shop.com.mm does offer a decent range of mainly Sony and Panasonic compact cameras, DSLR’s and several mirrorless cameras. They also offer a great range of SD cards including Sandisk Gold Extreme SDHC cards, which have an excellent track record on write speeds and reliability. Shop.com.mm is pay on delivery, and they offer a 7-day returns policy if the product is faulty or not as described, so you have peace of mind with a purchase.
This is the first attempt at a comprehensive list of major camera shops in Yangon, but there are most probably some shops that have been missed out. If that’s the case, please let us know in the comments and we will get them added on.