Foto Care
136 W. 21st St., near Sixth Ave.
212-741-2990
fotocare.com
Photographers from all over the city come here to buy cameras, scanners, and lighting equipment or to rent gear (pro Nikons and Canons start at $20 a day, plus the cost of lenses). The staff is happy to talk apertures, but they don’t cater to novices.

42nd St. Photo
378 Fifth Ave., near 35th St.
212-594-6565
42photo.com
This shop carries professional-level and consumer cameras and lenses in all the major brands (Olympus, Leica, Nikon), but the main draw is a huge selection of affordably priced point-and-shoots (from $50) and manual-focus cameras (from $99). The Canon PowerShot digital camera is $339.99.

Harvey Electronics
2 W. 45th St., near Fifth Ave.
212-575-5000
harveyonline.com
With a dazzling selection of plasma TVs (from $4,000 to $25,000), Harvey is still the best place in town to shop for hang-it-on-the-wall theater options. The stylish chain also offers plenty of other conventional electronic gear, including high-end stereo components like amps ($500 to $14,000) and even old-school turntables ($330 to $1,000).

J&R Music & Computer World
1-34 Park Row, near Beekman St.
212-238-9000
jr.com
Low prices and a vast selection have made J&R a New York institution for more than 30 years. You could spend an entire afternoon browsing through all the twists and turns of this charmingly idiosyncratic series of spaces and still not see everything on display. Hot items: 3.2-megapixel Fugi digital cameras ($149.99), Audiovox portable DVD players ($169.99), and fifteen-inch Coby televisions with built-in DVD players ($239.99).

Lens & Repro Equipment Corp.
33 W. 17th St., near Fifth Ave., fifth fl.
212-675-1900
lensandrepro.com
You’ll feel like you’ve been let in on a special secret when you see L&R’s fabulous stash of hard-to-find vintage cameras, available for sale or rental (at daily, weekly, or monthly rates). There’s also an excellent selection of new film and digital cameras from makers like Mamiya (from $2,000), Nikon (from $200), and Canon (from $200).

Lyric Hi-Fi
1221 Lexington Ave., near 82nd St.
212-439-1900
lyricusa.com
One of the oldest electronics boutiques in Manhattan, this top-notch seller offers quality stereo equipment from Mark Levinson, Marantz, Audio Research, Classé, Revel, and B&W. Start building your system with, say, a five-disc CD player from Rotel ($599) or a fabulous top-of-the-line CDP-100 CD player ($3,500).

MTV Store
1515 Broadway, at 44th St.
212-846-5654
mtv.com/shop
This kid- and teen-friendly store sells all manner of MTV gear. The emphasis is on logowear, but there are also cool, colorful electronics items like prepaid wireless phones from Virgin Mobile starting at $139. Check out the exclusive merchandise offers and promotional giveaways, but steer clear on weekday afternoons when the Total Request Live studio attracts a mob of screaming teens all fighting for airtime.

Olden Camera & Lens Company, Inc.
1265 Broadway, near 32nd St., second fl.
212-725-1234
Amid the chaos of Herald Square, Olden Camera stands out as a quiet paean to photography’s past. It has new cameras ($35 to $2,000), but we’re particularly dazzled by the broad, ever-changing range of used Leicas, Hasselblads, and Super-8s (from $50). Olden accepts trade-ins toward a new purchase.