About Us
Founded in 2021 SDS is a platform to Buy, Sell, and Trade retro camera gear. We make it easy to sell old camera gear which you no longer use, and offer a wide selection of properly tested and refurbished cameras, camcorders, lenses and accessories, so you know exactly what you're buying. We are the only platform which offers instant quotes for retro cameras, such as MiniDV, Hi8, VHS, Handycams, Digicams, and 35mm Film Cameras, which are often neglected by the larger companies in the used photo video gear industry.
We are proud to be the only company in the UK to offer up to 1 year warranty on all of our retro products, some of which were manufactured 30+ years ago.
Andrew Anderton (Founder of SDS)
Our Story
I’m Andrew Anderton, founder of SDS. Here’s a brief history of how SDS became what it is today and where we’re going in the future. I would like to say a huge thank you to anyone who has ever bought or sold their camera gear to us, without you this wouldn’t be possible, and your loyalty doesn’t go unnoticed!
You can follow our journey on all social media platforms under the handle @sdseurope, as the founder of SDS, I strive for innovation. If there is a feature you would like to see us add, or an item you would like stocked please send me an email and I’ll try my best to make it happen. You can find my email under the ‘contact’ section.
2021
I was a teenager, heavily into filming skateboarding and got my very first Sony VX1000E. The holy grail of MiniDV cameras for skate filmers. After a couple months the viewfinder broke, and the screen went black. After researching, I quickly realised repair stores for these cameras did not exist in the UK, and out of desperation attempted to repair it myself.
It was a success.
The Broken Camera That Started It All
This gave me an idea, I realised there were endless broken cameras out there which society had pretty much given up on and I just managed to fix one. I quickly went on eBay and bought the first broken VX1000 that came up for sale.
The tape deck eject button was broken, causing the tape deck to not eject. I managed to find the part from a seller in America, repair it and list it for sale. I had just put an otherwise useless camera back into use, it was a great feeling and I knew I wanted to do it again.
Come summer of 2021, I announced ‘Standard Def Sales’ on Instagram and a small business was born. If you ever wondered what SDS stands for now you know. The start of SDS was very niche, the business was catered towards selling refurbished cameras to skate film makers via Instagram, but it was a success and we gained several thousand followers by the end of 2021.
Painted Black Sony DCR-VX1000E
2022
Come 2022, I moved to Elephant and Castle, London, to study Film and Television at London Southbank University (LSBU). During this time Standard Def Sales was put on the backburner while I focused on my degree. I always continued to tinker with MiniDV and other retro cameras as well as use them in my own video work for university.
In my first year, I released a skate video ‘Victory Spud’ shot with some friends over the course of a year, filmed primarily with a Sony DCR-VX1000E and a Sony DCR-TRV900E. It was a super fun passion project. While filming for this project my cameras took several hits which forced me to get my toolkits back out. Most notably when my friend Orlando knocked the microphone off my VX1000, or when my mate Otis knocked a drink over my second VX1000 which was painted in a custom purple colourway.
When I went to buy new ones, the market was scarce.
Eventually I found what looked like good examples of these cameras for sale, however when they arrived they were also broken, not properly tested, and filthy. I longed for a place to buy retro cameras that were actually tested and came with some kind of guarantee, nothing existed.
2025
After being fired from my job as a waiter and fresh out of University, I had to decide what to do with my life. The answer seemed obvious.
Start my business back up and take it seriously, this time all or nothing.
I rebranded Standard Def Sales as SDS and acquired the domain sds.net for a hefty sum. The idea was simple: create a platform to buy and sell retro camera gear that people can trust. I worked closely with a web developer to develop an automated trade-in form making it as easy as possible to sell your used camera gear to us without the hassle of selling on sites like eBay. I’m very proud of the result.
I’m also really proud to be able to offer an up to 1 year warranty on all our products, I think it's important to really back how much I believe in the products we sell. We test each piece of equipment thoroughly before listing it on the site, and are clear to describe the exact condition, as well as photograph each product individually here in London.
Cameras Being Tested At The SDS London Office
2026+
Last year was a huge year for SDS, growing our following from 2000 to nearly 20k followers on our platforms combined, but this is just the beginning.
This year we’re doubling down and are determined to continue to provide the best service for buying and selling retro camera gear in the UK. We plan to expand our customer base so we can meet more and more retro camera enthusiasts!
Follow our journey on all socials under the username @sdseurope
Thank you to anyone who read this far!
Andrew and the SDS Team.
