Foto Care

Foto Care is a real gem! I shot wedding on Saturday, and one part of my lens unexpectedly fell off on that day. I was going crazy then my photographer friend told me about this place. Thank God that it’s open on Saturdays. I ran into the shop and found Santiago. He was super helpful and even tried to fix my lens — truly impressive customer service. He was an extraordinary life saver! I couldn’t be more grateful. Thank you very much!

Amazing service, rentals and sales. Rentals are OPEN ON SATURDAY, which is a lifesaver for professionals. They’re prices are very good, you can see a lot of the gear in person and far less foreign tourists clogging up the lines (like Adorama or bh). The rental house is run by professionals not college students and they treat you well here. I’d recommend to anyone who does this stuff for work to come here first. They allowed me to use the rental fees towards a new profoto b1 (within a short period of time), which is good if you’re considering a costly purchase.

I don’t write reviews often, but really wanted to so I could comment on how great this place is. I went to foto care with some broken equipment — they didn’t sell the pieces I needed but were still incredibly nice and helpful. Jeffrey and Tommy both went out of their way to explain to me what I needed, where/​how to get it, and even helped remove broken glass from the equipment for me. Considering how helpful they were without even making a sale, I’d definitely go back here for any photo needs.

Very delighted about the quality of service and the politeness of the staff.
I am a portrait and wedding photographer in Paris, France and traveled to New York for an event. It is particularly difficult to rent photography gear as a foreigner and was highly disappointed by the 2 other big rental stores in the area as they were asking for credit card statement and other papers that I simply didn’t had on me being a tourist.
Foto Care was my salvation and the gentleman at the counter was very helpful.
The gear was clean and of good quality.
The opening hours were convenient too, to be able to return the gear in time and catch our flight after the event.
A big thank you Foto Care and hugs from Paris !

Rented a flash for my DSLR from these guys a couple weeks ago. As a first time renter, I was surprised by how easy the process was. They took my address and credit card number (your credit card has to be authorized for the value of the rental) and then handed me a flash in a camera bag. The whole pick-​up process only took about five minutes. The return was just as easy. I just handed the bag back to a guy on the other side of the counter and left. No forms, no questions, nothing. I really appreciated how non-​condescending they were, which, as a female in the industry, is not always the case at tech shops. I’d go back if I needed to rent again.

Always helpful and my favorite shop to purchase my photo gear.

Strange experience with these guys. Took my DSLR in to get the sensor cleaned; the guys were nice but a little condescending.
They had taken the camera and I was on my way out the door when they stopped us and said they needed the adapter to charge it. I ended up taking the camera back and leaving since I didn’t have the adapter with me.
Took it to Photo Tech after work one day and the guys there said they didn’t need the charger/​adapter to clean the sensor. I’m still perplexed. Maybe Foto Care just didn’t want to do the job?
Go to Photo Tech (
), they’re much nicer and more helpful.

I wanna give a lot of love on here to Tommy Acre. I special ordered a camera case to be drop shipped from his distributor on the East Coast to my PO Box in Seattle… and I wanted it done one week before Christmas. I knew it was a nightmare order, but Tommy called the distributor, made sure it shipped in enough time to get here before Christmas, got the tracking number, sent me the receipt, and patiently answered all of my dumb questions. He provided some world class customer service and I wanted to make sure he got some cred.
Thanks again Tommy and Merry Christmas!

Caveat emptor. Fotocare has cutthroat salesmen. Maybe great rental dept, maybe even great repair technicians. But they took a huge amount of money from me and flushed it down the toilet when I purchased a used Hasselblad HD system from them.
I spent literally weeks on the phone with Don, one of their top salesmen, and traveled by train hundreds of miles to purchase a very expensive camera system. Turns out, I was swindled by Don and a photographer friend of his that owned the system I purchased through Fotocare.
It was only a few weeks after I bought that camera that it was clear the system was not what I needed to transition my business. The lens was far too long. The camera body was too bulky. I tried for MONTHS to contact Don to get his help to resell the USED system he pawned off on me. Guess what? He never returned any of my phone calls. Zero. zilch. If it had been an honest transaction he would have talked to me. I even had his personal cell phone number.
Lesson learned: Do your research, trust no one. And especially not the folks at Fotocare. I hope Don and his buddy enjoyed splitting his commission.

I was working on a photo project in the US when right towards the end the shutter of my Leica went and clicked no more.
I happened to be in NYC and was planning to go all the way to New Jersey to get my camera fixed by Leica but then a photographer friend of mine, who has been dealing with Fotocare for years said, «No. Don’t go to NJ. I am going to take you to my guys to get it fixed.»
That’s how I ended up at Foto Care and I am glad I did. Very professional customer service, super friendly, polite and extremely knowledgeable. They send in my camera, provided me with an estimate, which I approved and when the camera was finally fixed they called me and shipped it promptly. I called a couple of times to check up on progress (Leica repairs take a long time and I am not the patient type) and I always spoke to the same guy who already seemed to know what it was about. Foto Care is now a mandatory stop whenever I am in NYC. Also they have pretty much everything in store a professional photographer could possibly ask for. Second to none if you ask me.

A great photo store for the pro! The selection is limited to good items that you need, not a bunch of rubbish to get mass consumers in off the street. The salespeople are always patient, and informed. They also have good prices on used equipment.

Foto Care has survived decades of the vicissitudes of the photo business by providing first rate products and services to the professional photography community.
If you are looking for sales and advice about high end photo equipment in New York City, Foto Care has to be on your short list. This is especially important now as equipment has become so specialized and esoteric. They are a member of an elite group of vendors to the trade. In my experience only Bear Images Photographic in Palo Alto, Badger Graphics in Wisconsin or Michael Ulsaker in Connecticut are of the same calibre. There are no doubt others, but it is a small group.
I have been dealing with them since the 1970’s with never a bad moment.

Fantastic customer service and friendly, knowledgeable staff make going here an absolute PLEASURE. Ronald helped diagnose what was wrong with my GoPro by taking time to thoroughly check it out. I went in on a sunny Saturday and got the kind of personal attention you rarely see any more — THANKS GUYS!

It baffles me how some businesses survive. This business owns a LARGE amount of property not terribly far from B&H. Even amidst the wannabe-​photographer fad these days, it baffles me that they can keep paying the rent. Services and products are there when you need them, but just seems like the multiple-​Sleepys-​within-​a-​few-​mile-​radius that plagues suburbia — how many are really needed?

A truly profession photo store geared toward pros and amateurs; incredible knowledge, personal attention.
All the top of the line brands and they even carry things like iPads. 2 steps above an Adorama. It is a little more expensive for some items, but you same money when you make better, smarter purchases for your photography.

B&H gets all the hype, Adorama picks up the slack, but fotocare is the only place you ever need to rent from. Needed some last minute lighting for a shoot and the process and service couldn’t have been more smooth or accommodating. Even as I write this I am stuck an extra day on this shoot and I called Fotocare to let them know and they kindly worked it out. I will be renting from these guys from now on. Save yourself the time and start and finish your search here.

I needed some equipment to shoot a video project for a client but Adorama was closed for Sukkos. They aren’t my go to place to rent equipment due to their prices, for example the Canon 50 mm 1.2 is $ 65 for the first day and at Adorama its $ 25 or $ 35 cant remember exactly. Also with Adorama they include extra bulbs with their Kino Flo lights but Foto Care doesn’t. Everything worked as i expected it would and there were no incidents but the price is almost double on some items.
However, they are some of the most knowledgeable staff at any rental house. They have caught my mistake once or twice when i requested a piece of equipment that wasn’t compatible with each other. Also if you have a question just ask and they will either know or find our for you. The sales staff is also on top of their stuff. I was in to look at a Hasselblad H5 dig to replace my H3. In the few years between purchases I hadn’t really kept up to daye on some of the new features. I made an appointment and their sales staff spent over a hour running me through the differences and features. The prices were competitive and they knew the gear.
Just remember they are there to make a sale its their job. Do a little research and know what gear you need when you go in. I would give them a 5 if they adjusted their rental prices to a more reasonable rate.

Phenomenal. I walked in one day, not ready to make a purchase, but with a need to learn the Profoto pack and head system before a shoot that evening.
Bob took me around to the section of the store with Profoto gear and showed me literally everything about it, from accessory mounting to power control. He then researched student discounts for me and recommended a good set up. When I’m ready to buy my first Profoto kit, this is where I’ll be going. Just fantastic.

Ask for Tommy he’s FANTASTIC!
I was in town for a wedding and my husband had forgot to pack my charger for our Canon SLR. Men. What can I say?
It was 2 pm on a Friday and B & H was closed…I posted a frantic request on FB.. . I desperately called around trying to get prices for chargers ($ 70??? for something that I only needed for a few hours seemed ridiculous). One of the shops I called gave me the number to Foto Care. In steps Tommy to save the day. He gives me the prices and after I explain the situation he tells me that if I have time that I can just swing by and drop off the battery and he’ll charge it for me. I just need to be back by 6pm to pick it up. Talk about relief! I wasn’t expecting that at all.. . Who does that these days?
Tommy & Foto Care are legit. Highly recommend.

Haven’t really done enough business with them to really make the best and most accurate review but I’ll give you the low down on FotoCare. FotoCare is one of the top 10 professional photo stores in the city and in the top dozen for rental houses as well. The fact that I added their business and am writing their first review really only means there really isn’t any pro photographers on Unilocal.
FotoCare has the largest Broncolor display and supply of rental equipment of any place in the city (one of the most in the world I’m sure). If you want to rent or take a look at the most professional (and most expensive) lighting equipment out there then go on down to FotoCare. From what I hear they also have fantasic support for digital backs.
The store is a bit small and not the most organized and clean place you’ll go to but that mainly comes from the fact that FotoCare’s bread and butter is their rentals.
I’ll make sure to keep this review up to date if I have more experiences renting or buying equipment from them but for now we’ll leave it at a respectable 4 stars.