CameraTechs

I’ll preface this and say I like and respect what these guys do. There are very few places that sell, repair, and generally still deal with film cameras. They even do a free diagnostic test on any film camera you’d bring in.
I stopped in maybe a month ago knowing very little about film camera models (born after the heyday of film). A younger guy running the counter gave me a brief synopsis of the models they had. While I’m an equal supporter of Canon/​Nikon in the DSLR and mirrorless world, I was told to try Minolta/​Pentax/​Olympus for film SLRs. He pulled a few out of the case of each and explained the differences and made some recommendations. I appreciated the advice, but still went home to research on my own.
I ended up buying elsewhere because I was able to get a good deal on a mint Olympus OM2n and a cheap OM1n. Cosmetically the former was better than what I’d seen at the shop (and honestly, better than I’d seen for sale anywhere). For film camera people a CLA (Clean, Lube, Adjust) is a necessary expense on all cameras just like an oil change in a car. So even though I didn’t buy the bodies from them (which by the way, come with a CLA included) I was going to end up taking them in for work regardless.
Sure enough I got my OM2n and while it looked great, it had some pretty annoying mirror lock up issues. I went in for a diagnostic on ⁴⁄₁₆ where they tested the battery (it was fine, I just put it in brand new), checked the shutter speeds (they were sloppy and inconsistent), and ran a quick visual check. Since it needed a CLA anyway I left it with them to do that and take a look at the mirror lock problem. While I was there they also tested the OM1n and told me shutter at 500 and 1000 was fine, but at slower speeds it got sloppy and that the lens mount was just inside acceptable tolerances. I took that camera back with me for the time being, since it was still in good enough shape for the moment while my second was in the shop.
They turned it around quick and it was ready for pick up on ⁴⁄₁₉. Stopped in to get it and testing shows the mirror lock problem isn’t occurring anymore– Great! The older gentleman behind the counter (I never caught his name) is very personable and we chatted a bit about the work they did and battery options for my OM1n which takes a mercury 1.35v cell that’s no longer made. I’m happy to find out that the CLA on that model includes replacing the battery with a converter module to take a modern 1.5v silver oxide battery. So now I’ll probably be bringing in my second camera for a service visit.
The only wrinkle I had here was that even though they tested my battery when I brought my camera in, they still threw it away (it was new) and put in a new set of batteries and added the cost to my repair bill. I noticed and asked about this at payment and the tech apologized and took the line item off without any fuss. I would have been fine if they’d mentioned it up front and kept my battery to give back, but it was already gone. They did scrounge one from behind the counter to give me and let me keep the SR44’s they’d already installed without charge.
Overall the only real reasons for 4 stars instead of 5 are cost and hours. For film cameras that you can buy in decent shape for $ 80 – 120, it’s hard to swallow a $ 159 repair cost + tax. If I had already had lenses or they’d had a more cosmetically nice body, I’d probably just buy from them at the $ 189 body only price to get the free CLA/​3 month warranty. (it’s basically like getting the body for $ 30 – 50 and a full repair bill, versus my $ 120 + repair). The repair is warranted for the same 3 months on its own, so at least if I run into mirror locking issues again I can take it back in. The shop is also closed on Sundays and only open until 6 during the week, so I generally have to leave work early and hustle over to Ballard before they close.
Regardless though, CLA and camera repairs are basically unavoidable on film cameras that are (in my case) 40+ years old. The fact that they still work is due to loving care from previous owners and keeping up with maintenance on my end.
Further notes — they do sell film at a reasonable price as well. I typically shoot Ilford HP5 Plus B&W in my OM1n and picked up some here for about $ 5 a roll. I get it for $ 4 online (plus shipping unless I buy $ 50 or more) so that’s a fair price for convenience.

CameraTechs is my go-​to place for camera repair, cleaning and I’ve also purchased several items here as well. Today I brought a friend to see if her older digital camera could get the cracked screen replaced. We soooooo appreciated the honesty and forthrightness that Bill gave as the part was no longer available through Nikon but could be purchased online (eBay), so it was possible to repair. However, being an older camera, the repair cost was debatable since a used camera would most likely be less expensive. This was all relayed by Bill (the owner) so my friend knew what her choices were. Knowing other repair places in the city might just take the camera and fix it (which my friend would’ve done, not knowing other choices), we were very grateful for the honesty especially knowing it would be a lost job for CameraTechs. Having worked (many many years ago) in the camera repair industry, I feel extremely qualified to recommend Bill and CameraTechs. Yes, professional repair can be expensive (tools, education, storefront, employees, rent, etc.) — and sometimes it IS less expensive to purchase something else — that seems to be the nature of our world now with many consumer items — planned obsolescence and marketing.

I scored a vintage Minolta at Goodwill a while ago and while investigating a shutter jam managed to remove the lens from the focusing ring (??). After some extensive Googling I realized the whole thing had to be taken apart and refocused, which is more work than I’m capable of doing on my own but it’s a nice lens! I usually go to Glazers for all things cameras but this place is in my neighborhood so I thought I would stop by and see what they said.
First of all, I totally get why people get an elitist vibe from this place because I’m not an expert by any means but I’m also not completely stupid when it comes to cameras (especially vintage metal bodies, which I collect) but I felt talked down to the entire time. I will say they were friendly enough just kind of treat you like you have no clue what you’re talking about. So the guy told me it was like $ 70 for a repair, and I could just buy a new lens for cheaper. Then he looked at the body and recited a laundry list of problems with it, going so far as to say it was in a «sad state» and wasn’t exposing properly (I had already tested the camera before buying it lol) and gave me a ballpark repair estimate of about $ 200. Mind you, they are selling the same model in their store for less than that! Just the way the guy delivered this news (and diagnosing the body at all when I was asking for a lens repair) felt super shady to me so I elected not to have my $ 15 investment repaired.
Anyway, another guy sort of helped me pick out another lens and cleaned up the mirror for me, which was appreciated. I did end up buying a new lens, and was then told that it should be serviced so it would be a few days before I could use it? It’s great that they include that, but I feel like it should be done before putting it out for sale.
I went to Glazers after and told a rep there about my estimate, he kind of rolled his eyes and directed me to Phototronics up the street. The guy there was super helpful and informative and took a look at my camera and declared it was in fine working order for its age and I should only watch using the slowest/​fastest speeds because they tend to lose accuracy with age. He also took my lens for free and said he had a replacement for me if it turned out not to be worth the effort of putting it back together.
So definitely not my new go-​to camera place! I would definitely take their unsolicited suggestions with a grain of salt because they’re probably trying to upsell you! Trust your own judgment/​intuition and get a second opinion if they give you an outrageous quote!

Remarkably great (and prompt!) service and wide selection of camera equipment. I’ve had several repairs here and I’ve always been elated by the quality and their honesty — e.g. suggesting a repair may not be worth the price even though it’s in their financial interest.
A great place to drop by just to get your camera examined to see if your shutter timings and f-​stops are accurate or not as they check the calibration free of charge.

I have been making photographs in many formats as a hobbyist and on-​again-​off-​again professional for about 15 years. I have come into Camera Techs on and off (I’ve lived in Ballard for large portions of this time) for about 11 of those years. The up and down reviews on the site here are actually pretty consistent with my experience with Bill and company here over time, to be frank. Some days they’re helpful, some days they’re borderline condescending and rude. I could be wrong but I believe Bill is the only real technician because he’s the only one I’ve ever seen head-​down doing repairs during my many stops in her over the years. But I suppose my complaint would have to be that for the times I really needed some local expertise/​repair, those were the times that Camera Techs just never came through. They are great for buying a tripod that you can try out in-​store, or grabbing and extra filter or having your sensor cleaned… But outside of that, I just don’t think I’ll bother any longer. I’ve had far better luck elsewhere… but a long drive or a mail-​order away unfortunately.
I suppose I should thank them because of the (more than a handful of times) issues I’ve been turned away for in Ballard I’ve been able to find someone much cheaper via contacts elsewhere, or have learned a great deal sorting it myself (albeit taking quite a while to do so)…
They do have a fairly nice used inventory of interesting stuff… definitely priced higher than you might imagine, but with peace of mind that comes with buying locally from a shop that checked it out and cla’d it properly before placing it behind the for-​sale glass. If you just need a random used replacement lens cap or camera case — they’re great with bins to dig through and reasonable prices. I like the store for the most part I suppose, but going into Camera Techs is a little like walking into a photography version of the music store in «High Fidelity»… for whatever that’s worth. :)

I went in to CameraTechs to get some «expert» opinion on a seemingly simple repair. Due to my own carelessness, I shoved my CF card in my Canon 5D Mark II and bent a couple pins. Using a small, incorrectly-​sized screwdriver and cosmetic tweezers, along with all the proper ESD protection, I was able to take apart the camera body in about 30 minutes to get access to the motherboard component which was attached to the CF card assembly.
Thinking that I could in and ask for some advice, a potential source for the pins, and/​or a full card assembly repair, I went into my neighborhood camera store, CameraTechs. The employee who initially spoke to me was very helpful, however when it came time to quote a repair and get information on the pins, he gave me an estimate but had to refer to his co-​worker, who I can only assume is the head technician, for a final quote on the repair. The head tech immediately refused service, saying that they only perform full camera repairs and for a «cheap» $ 395 (a little less than half the cost of my camera at this point), they would repair the three broken pins. Apparently the board has to be inside the camera so they can justify charging $ 300 to get to the board, something which took me 30 minutes to do myself.
So… thank you to the kind employee who was eager to help and seemingly baffled that his co-​worker wanted to charge over four times his quoted amount if I simply place the board back in the camera body for them to disassemble. And no thank you to the technician/​exploitative boss who couldn’t help with a repair they confirmed that they were able to do simply because I had done some of the work myself.
Please only go here if you are willing to be taken advantage by one of the far too many «tech experts» who make their business off of preying on those who are not so camera or electronics literate. In the meantime, I am back to the internet to source the pins from an actual parts shop or Canon reseller to complete the repairs myself. If you are unable or unwilling to do the same for your camera repairs, I am not here to judge, I would just recommend finding a different camera shop.

Always helpful to have a camera repair service like these guys in town. I’d give 4.5 stars ideally, as the only quibbles are that they aren’t open on Sundays. The techs here aren’t chatty or the most talkative lot; they’re really content to do their fixing quietly while letting me browse about the store, but are happy to answer any questions I have (and are quite patient with dumb questions of mine). They are really nice to check out any problem areas where they can, or tell me upfront if they can’t repair /​clean something if it’s beyond their ability or would risk damage. Great service all around, fair prices.

Great camera repair with staff members who are very professional and knowledgable. I received a prompt response within 24 hours to my initial inquiry submitted to their website. I brought my camera in for further inspection and they gave me a free estimate on what was worth fixing and what wasn’t. Great local business that you can count on!

Amazing service! My Nikon fell out of an overhead bin. When I tried to look at it, my stomach turned as I heard the crunch of broken glass. I put it back in its bag, not wanting to do any more damage. They opened it up, checked the camera itself first and then the lens, both of which had remarkably survived (our filter took the brunt of the fall’s shock). They cleaned everything out and sold and installed a new filter in no time, with no charge for the testing. The best!

It has been years since I’ve purchased a film camera. The reason? They don’t go obsolete. Film is infinite, but digital devices are constantly going obsolete. Up until I came here for a new camera, I’d been using the same one my Dad owned in the 60’s and it still takes pictures just as good today as it did back then. I’ve used «clunkers» from eras before I was born and they still rock. Maybe it’s just art-​foggy hipster nostalgia, but I love film and anywhere that sells it is okay in my book.
I was helped here with basic questions about the various cameras. They definitely know a fair amount about the various models and the slight nuances of them. The prices I feel are definitely fair. They’re all refurbished and made to working order before they sell em. When I test drove mine, I just LOVED the feel of the film advance lever and the *KRR-​CHOCK* sound it makes.
Got the pics back from Moonphoto (shot with black and white) and the prime lenses I purchased along with the camera produced gorgeous images.
Great place to browse some old cameras!

Absolutely great service and friendly staff!
Visiting from Australia, i grabbed my camera out of my bag only to realise i had left my charger and battery back in the powerpoint at home! Smart eh?
Cut a long story short, we were more then pleased with the guys and would definitely recommend them and their services

I really liked these guys. The f-​stop adjustment ring for my 28 mm cannon lens wasn’t changing the aperture, which is common with older lenses that have goo buildup on the mechanism. Instead of taking it and putting it in line to be serviced without giving it an extra thought (typical of most shops), the technician stopped what he was working on to play with it for a minute. He realized the lens had a reset feature that wasn’t working properly. All he had to do was manually reset it and it worked fine. He taught me how to do it, and then offered to give me a lens cap out of the extras bin since I’d lost mine. Was in and out in 20 minutes with a better understanding of how my lens works, a fixed lens, and a new lens cap.

My camera is kind of special it is kind of rare in America I broke my screen so I went in for repair have to be honest they didn’t do too good screen was fix but there were other problem that accrue after the repair they told me to go back but since I don’t have a car It is very inconvenient for me to go back there Sorry can’t really say they are amazing

Bill!
I appreciate your time and your thorough response! Thank you for the offer, I appreciate it and would love to take you up on it when I’m next in town.
I apologize in being frantic for the roughness of the review, it was a reflection of the urgency of the experience for me. While I feel it was still an accurate representation of my time in your store, I also know it could have been more balanced in the writing and in the asking of where your employee’s response came from.
As an update, I took your employee’s advice, went to Glazer’s, and they pulled a Mini USB cable out of the bag and off their shelf for me to plug in my 7d. I hear that in your experience that this hasn’t worked – luckily for me and my friend’s wedding photos, it worked and I grabbed those images.
Alls well that ends well– :)
Thank you again, I’ll see you soon!

I needed my camera sensor cleaned on my NEX-​5R. Everyone there was extra friendly. My cleaning was finished before I was done eating my lunch and it looks great. I was told that if there are still spots within a week, just come back and they’ll have it cleaned again. But there won’t be a need for that. :)

I’ve had nothing but great customer service experiences at this shop. I’ve purchased two Canon AE-​1 cameras here and taken another in for some problems I was having. All of the techs have been very helpful and explained what the best options were for my needs.

BAD REPAIR STORY
I just had a very bad experience with Camera Techs. I had a lens that had a somewhat minor issue that I brought in for repair. I was told that they could fix the issue, and was told at the time that they would also fix any other issue that they found with the lens. Great! They also said that I would get a 6 month warranty on the lens. Great!
Soon they call and let me know that in addition to the original problem, they found another problem and would need to send the camera to Canon for repair. That was confusing — I thought they said that they would fix everything (and of course, they mentioned that if they needed extra parts that they would charge me). I figure oh well, and they shipped it to Canon. The estimate for the full repair ended up being almost the full cost of a used version of the lens — so of course I said no, send it back. Now I’m down $ 30.
I receive the lens, and lo and behold, the lens’ focus performs worse than it did before. I brought it back to them, and they said they couldn’t do anything about it. It boggles my mind that they can take my lens, fix a slight issue, then make it worse in another part, and refuse to cover the costs for fixing it.
The whole point of me taking this lens to the local shop was so that I could pay someone to fix my lens without having to go through the trouble (and cost) of sending it to Canon. If you decide to get a repair done here, be aware that their full service repair is *not* a full service. They can only do some things, and then they’ll force you to charge for harder fixes. What’s the point of that?
They’ve also been uncooperative in understanding the basic fact that this whole process has left my lens in a worse condition.

I had a problem with my off camera flash setup, pocket wizards and Nikon flashes. I had spent three days trying to solve the problem, read hundreds of pages on online forums, tried everything I could think of. I took my set up to Camera Techs and one of the guys working there took a look at everything and within a few minutes was able to fix it for me and show me the one tiny tiny little detail I just seemed to keep missing. I was soooooo relieved ! I was on the verge of giving up on my pocket wizards and using a video light. will be going here in the future for any repairs etc. Awesome knowledgable service.

As a recent transplant to Seattle I really wanted to find a local business that I could support and when my beloved Nikons N50 and D70 started acting up, I found this place and brought them both in for service. While some people report outstanding service I cannot come up with an explanation why I was simply told nothing could be done for either camera. As in not even offer to clean it or test it, even after I asked and stated I was willing to pay due to the sentimental value they have for me.
I was just told the N50 is old (strange, given what others report about them knowing vintage cameras) and worthless and the D70 couldn’t even be cleaned. Simply: nothing can be done. As in throw them away, was my impression. Still found the opportunity to recommend a $ 50 filter for one of the «nothing can be done» cameras. Strange.
So I found another place where they tested, cleaned them (dust in the sensor was the problem with the N50) and I will continue patronizing that business. Never going back here.

I haven’t really frequented many camera stores (only Calumet when I still lived in SF) but I don’t really expect a welcoming party when I step into camera shops. I hated most of the people at Calumet, but I still spent thousands there. These camera people, they’re not here to make small talk or throw a party when you step in the door, and that’s fine with me; there have been many times when I wished people would just leave me alone and let me shop. I always do my research on what I need to buy before stepping into a camera store. I go in, get what I need, and get the hell out. I’m not going to ask for advice, and I do not welcome advice, because chances are, I have done ALL the research and have made my decision. I hate it even more when some people try to give me advice on how to raise my dog, but I digress.
Anyway, 5 stars because they cleaned my 60D’s sensor. It was my first time and I was nervous. I had a spot VERY visible at f/​8, and nothing was visible at f/​22 after having it cleaned. I was going on a trip to Yellowstone soon, so I needed it cleaned asap! Since I got my first DSLR, I was worried about having to get something so delicate cleaned, having to possibly send it to Canon, waiting several weeks, etc, but coming here was worry free. It was done very quickly and I got both an email and call to let me know my camera was ready for pickup.