Broadway Camera

I was treated so badly by the server that I walked out. The server treated me like I was stupid, and completely missed the opportunity of a sale. I had a $ 1000 budget to buy a DSLR camera, and I asked what they would recommend for my needs which I listed. I came in with an idea of what I wanted with a camera that I got off the Olympus website that I knew would do everything I needed for $ 700. I asked if there was anything else he would recommend as a comparison and this guy then pointed at a $ 4,000 camera and said that it was all he could recommend. Very stuck up, the guy’s attitude was so nasty, I literally felt like I was a piece of dirt on his shoe, the way he looked at me. Honestly left feeling personally got at over a 5 minute conversation.
I will Never ever be shopping here again. Go to Lense and Shutter in Kits, super helpful and welcoming, they are actually passionate about photography, they don’t care if you know loads or nothing at all, they are just pleased that you are interested. Do not shop here unless you want bad customer service and no advice at all.

«Shop locally and support you community» it is the slogan on Camera Broadway web page but how can we do that if they have the worst costumer services all around the world.
people here are rude and hostile, I ask for a sony lens and they told me. «as you can see we are sold out on sony lenses»
me: ok can you please tell me when are you going to have the lens?
cb: we don´t know and we don´t have an estimate, probably couple of weeks.
what???
don´t waste your time and buy online, you can find better return policies everywhere.
(here 14 days)

Solid 3.5 stars, it’s always a pleasure going to specialty stores for their knowledge.
Asked Sam the best compact SLR, and showed a Nikon model for $ 750, on sale with savings of $ 140; detachable back screen with WIFI even, now that’s getting pics straight from there to here for Unilocal,pretty handy for a prolific picture-​taker like myself.
Strange they accept Union Pay but not Amex, similar merchant fees and definitely not as widely accepted as AMEX in North America, but I digress.
He did mention that Nikon has extra year warranty and made in Thailand, versus the Canon’s made in Japan but in terms of reliability, he said both are pretty good. Just a personal thing.
They’ve got a great selection of camera bags entirely on the far left wall as well as centre, even the smaller ones to carry 3 lenses go for $ 80. Lots of pockets, I dig that.

First went to this shop a few years ago bought a Sigma lens with 5 years warranty that had a defective focusing mechanism. First I visited the Broadway location where I originally bought the lens and was told by the sales rep that I would have to pay for the shipment to get it fix with no guarantee that it would be a defective. Basically they used the term «user error» as in I’m at fault of the lens. They didn’t even look at the lens or troubleshoot it. So, hence with their very negative customer service I then visited a different store in Coquitlam with a completely different customer service like a flip of a switch. Coquitlam provided excellent top notch customer service and even spend 20 – 30 minutes to trouble shoot the defective lens and without any questions, they sent the lens for repair under warranty. The lens came back in 2 weeks working like new. A happy customer.
I then visited back to the Vancouver store on Broadway to kill some time and was interested in looking at point and shoot cameras for outdoors /​underwater /​backpacking type where size and weight matters. A different sales rep also wasn’t friendly. Not being in the market for a point and shoot camera I have asked for the basic questions /​features between different brands of camera and all of the response I got from them oh its the same type of lens, same type of etc. I questioned what are the differences? Oh not much, its basically the same camera. Uh? Based on these kind of technical questions I expect some knowledgeable response that would help me decide what is the right camera. Sure enough I can do the research online and get the information needed and spend my money elsewhere. They totally lost a customer. The staff are intimating like they are the «real» expertise but in reality their ego gets in the way and they really are not helpful.
A very unhappy customer and never going back to the Vancouver store again based on very poor customer service, unfriendly people and not caring for their customers. I’ll take my business to Coquitlam store and/​or other camera shops because they do actually help you and provide better services.

I had been wanting to check out Broadway Camera for some time. As I had a B&W roll of Medium Format that needed developing I went out of my way instead of going to my usual spot which is further away and thought I could combine my visit to the store with «dropping off a film.» Hello stupid. The store doesn’t «handle» film. «No we don’t do that.» So I walked out straight. I guess they only cater to hobby clientele that is into the «latest» gear with a shit ton of money who don’t even know what analog photography is. Same with Jessops in London, UK, who started that even 7 years ago. I guess I will buy my Leica gear somewhere else then.

My goodness. I’m with Eric B. on this one. I’ve been here before, but have never experienced such poor customer service. Being the *only* customer in the store, I am surprised with the lazy and loathsome attitude I was met with in the form of Carven. At this point, I’m ready to tell my husband to return his gift because it only reminds me of this awful experience.

Awesome customer service experience today at Broadway Camera that has made me want to recommend them to everyone and to thank & praise Robert for the fast, friendly help.
Brought in a 1-​day old D5200 with dust-​on-​sensor issue causing a visible blotch on photos. This is my girlfriend’s first DSLR finally bought after half a year of deliberation over makes and models and comes from seriously hard-​earned savings. She went from excited/​overjoyed to seriously disappointed when we discovered the problem. And who wouldn’t be.
At first we thought it was grease on sensor (à la D600) and would require a warranty job @ Nikon. But, quickly realized it was a dust speck on the sensor after doing a mirror lockup. We tried the built-​in piezo shake to clean the sensor twice, but no luck.
At this point we thought to look for advice from a local shop. Checked Unilocal and noticed Kerrisdale Camera had the highest rating. But Broadway Camera is closest for us and I’ve bought several items from there so I thought we should try it first. We’re very glad we did.
Upon walking in the store we were immediately greeted by a friendly, welcoming, smiling Robert (tall fellow) upon approaching the counter and we explained the issue. The immediate vibe from Robert was that he just wanted to help in whatever way possible, whether that meant trying to fix the issue himself, referring us to specialized camera cleaning service or recommending some inexpensive cleaning products. He actually did all three.
Robert did a mirror lock-​up, looked at the sensor, confirmed that yup, there was a large visible piece of dust on the sensor and then reached over for a large air-​bulb blower and said: «Let’s see if we can blow it out.» Facing the camera body downwards, placing the bulb on the counter he proceeded to give the sensor a serious air-​wash for about 10 seconds. Taking another look at the sensor he reported with a smile: «Yup, it’s gone,» and handed the camera over for us to inspect. Joy immediately returned to my girl’s face. We asked to take a quick test photo and he grabbed and positioned a flat white cardboard piece for us to shoot against. He patiently waited until we got a couple test shots off and confirmed everything was great. Day: saved. Hero: Robert.
In this day and age of increasing competition from online stores, physical shops have one major advantage: immediate, attentive, friendly service from knowledgeable staff. Each time I’ve come to Broadway Camera, that’s the type of service I’ve experienced.

Broadway camera has a wide selection of everything at competitive prices. You need something, you’ll find it there pretty much ”for-​sure”. Yes, that is a fact. I tried spending time searching at other stores, searching for certain things at those other camera places in Vancouver but it is hard to find things here, or certain things there but Broadway Camera always has everything and always has everything in stock. From cheap to expensive, from beginners to pro.
Why 3 stars? I’d say why not 2. As much as there is ”stuff” in there, enough ”stuff” to ruin yourself, what’s missing is friendly service. Every time I went, I was received with a cold shoulder. A ”are you gonna buy it or not?” attitude. A ”yeah” to a question that deserved an explanation. Even when you buy for 2000 $ worth of ”stuff”, the service doesn’t get any better. And don’t think for a second that because there is 3 guys behind the counter, that they will fight to the death to come ask you if you need anything.
Pet peeve? Yep. I can’t stand when people are full of attitude and seem not to care if I’m not there for an easy buy and walk away within 5 minutes. I can’t stand it when every question I ask seems like a burden. I understand that there’s a lot of window shoppers questioning ’til the end of times and buying nothing but hey, that’s not my fault now is it? I went a few times and it was enough for me to want to find my ”stuff” elsewhere.
Good thing they have a lot of ”stuff” and the last guy that helped me there was very friendly, professional, knowledgeable, friendly, even if there seemed to be a manager overlooking at him like a hawk over a chicken, walking back and forth behind him, looking at us… I wish I remembered his name because he was the only guy that was over the ”great service” rating, leaving all these other guys in the dust at ”decent’, almost’.

Great selection of pro and almost-​pro equipment, solid after-​sales support.
I was missing one of the feet for my tripod 3 weeks after buying it. I expected to be charged for a replacement (especially because I didn’t have my receipt), but they did me a solid by calling their warehouse and dropping one off. My tripod is as good as new.
Because they have a lot of equipment on site, you can be sure I’ll buy from there next time as well.

I was looking for a new compact camera (between a point and shoot and a dSLR) and I read some positive reviews from her about Broadway Camera so I thought I would give it a try.
I was deciding between a Canon G12 and a Nikon P7100 so when I asked the salesperson, he immediately told me to get the Nikon. I felt like he knew what he was talking about and was no-​nonsense about it.
Around 1.5 weeks later, I found a ad for the same camera but $ 60 cheaper so I called them to see if they would do a price match even though it didn’t say anywhere they would do it. Refunds were only good for one week and exchanges within 14 days so I thought I was already a bit iffy about it, but I was going to give it a try anyways. Luckily, they did the price match and I’m very impressed with their service!
The guys who helped me were Carven and Peter in case you would like to experience their awesome customer service!

You’ll find Leica M cameras, lots of professional quality tripods, and Canon and Nikon DSLR, lenses and accessories. It’s less busy than the Richmond Lansdowne Mall location and there are more items that are in stock for this Broadway location.
Most of the staff are more knowledge with cameras and lenses than most big box stores.

We came to Broadway Camera for our first DSLR purchase and I was really impressed. Not being that knowledgeable, we didn’t want to rely on some pimply-​faced kid in a general electronics store, we wanted good, balanced advice and we got it from Carven Wong, who clearly loves what he does and knows a lot about how the different cameras perform. He gave us options, but didn’t try to push us on any upgrades and in fact told us when he didn’t think we needed stuff that we asked about. There’s a two week price protection policy and their refund/​exchange policy is fair — 1 week for refund and 2 weeks for exchange. They also provide a complimentary 2 hour course to teach you how to use your camera, basics of composition, etc.

i would so much rather give my business to a small store than support the giant corporate electronics places, like best buy and future shop. i own a small business myself and i know how hard it is to survive against the mega stores. so when i was heading to the galapagos and wanted an underwater camera, i skipped the big guys and came here.
the fellow who helped me couldn’t have been nicer. he was knowledgeable and super friendly, and helped me make a decision. i understood as i made the purchase that it was warrantied against defects for 1 year.
on the first couple of uses, the screen and lens got condensation underneath, making it VERY hard to see what i was shooting, and often ruining the shot if it was on the lens. if an underwater camera has condensation INSIDE, it means water is getting in somewhere. i did everything i was supposed to do but the problem persisted. i figured no problem, i would go in when i got home and return it for a new one, or perhaps a different camera. i can’t say i have a lot of faith in a product when it is broken out of the box. and for $ 300, it should be working for a long time.
i was crazy busy when i got back so it took a few weeks before i made it to the store. «sorry», they said, you are MUCH too late to return it, it would have had to be within a week of the purchase. well, i explained i am not returning it because i changed my mind, i am returning it because it is defective. «well, we can send it for repair but that is it». are you kidding me??? $ 300 for an underwater camera and the very first trip it takes it is getting water inside somewhere and you won’t take it back? that is despicable. if i sell someone a product that breaks within a few weeks, even months, i return it to the company and give them a new one, sorry for your trouble, i say. and if they want their money back, fair enough. it was defective, i understand not wanting to chance it again on the same item.
but broadway camera doesn’t really seem to give a hoot about it’s customer — they have your money, too bad for you if it is a dud. sure, they’ll repair the brand new broken out of the box camera for you. and when it happens again, what will you do? wave goodbye to your very hard earned $ 300 and go to future shop. sad but true. i am disappointed that you don’t care about the customer enough to put yourself in their shoes.

Great camera store! Not rating it against others (because all camera stores I’ve been to in Vancouver have been great)… because it’s convenient for me, I come to Broadway quite a lot… and the staff have always been extremely knowledgeable and helpful!

What an awesome Camera Store! I was up in Vancouver last week for my cousins wedding and decided to stop in here. Very very cool. It had so much camera stuff I could have spent hours in here but since I had my family with me, I was rushed and had to leave after 10 minutes. I come up to Vancouver at least once or twice a year so I will be coming back next time I’m in town. I think you guys have so much to look at and it was just so packed full of stuff. Love it!

They have the best prices for flash cards in town. They were also the first photo shop to move to US equivalent pricing when the CD was on par and have stayed lower than prices in other shops. Good selection of products, knowledgeable Canon and Nikon staff.
They have another store in Richmond so if something is not there they will bring it over from the other store overnight.

after much research online, i decided to come here to buy my very first dlsr. my original plan was to buy the camera body here at broadway camera, and then get the lens over at another store — it was cheaper over there. after talking to henry (one of the guys who work here) for a bit — he knew exactly what i was planning and called me out on it. what’s more amazing is that he knew exactly where i was planning on getting the lens too. so he gave me the lens at the same price i would have bought it for at the other place AND gave me another little discount just to thank me for my business… that’s pretty awesome in this day and age.
now that i had my camera all set up i needed other things — like a bag, memory card and other little toys hobbyists are so ridiculously fond of. henry made 2 or 3 suggestions, for each and gave me the pros and cons. what’s pretty cool was that he didn’t always suggest on going with the more expensive gear. at a couple of points, he actually told me «nah — you don’t need that. get this one — just as good for half the price!»
so i’m really happy with this place. if you’re in the market for a camera or gear, definitely stop by.