Dodd Camera

One of the last one standing! That does not mean they are requesting your pity and begging for local business survival tactics. They are still relying on the good old techniques of excellent product line up and great customer care.
I will strongly recommend this place for any camera enthusiast and a prosumer as well. I guess the professionals already know where to go for their gear!

ow! And not in a good way. Took our Canon 60D & EFS 18 – 135 mm lens to Dodd for possible cleaning & repair. When they returned the quote for the body it was $ 887 — more than I could get a new Canon 60 D. I called to see if they were willing to negotiate the price. They were disinterested, said no, that’s what the repair people quoted because of all the things they had to replace, etc., & that’s it. They charged $ 185 to repair the lens, which we agreed to as that’s less than I could find a new one for. Oddly enough Canon had refurbished 60D bodies on their web site for considerably less than Dodd’s quote. I felt we had been led to believe that Dodd was doing the repair but apparently not. We had to pay $ 40 or maybe $ 80. just to have them evaluate it so it’s sounding like a bit of a scam to me now. That’s not the real issue. We asked them to return the camera body to us as it was working to some degree, & I would have had it cleaned & kept it as a back-​up. Meantime I purchased a new body for under $ 500.00, saving myself over $ 400.
When I got the camera body back, the view screen was sprung & would not close properly. I called Dodd ⁴⁄₁₁ & spoke to a young woman who was equally disinterested (could be the same one from before?) She said I’d have to bring the camera back & they’d have to send it for repair. I asked if they would be expecting to charge me for that. She said, uh, I’ll have to check & call you back. After 24+ hours passed I called them back. Whitney came to the phone & acknowledged she was the one who spoke with me yesterday. Get this — she said «I spoke to our repair service (wonder why she didn’t call me back to tell me that) & they said when you decided you weren’t going to have us repair the camera they said they didn’t even touch it». REALLY? How’d they decide on all those things they needed to replace for almost $ 900 then? I said «then it must have been damaged in transit». She said no, because they are extremely well packed & lectured me on the process. Ever had a well packed item damaged folks? Still no information regarding if they would charge me — again — to have it sent or the viewer door repaired. I said, that’s not right — she immediately said «well you can talk to my manager tomorrow». I asked who the manager was & for the spelling of the manager’s name, then I said I felt she insinuated It was already damaged & I really didn’t appreciate being called a liar. If it had been damaged when the got it it would have been noted on the paperwork as everything else was, & she said «If you keep speaking to me like that I’ll hang up on you». WHAAAT? I said, oh, you do that honey. She did!!! One way to get rid of an unpleasant call — not my job!
Spoke with manager Ryan on Wed aft. Long story short as psbl. he ultimately said we need to contact the repair department & get more info. He did explain the process & some of their work is contracted out. He said they probably do not open the camera until they get the go-​ahead from the owner to do the repair work & the quote I got (although quite high) was probably not going to be any lower even when they looked into the camera. (What if it just needed cleaning?)
So 4pm Wed., Ryan called back. He spoke with their repair folks & they told him the camera was shipped from them to Canon. They described to him how they pack the camera for shipping — bubble wrapped & padded with paper in a box. He said they & Canon didn’t handle the camera because we weren’t going to pay to have it «fixed». He said possibly it was corrosion that set in because the camera was immersed in water. I explained to him (again) that the camera was not «immersed» in water, but had been dropped momentarily into a puddle. That happened in July, we brought the camera to them in February, & if it hadn’t corroded by then it was unlikely it happened in the time they had it. Because it had been exposed to water we thought it should be cleaned & checked to see if any repair was necessary. Ryan had told me earlier that the $ 887 quote we got was without anyone actually checking to see what, if anything, needed to be done. I asked even though it was shipped from Cincinnati to Cleveland to Virginia & back again, nothing could have happened in transit? No reply. When I said, «what next», Ryan said there was nothing else he could do for me because his store was not going to be spending money «out of pocket» to repair a camera that was already otherwise damaged (!!!) which is still actually an unknown. That’s kind of like an insurance company saying they won’t pay to have your home repaired after a fire because it already had a hole in the roof!!! I only wanted them to repair what was damaged while the camera was in their possession.
One other thing I noticed is that there are 2 negative reviews among a handful on Unilocal about Dodd that for some reason Unilocal has listed at the bottom of the page as «Not Recommended» but I suggest you read them and decide.

Fantastic customer service, tons of options for the photography enthusiast and the best place to get a good passport photograph –They do a far better job than your typical pharmacy because they care about your passport photo. There’s quite a few options for anyone who needs some type of work associated with photos (banners, printed T-​shirts, cups etc).

I didn’t end up purchasing from Dodd but that wasn’t because the service wasn’t excellent. I needed to learn something about cameras for my boss who was making a purchase for a big international work trip and was relying on me to find the best product. The young folks at Dodd were really helpful, took time to explain everything to me and were really patient even though they knew I would probably have to purchase elsewhere. Definetly recomend their expertise!

Instead of selling my equipment online, I was looking for a local camera shop that would accept my camera gear. I saw Dodd and called for questions. The gentleman on the phone was really friendly and patient with all my questions. I brought my canon lens and body in and it was a smooth transaction. They do not give cash up front. The headquarter will mail you a check and you will receive it within 7 – 10 business days. I got it less than 7 days. Customer service was excellent!
This will be my go to place if I ever need to purchase any accessories, cameras, film and also prints. They sell new and used cameras. I even saw that they sell the instant polaroid cameras (fuji) which was cool.
You can also offer rentals.
Great service and knowledgeable staff.
Highly recommend!

I LOVE this store! We are so lucky to have such a great camera store right here in Cincinnati. They are well informed, prices are very competitive and if you need something they don’t carry, they will do everything possible to order it for you in a timely fashion.. The rental program is convenient, efficient and very affordable. Hal is very knowledgeable and helpful. I like that it is local and I don’t have to fool with mailing back equipment rentals.

I went into the store on a Wednesday night at 6 pm. There were 4 other customers in the store. I waited at the counter patiently while I listened to the 2 workers chatting with customers that obviously we’re not purchasing but just wanted to chat. While I understand this I would expect you would acknowledge your other customers. I happened to be there with $ 2600 in cash to buy a Nikon lens. After waiting and listening for 20 minutes or so. I finally walked out.
It is no wonder camera stores go out of business. Adorama here I come! Looks like I will wait a couple days in the camera store or at home waiting for it to be delivered.

Good reliable service! Always take my standard films and develop them fast.
They also took a great passport photo of my wife, uncomparable to Walmart service.
Professionals!

Very happy with their service! They offer lots of printing services and quality photo equipment and accessories. They also develop standard (old school) films from my beloved Lomo Diana F (they send them to Columbus facility, but the time if reasonable) :-) Was also extremely happy with the passport photos services, uncomparable to those from Walgreens!

I’ve been a full time professional photographer for 5 years now and was so happy to find Dodd Camera in Kenwood earlier this year. They have a very knowledgable staff that will help with gear recommendations without trying to oversell you things that you don’t need. Their rental department is great for both pros and newbies! You are able to rent things-​try them out and decide if you would like to purchase. I’d highly recommend them! Ask for Hal :)

I’ve been in the market for a really great camera for the last 2 years and kept getting stuck on what to buy — DSLR or Micro 4÷3… so in the end I didn’t purchase anything. On the suggestion of a friend I went to Dodd and with the help of Hal and Gabe I finally took the plunge and am super excited with my choice. Without the 3+ hours of talk and hands on use spent across 2 visits I wouldn’t have felt comfortable spending the amount of money I plunked down… They encouraged me to rent one of the cameras for 24 hrs (actually gave me almost 2 days time) to get more familiar with one of my choices so I would, in the end, know the better choice for me and my needs.
Thank you Dodd Camera and specifically Hal and Gabe for all your time and expertise. It is rare thing these days to have a full camera store still around, let alone people so nice and willing to share what they know in such a helpful and supportive way.
And just to add something (b/​c of one of the other reviews) Hal is a DSLR guy, as soon as we landed on Micro ⁴⁄₃ being probably a better route for my needs he turned me over to Gabe… so it certainly is not that Hal isn’t helpful, its just that his in-​depth expertise lies elsewhere. He was super helpful and super nice.

This is a camera store that knows what they’re doing. They have highly knowledgable camera experts, and a great selection of cameras, equipment and accessories. I went in on Thursday looking to find out more about the canon EOS Rebel t3i. I was informed that it was discontinued. I had my heart set on that camera but I was already there so I asked to check out the canon EOS rebel t5i. I was blown away by the features of this camera. The best part was I was able to try on lenses in the store. I’m officially sold on the canon t5i even though the t3i is being sold by other retailers. The fact that I got to experiment on how to use it in store was the best part. If I didn’t come to this store I may have ended up buying the canon t3i, that was missing features that I needed. I think Dodd Camera helped me to find a better DSLR with the features I needed, at a price that was reasonable. Excellent customer service on their part. I will be back soon!

Needed professional photographic advice to help improve the look and feel of my interview videos.
Dodd Camera to the rescue. Within minutes of explaining the problem, the Dodd photo professional staff introduced me to an economical LED Vari-​Temp Light.
The light allows me to adjust brightness and hue. A perfect solution.

this camera shop gave simply a helluva impression. I had the mission to find a camera that didn’t exactly break the bank and had good quality which led to this shop in particular with a camera guru named Hal. Well, we did as we were recommended but Hal sent me to Dallas after giving the impression he didn’t want to deal with people who weren’t exactly knowledgeable but Dallas did. Dallas gave options, shared some pros and cons while allowing a «test drive» with the few and gave undivided attention to answer questions. I gave 4 stars cause of the impressions Hal gave but overall it was a solid place worth your time to search for cameras and materials.

It’s funny how far apart the powerhouse photographic stores are in Ohio. Dodd puts their best in Ohio in Cleveland and the Kenwood area of Cincinnati. Add to that Cord Camera, and Kenwood has two good stores, although Cord Camera doesn’t have medium format.
What’s this medium format? It’s a bigger format that used to be defined by film in 6 by 7 cm, 6 by 6 cm, and 6 by 4.5 cm. That beat 135 format, which is just 36×24mm. (1 cm = 10 mm, if you don’t recall.) Professional fashion photography was almost always done with medium format. Maybe obviously, the equipment was not really meant to be hand held, so it wasn’t good for many occasions. While the latest (hand held, 135 format) digital sensors can reach resolutions held by smaller medium format digital sensors, those people claim bigger is better, so it’s good that Dodd Camera has something bigger available.
I went today asking for something smaller, micro Four-​Thirds lenses. No one sneered. No one told me that I didn’t want those. I took my equipment into the store and they were gracious enough to let me try the higher end lens that they had in stock. It’s a shame that they didn’t have other such lenses, but I suspect that most people will order online, and not bother local stores. That’s a shame because these people were interested. (I’ve gone through my share of brand snobs, so it was good not to be judged today.)
Unlike the stores in Dayton, this store seemed to have a good share of equipment, including tripods, lighting, bags, and more.
I was thrilled to find that the store was staffed by reasonable people who cared about cameras – not just what they had, but almost any equipment we discussed.

I spent the day in Dodd Camera’s onsite photo studio. The facility is top notch, including an“infinity” wall with no sharp corners.
They have a ton of equipment available for rent which allowed us to optimize our day.
Ryan was awesome. Many thanks !
Will return for the next update to my medical text.