Tempe Camera

I was in a bind on an assignment and these guys bent over backwards to help me. Can’t say enough for the level of customer service and concern for my predicament. They genuinely wanted to help make sure I was successful.
Thank you Tempe Camera!

Best camera repair services in the valley! Not only did they have knowledgeable, friendly staff but they were able to send my relatively older camera to the factory and have it repaired for exactly the cost they quoted me — which was a better price than I got everywhere else! Honest, dependable staff with great service!

Ok, so my nasty sounds on my camera was fixed by office Cannon reps after I shipped it into their report shop and it works great now. I also had to send in the camera I was trying out and forced into buying. Sure, some of this is just bad luck. However, I was treated really poorly the whole time and next time I will ship my camera back to Cannon.

very helpful. nice guys. i’m new to photography and David was patient explaining new items to me. will definitely be returning :)

Brought in two camera lenses to have them repaired and cleaned. This lady in charge of the repair section told me that I needed to buy another lens and/​or talk with the original manufacturers and that my lens were pretty much good for paper weight. What’s the point in a local camera shop if they can’t even provide adequate service? Or even attempt to? Her overconfident attitude didn’t help so much either. I’d be wary of this place.

Developed somewhat of a relationship with the rental department recently. It was helpful having someone to rent from in a good central location. Some items rental prices don’t make sense. When one item costs $ 150 brand new compared to another item that costs $ 650 brand new why are they both $ 40 per day? I also forgot to return an item one day late and luckily they called me after the first day but had no one requested to rent it I was hoping our relationship and trust would cause an action of mercy toward my stupidity. It did not and I paid the late fee. Not their fault however I love business that show consideration to your mistake and the fact that you might be back again because of how you’re treated. I will look for other options now.

First time here, I had no idea where I was going then they sent me upstairs. Staff was very helpful, and friendly. One of the guys had no idea what I was talking about when I was trying to find a piece for my Kessler slider. Found the piece with a different individual. I would go here again just to look at items before I find a good deal online to buy.

While it was not my first choice of camera shop to use while here in Phoenix, it was the closest and open the latest. I submitted a review a while back decrying Tempe Camera’s lack of customer service and inflated prices.
All that has seemed to change. I stopped in for a few quick items and was greeted by an eager and friendly sales team. The items I needed were quickly found and we were able to talk shop for a bit as well. This was a complete turnaround from the lethargic and in general disinterested salespeople I experienced a few years ago. The store seemed well stocked with a wide range of name brand and generic equivalent products that catered to all skill levels and needs.
Thanks guys for the great sales experience, you are now my preferred shop for my photography needs whenever I find myself in the Phoenix area.

They are a little bit snobbish and it is a little pricey but, they do know their stuff. They did however sell us a couple of «point and shoots» that are not good at all.

Rented some audio equipment this last weekend! The best customer service — explained usage, set up, demonstrated equipment and were so so helpful. Will definitely will be using them again!

Tempe Camera has been in business a long time. They are professional and will always take as much time as necessary to help you buy something or any questions you have about a product. They are always nice and make you feel comfortable. I also think it is great that they have the film lab next door. This makes it quite convenient. I recommend them to all my friends and gave them an excellent rating because they deserve it. It is the best Camera Shop with great prices.
Arlene Pollack Cleet

Waited for 10 minutes to buy a lens and camera strap no one spoke to us despite workers chatting with each other. Will not return.

This is for the film lab they are with next door. Not in the actual Tempe Camera building, but next door.
First off, found them quite rude. I had called earlier in the day and discussed film developing and pricing, I told that to the woman working the front desk and she goes ‘you called aaaaaanndddd…’ in a rude tone. I literally quietly chuckled because it was crazy how rude her tone was.
I develop my 120 film at a pro lab in Utah and California normally, as I am a full time film and wedding photographer. I didn’t have time to ship the film out and needed the scans right away, so I had to use one locally.
In terms of scanning quality, not great. Inconsistent from frame to frame, which shouldn’t happen that staggeringly considering most of the 5 rolls were shot with the exact same settings. The sharpening setting was on the scanner is up completely too high. Way too sharp and very unflattering.
The color in the scans is way off. Sometimes way too yellow, sometimes way too cyan.
I tried to fix the photos in Lightroom, mostly using exposure, temperature and split toning to counteract their tones.
Overall in image quality, very poor.
Price — $ 188 for 5 rolls of film done in one day. Timeliness was not a factor, but I paid twice the normal price to make that happen.
Other big issue is the way they deliver the files. They only offer them on a disc. If you have an Apple Mac from the past four or so years, you know that they don’t have a disc drive. The lady working suggested I buy a disc reader for my computer. Crazy. So I had to go to an office supply store, buy a USB and bring it back to them. Waited for them to develop and scan and then went back to pick up.
Huge waste of time considering that every other pro lab delivers via Dropbox, WeTransfer or FTP.
I am writing this review because I want them to make it. I want this lab to survive because film is a beautiful and wonderful medium and I have made a living off of it for years.
So I would love to see:
1) Nicer customer service. That was an incredibly rude transaction and weirdly she was a lot nicer when I came to pick up the film. Must have picked up on my shocked facial expression.
2) Better scanning. I heard they use Frontier, great. Noristu and Frontier are what my normal lab offers. But why was I not asked for a profile? Light/​dark, warm/​cold, sharpness level, etc. All other pro labs offer a custom profile. If they do do this, that wasn’t explained.
3) A different delivery method. She made the comment that it would be so expensive to do something like Dropbox. I would argue that it’ll cost you more not to in the long run because even if the scans were perfect, I would never drop off and pick up a USB/​disc every time. Big inconvenience.
I know multiple all film wedding photographers in the city who spend $ 10,000−30,000 a year on developing and scanning with out of town labs. Take that business back! Why aren’t they developing here? The above issues are 100% why.
Overall, please make these changes and then let us know when you have, we want you to make it!

Tempe Camera is the best. I have been a customer of theirs for years.
Just brought my old Polaroid ProCam in to their repair shop because the camera was dead. Because Polaroids have not been made for years — I thought I would be out of luck. Happily that was not the case. Michael DeLanie fixed it in minutes. He came up to give it to me and I asked him how much the repair cost and he said no charge. Love this place! Lucky to have it in town.

Thanks for making me pay for blank film & blank photos. At least Walgreens would call me to say «oh hey, some of your film didn’t come out».
Awesome.

Very nice and helpful on the phone, and same in the store. I needed a mid-​range ($ 1100) lense for my Sony camera, which they had in stock. They let me put it on my camera and shoot quite a few shots until I was comfortable with it, never pressured me to buy it. They took the time to explain a few things and help me find a couple filters I like to use.
Amused at the guy below — you called and sent them on a 10-​minute wild goose chase, and they actually found what you wanted, then you dissed their fair price, said you were done with the phone call, they hung up, and you call that a problem? That’s awesome customer service dude, you’re the dickhead. «I guess I’ll go somewhere else» IS the end of the phone call, dumbass.

Tempe Camera has been delivering reliable, professional service to me personally for over 40 years. Since I started ASU, TC has treated me like a big shot pro. Friendly, knowledgeable sales, rental and precise repair service has always exceeded my expectations.
I’ve known TC is the best all around photographers friend in the southwestern United States. I’ve been telling people so for many years.
Denny C

Meh. While I don’t have any experience with the rental department, the sales department is needing some serious lessons in customer service. Latest example — called to ask whether they carry an intervalometer for my camera, and was met with a 10 minute hold on the phone. Here’s the conversation after waiting 10 minutes:
(Note — I found an intervalometer online for $ 39 bucks):
Sales guy: bla bla 99 dollars
Me: Okay, thanks. I think I will keep shopping around.
Sales guy: *click*!
Seriously? I won’t be coming back to these guys, simply because they are pretentious jerks!

They have an amazing repair department!

«The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do.» ― Andy Warhol
How did I go to ASU all those years and not notice this little gem right down the street? This place is like the Walmart of all things photography and videography!
Earlier this year, I helped my buddy on a project where he had to set-​up a Kickstarter video for his client. Since he’s a photographer by profession, he was lacking in some audio equipment and tada… Enter Tempe Camera!
This place is a two-​story Wonderland for photographers and videographers alike! As I said, they have equipment rental and a repair area. They also have all the knick-​knacks and do-​hickeys you could ever need! I’m talking lenses, camera bags, tripods, selfie sticks, lighting, batteries, and other stuff I don’t even understand. They never tried to upsell and were very informative about all our questions on what equipment would be better for our project. All in all, this is a great place to go if you need some thingymabobs or additional information.