Amazing service every single time I walk in. Their staff is wonderfully friendly and immediately share their passion for photography with you as soon as you walk in. I only get to come in once every six months from Alaska, but they've always gone out of their way to make me feel like a cherished local. Their film development service is top-notch, they're honest about any cameras they have on consignment and they are fairly priced. A PNW treasure. read more

Excellent service with Arthur. I am so impressed. He educated me on my 4x5 large format camera, helped me get a tripod and misc items I would need for dark room. There are few places that have offered this level of support and service. Plus they have an amazing amount of beautiful classic film cameras. Can't wait to go back. read more

The customer service in this quirky amazing photo vintage store is incredible. We took in our vintage Polaroid and they assisted us right on the spot with a new battery, cleaned our contact, and helped us choose and install the film. Talk about passionate about what they do and super friendly and helpful! Thanks for going above and beyond for us!!! I'm very excited to get a typewriter for Christmas there! read more

Whether you shoot film, digital, or have any curiosity for photography in general you must must must visit Blue Moon. I have a hard time trusting anyone else with processing, repairs, and recommendations. Stepping into this store makes you want to become a better photographer and learn how all of the esoteric cameras on the shelves actually work. The beauty of this place is that all of the staff members can talk your ear off about practically anything in the store (seemingly rare for consignment) and give you a hands on experience with cameras that most people only dream of (Hasselblads, Rolleis, Leicas, and many more) Though it seems rather pricy for those just starting out, I can promise that once you talk to the staff here for half an hour and receive your first batch of scans or prints, you will most definitely find it to be worth every penny. read more

This place is definitely worth the trek out to St. Johns; each time I have been in I have received the most excellent, helpful, and friendly service. The staff is very willing to give helpful tips, and on top of that they are quite encouraging to those who will listen. I am not as familiar with film and development prices but I would rather support this business than amazon any day. read more

nothing short of amazing, in summary. while i don't have reason to utilize their services so much, i'm honored to have such a place in my neighborhood. anyone interested in photography - specifically the 'real' sort with film and chemicals, anyway - should visit. DO NOT miss the little cove at the back with all of the most amazing old typewriters so beautifully restored. part museum, part show, part shop - yay blue moon! read more

Looking for top of the line service & info about film cameras? This is the place. Honest info & advice for a range of photographers. Was great in helping us assess a variety of film cameras & lenses to determine the best fit for our needs. We are fans & will be back! read more

Coming from the Seattle area, it's pretty hard to beat stores like Glazer's if you want a large selection of both digital and film cameras, lenses and accessories. Add the awesome Kenmore Camera to the mix and you have a solid foundation of stores from which to snag supplies. The problem with either store, though, is that they have limited room for the film side of photography, realizing that analog has become a small niche rather than the cash cow that digital photography has become. So, as someone who primarily shoots manual 35mm and 120 medium format, it gets frustrating having your most reliable go-to place become a web entity such as KEH.com when I'd rather support local brick and mortar establishments. And like any native Seattleite, local stretches from Bellingham to Portland. Imagine my enthusiasm today during a day trip south to have discovered Blue Moon Camera & Machine. It was the only camera shop I visited out of a list of three that I initially intended to check out and I'm really glad it was. The place is an analog enthusiast's dream. Folding 35mm and medium format cameras neatly displayed in wood cabinets, a sizable selection of 4x5, 5x7 & 8x10 view cameras, medium format SLR's and 35mm SLR's. I didn't even get a chance to look at the vintage typewriters toward the back. What I did get a chance to do was occupy some of Jake's time, who not only helped me find items in the case to investigate, but took the trouble to go through items in the back not yet shelved. He showed me a nice range of lenses for my medium format setup and didn't push me in any one direction, and gave me the opportunity to check out each item individually while he waited politely for the impending sale. I walked out of there with his card, their website, a new lens and the motivation to buy from them and have items shipped for those times when KEH won't cut it. I'm still incredibly hyped on the discovery of this place, especially considering that niche shops like this often employ pretentious pricks that would just as soon stick their nose up at you instead of making a sale. There was a store like that here in Seattle that recently shut down just for that reason. I don't often leave establishments with impressions so good I'm motivated to write a review... in fact, this is my first one here on Yelp ever. If you have any interest in analog photography, or the history of the art and you're close to Portland, just check it out. It's awesome. read more

What a great little place! I will always take the time and spend the few extra bucks to develop and shop at Blue Moon. Also really appreciate having an excuse to wander around the St. Johns neighborhood while doing so. read more

I got my Pentax ME super here. They have all kinds of rare films and cameras to try out and they do a great job with processing. This is a great place to pick up a hobby. read more

Nevermind all the great stuff they have here, I really feel what makes this place special is the people. They know their stuff and they know how to help. Always refreshing to visit and I always leave with more knowledge than I came with. I can't really put into words what an amazing place this is. read more

This place get's it. No elitism, just straight love for the craft. They know their stuff and the second time you go in, they'll know your name and maybe even shake your hand. It's such a relief to know someone is keeping film alive but also great, old fashioned service as well. read more

Great shop with amazing knowledgable staff. Skilled developers and print makers. Never had a bad experience at this shop. I recommend it for any film lovers out there. read more

Long live Blue Moon! As a 120 film buff, it's so great to have a quality camera shop that still cares about film. And I love, love, love browsing their cameras and gear. read more

My experience at BM is mixed. I have been a customer for almost a year using BM for projects with a photographer colleague. Film processing and scanning quality is good but inconsistent such that it sometimes needs to be redone. My colleague and I purchased a large format camera that was not properly assembled such that light leaks were a frustration from the start. While they eventually solved the problem it took multiple visits, phone calls, wasted film, and, most important, lost images. Finally, when there are issues with the processing, there is a chauvinist and condescending attitude by some staff members in explaining their processes and pricing which is very uncomfortable when dealing with a company to which much business is given for ongoing products. It is not conducive to a long term business relationship. In summary, technically a B minus, customer service a D and 2 stars. read more

I had a great time in this store. It almost felt magical - there are so many amazing things here! I'm a total newbie, so I came in looking for a good first camera (and a lot of help). David literally spent an hour showing me different cameras and helping me pick one out, which was so wonderful! Everyone else in the store was friendly and welcoming as well, and I didn't feel any judgement for not knowing anything. I'm not from Portland but I'm really considering sending my film to get it developed + printed here because they're so awesome... they really know (and love) their stuff. read more

Blue Moon Camera is a fantastic store. I had been after a series 4 or a Gitzo off center Ball head for ages.This is a very rare head and whilst doing an online search i found it here.I was a little hesitant initially as i am in Australia and this store being so far away and a store i had never heard of.During my communication i soon realised this was a store you could trust.They were polite,helpful and very professional and my transaction with the store went smoothly.I received the Gitzo head yesterday and it's a beauty. This is a store i would highly recommend.....Richy read more

I friggin love this place. The people there are so helpful and lovely. They helped me find a great camera even with my budget constraints and showed me exactly how to use it. I love totally on the other side of town and it's honestly so worth the drive. Love it love it love it. Can't recommend it enough. read more

I love that this place exists in St. Johns !!! It adds greatly to the historic charm of St Johns and is about as unique as it gets. The staff is knowledgeable while also being super friendly . You can look without being hounded ...there is so many vintage items to look at its a bit like being in art history museum I love this place and feel lucky its in my neighborhood read more

I had a roll of exposed film that was 40+ years old and had not yet been developed. I had a hard time finding anyone who could develop the film and see what might be on it. These folks did it. I contacted them via email, and they responded promptly with information about their service and price options. I sent them the film, and they recovered 5 images (out of 8). They scanned the images and sent them to me on a disk. In between, they called me (yes, they actually called me twice) to tell me what they recovered and my options. I was so impressed. Great personal service. read more

Was anticipating processing and scanning that I had heard about. Instead the panoramic format was'nt a format that Blue Moon wanted to deal with. I had tried them earlier with standard 6x6 and the results were definetly not as good as what I have been getting at Citizen Photo on the East Side, who charge $12 for processing and scanning to .tiff format versus the $20 that Blue Moon charges for processing and underwhelming scans on an Epson flatbed. In an an increasingly more difficult time to have film processing and digitizing - Blue Moon doesn't offer much - very unhappy with both customer service and actual results, on top of that I encountered arrogance. Crossing Blue Moon off list of viable labs in the Portland area, a shame. read more

If you're a photography enthusiast and want to take a trip back in time, just stop in here and browse. This place is incredible. I recently discovered some old cameras belonging to my grandfather and decided to track down some film to experiment with. The folks at Blue Moon were so helpful with old film spools, new 120 films to respool, and 120 films that have already been respooled to fit my 620 camera. Also found a roll of unused vintage 616 Plenachrome film to use in an AFGA Viking folding camera. Can't wait to shoot and see what develops!!! read more

I alway take my cameras to Mike for cleaning and repair. Always a great job at a reasonable price.

great shop. knowledgeable offers new and used photo equipment.

The best place in Portland if you are looking to find analog film cameras or curious about the medium. They are very knowledgeable in what they specialize in. They had answers to questions I had when I began in film photography. The film is priced up a bit but other than that I would highly recommend them; especially if you are looking to get your film printed because they use optical printers. Thank you so much, blue moon, for all the help. read more

This place is great. My conversation over the phone with one of the staff was pleasant. I was greeted as soon as I entered, even before I saw who was greeting me. The younger guy who works there set me up with film developing and taught me how to set my film properly. He was super helpful and knowledgable. It's a further drive than a few local film developing shops, but I think I'll make this my go to place. read more

I was looking for a robust SLR film camera but was reluctant of buying it online because you're never sure of what you're gonna get exactly. I went to Blue Moon because I found online they dedicated their business to film cameras and thought it would be a good place to start my quest. I wasn't disappointed at all, and actually was pleasantly surprised of what I've found there: tons of cameras and lenses, clean and (I believe, but not sure) revised, and employees obviously competent. I was coming to buy a Nikon FM2n that was unfortunately sold some days before, and ended up with a Canon A1 with a 50mm 1.4 FD lens in very good shape, clean and guaranteed for the next 6 months, sold with a brand new battery (the good one not the imitation). I've got the camera for 2 days now and it works like a charm. The person that took care of me at Blue Moon was very polite and helpful, answering all my questions readily and giving me information I would have never thought to ask. Prices are slightly more expensive than online, but this is justified by the perfect state of the camera and the lens, and the customer service. They seem also to have build an interesting network of customers and I seriously regret to live on the East coast and not being able to interact more with these people. read more

I went in with my husband to pick up his film and bought a rad-tastic used camera strap (rainbow-y and fabulous) for $5! The woman who helped me explained how to use an old 70s camera I'd brought in (I have nil experience with aperture, shutter, etc.) and it was just a very pleasant experience. read more

Excellent processing and printing. Great customer service. Extremely knowlegable staff.

I had a sheet negative that I wanted transferred to a digital image. Not only was Blue Moon really professional, but I am super impressed with the image I got back. They were able to transfer the whole image without cutting it up, like another store wanted to do. Service was reliable as promised. The sales clerks were friendly and helpful. In fact, the sales clerk knew enough not to only not touch the negative, but didn't even want me to take it out of the envelope. He must have known my negative was pretty fragile, because it's an image taken about 100 years ago. When the prior store left finger prints on the negative, Blue Moon promised to clean up the finger prints without an extra charge. The image still came out clear. I don't have a CD reader on my computer, so they sent to me via Dropbox. It should have been an added service, but they didn't charge me. Plus, they sell some really cool cameras from yesteryear on consignment. This is definitely a store to check out. read more