The fact that this Yelp page is unclaimed shows how old school Mike is. Old school cat with YEARS of experience in the photography field. I took him 2 dead cameras, a 5dmkII and a 60d. Within a couple weeks he brought them both back to like $380! Canon service in Costa Mesa wanted $650 just for the 5d. Now be warned, when you walk in his shop its a bit unnerving. Looks old, unorganized and dirty. But thats just because Mike spends all his time on his work and not on presentation. He's also not the best with customer service. He's not rude but he also wont kiss your butt. Tells you straight out whats what with your gear. Im actually writing this review because im taking him my 70-200 tomorrow and i feel a lil guilty to not have left him a positive review before (although he will never see this lol). if your looking for an experienced, affordable camera repair man Mike is the man. read more

Great customer service. I was able to get my Canon 6D cleaned and a few parts repair done on the same day. The price was very reasonable and better than most places I got quoted from. He also opened a little later for me to come pick up my camera. read more

Mike was able to revive my busted lens by doing some magic on it! It saved me so much money compared to buying a brand new lens. I really appreciate him and I recommend anyone take their camera there! read more

This is a great place. Full of history. Mike is a wonderful tech that is not out to rob you blind. The shop is dark and cluttered but I was not there for the scenery. He helped me out with a spotmeter and recommended that I send it out for repair instead of being a middle man as others have tried. He was very helpful... gave me tips and a direct line to Pentax for the repair. If I ever have a camera question or issue, I will definitely go to him. read more

I couldn't agree with the other reviews more. This guy is a blast from the past, quirky, and unusual. Don't let the dated little shop fool you. This guy knows what he is doing. AND it's the type of shop you WANT to support. I would definitely bring my camera in to this guy again. I have a NIKON COOLPIX S8100 and I love the camera sooo much- however it's been abused (by me) and he's been able to fix it twice- I PUSHED the lens in when it errored and became jammed open. He fixed it. I dropped it and some stretchy ribbon broke or tore....again the lens errored and he fixed it. The price for both repairs combined was still less than buying a new OR refurbished of the same camera. I Highly reccommend him. Melissa read more

I've been coming to this shop at least 4 times this past year. One was to do some repairs another was to service a lens, and the last visit I had was for Mike to add some parts to my camera which was missing a few things. He always goes the distance on small details that he doesn't necessarily need to do but he does it because he loves what he does. He's really relaxed and knowledgable with all things camera related, and will give you his honest opinion about a camera if you asked. read more

Mike is the best! I took in my Rolleicord V and Bell and Howell Autoload Super 8 projector for repair in Late May of 2017 and he immediately started working on the repair jobs for both of them without me knowing, since I promised to pay him once my paycheck came through in the mail. I trust him now with my repairs. If only his business was closer to my house! He's in Anaheim and I'm in Westminster! I just picked up both my camera and projector today and both are in better shape than they were before. All thanks to him fixing the slow shutter speeds and my Rolleicord and making the focusing screen much brighter by cleaning out the opaque layer of dust and grime that collected over the years. And I will test out the projector soon. I'm very pleased. :-) read more

Came in today cause my camera was shooting weird blurred spots. He told me it just needed to be cleaned, so he cleaned the lens and the sensor in my camera. Now it's shooting very nice again. Nicest dude ever, good price, knowledgeable. read more

the Tamron lens on my rebel quit working while I was out of state at a birding event. I was in a quandary after lots of googling and failed attempts to get it working only to find bad news. As soon as we were home we brought the camera in. We were told the lens was too expensive to repair but as consolation our camera insides were given a nice cleaning. We offered to pay a 'donation' for the time. I think I will take our useless (to us) lens to him to have the next time we are in the area....hubby now uses the big lens which I refused to carry, and I have the micro. Sadly we have no 'middle' range lens right now. Thankfully we still have our smaller pocket camera until we upgrade maybe next black friday....... read more

Mike is extremely professional. I had some problems with the focus in my BSLR3 camera. I took it to Mike and he fixed it at a very reasonable price. Here is the honesty and professionalism. When I went to my trip to Europe I noticed all keys on the backside of my Camera don't work. I could take picture but couldn't see them on display, they were OK when saw them on computer. I took the Camera back to Mike, I was expecting charges again although he said he will look into it and let me know. I just now got the call and he said the camera was fixed and there is no charge. He said there was no problem just some thing was tripped. He is very honest and professional. I strongly recommend Mike, you will be happy with his job. read more

Took my nikon rangefinder 50mm lens for repair as the aperture blades were bent. left the lens their for couple days for a free estimate and was quoted a very reasonable price!! lower than i expected and he had the lens done the next day!! highly recommend him to anyone needing a lens fix! read more

I like the place. Owner is old but he's nice. He told me he can not fix my camera, and suggest me to send to Sony because the part is rare. He doesn't waste my time or want my money. A++ read more

Very knowledgeable and very helpful, took a Canon lens for him to look at and he answered all my questions that Canon couldn't.

I found CTAR through Yelp and the reviews are 100% spot on. Thanks, fellow Yelpers. The strap of my Lumix digital camera broke, causing the camera to land, face down with the lens open, on some sand. ARGH! It worked for a while but one day, it just bit the dust and would not focus. I paid Costco about $300 for the camera with accessories a couple of years ago and recently Costco had another one, but it was inferior (less optical zoom) for $150. But, I really like the original and I figured if I can fix it for less than the price of the new one, then I'm good to go, right? Enter Mike and CTAR. To be honest, I was hesistant. I really didn't think he could fix it and that he would say it wasn't worth fixing. (That's what the guy in San Francisco told me. But of course he wanted me to buy a new camera from his place. But that's another story.) Anyway, Mike told me over the phone that he would give me a quote for free (!) and I could accept or reject the quote. Ok, so off I go. The shop was quite 'different,' as someone already mentioned. It was dark, with lots and lots of cameras, like a collector's place. I met Mike and he looked at my camera, He told me it was a good one and def worth trying to fix up. I left the camera for him to look at and provide me with a quote later. He called me thenext day, as promised, with a very reasonable quote, and below my $150 price-point, so I gave him the go ahead. He said 3 days and I agreed. Then I realized I needed the camera sooner and asked if I can pick it up sooner. He graciously said sure, and had it ready for my husband to pick up a day earlier. Camera is in great working condition, almost as good as new. He told my husband that he cleaned off more sand from inside the camera and he cleaned the lenses also. A couple of days later, I received a couple of voicemails and it turned out that Mike was trying to locate a customer but couldn't remember who he needed. I called him back and it turned out it wasn't me. But, he thanked me for calling him back and said, "I made his day!" What a very nice thing to say. Bottom line: It is a rare thing indeed to find an honest, dependable, professional in such a niche market. Support him and his local business. You will not be disappointed. read more

A lot of camera places in the OC area contract him to do their repair work. So, if you don't mind driving to Anaheim (not too far from Disneyland), you can save the extra money they'll charge you by taking it elsewhere. When I dropped my Minolta off, I took my other camera to downtown Disney and shot some of my favorite photos. Not a wasted trip at all! read more

Mike is a fantastic repairman and I was lucky enough to have him recommended to me by a coworker. He managed to fix a stuck lens on my Nikon D80 (I was ready to write it off) in just a couple of days. I also bought an 18-200mm lens from him while I was there. Yes, his shop is a little cluttered but I've found Mike to be a trusted camera resource. If I ever need any additional work done on my NIkons, I'll be sure to to drop by Camera Tech first! read more

I found this place on Yelp after my daughter tried to force a CF memory card into my Olympus Evolt 300 DSLR. I think she put it in the wrong way and it broke a few prongs and bent a few others. Sadly it made the camera inoperable, I had paid around $800 many years ago when it first came out but it was in great condition otherwise and still took wonderful pictures so I decided to try and get it repaired. I could not find anything else online except to send it back to Olympus for an estimate. After reading about the positive reviews I decided to try Camera Tech. Mike, the owner, is a very nice and honest guy. His storefront is cluttered and filled with old camera and business machine relics, kind of like going to a store 40 years ago. However, he took the camera in the back and came back and told me the problem with the prongs so he said to leave it and call him back in a couple of days for the estimate. I did that and he said it would be $150 and he would have to order the parts so it might take awhile. I said to go ahead. So here is the only sllight negative thing, he does take a long time or at least he did with my camera. I think it took about 3 months or so, I lost track because after calling a few times I just waited for him to call me. However, it is fixed, works like it always has and it was for the price he quoted. Overall I am very happy with his honesty and quality of work so if you can wait for the repair, he will do a great job. One last thing, make sure you call and verify he is there if you go in, he starts late in the day and is not always open when he says he will open. read more

I drove past this shop the first time I went there to take my new Canon f/4L 24-105mm lens in. I had stupidly gotten sand under the focus ring. I was a little nervous when I got there just because it was so small and not your typical camera repair store (there are mountains of antique cameras, which is actually really neat). But I generally trust Yelp reviews, so I went in. Turns out Mike is very friendly and quite knowledgeable. He had my lens fixed in about a week, and it's good as new. No more grinding noises. I'm really happy, and the price was very affordable. Much less than I had expected! read more

I used to go to a small shop in Garden Grove, Unfortunately they closed. Started looking for an alternate shop that was similar. Saw reviews for a similar shop and it was not too far from me Dropped off my lens last days of May 2015 (not sure exactly what date exactly). Said to call him in 2 weeks so he had enough time to figure out what was wrong with my Canon lens. Called him 2 weeks later June 2015 and advised it was a mount replacement. I have a wedding at the end of this month in less than a week. (July 2015). Called him so I could pick up this lens because its been well over 1 month since I talked to him and there is no status. Mike advised he doesnt know when it will be ready and he said he would call me back. A few weeks ago he had said it would be 1-2 weeks and now there is no status... No, That doesnt work for me, Ill pulling my lens from his shop. I already reserved my lens from a rental shop because Mike obviously is not able to provide timely service or estimated times. Ill be lucky if he calls me back. Not worth the headache. Wish I still had my little shop in Garden Grove I could go to. Would have loved to recommend this place, Mike is a great guy but his service... Not great at all. read more

AMAZING! He was able to get my camera back to me in a few days after turning it in for repair. He is such a sweet man. He is extremely passionate about his career and his shop shows that as well! I would HIGHLY recommend supporting his business! read more

I dropped off two nikon sb-900s with serious battery corrosion and this dude seriously did magic. The corrosion was all over the inside pins as well and it's all cleaned up now. It took 3 weeks though the original estimate was one week but it still cost me half price what it would have at nikon. Couldn't be happier! read more

I did use camera tech. For my camera that I dropped. Nice and honest gentleman . Will use him again. I recommend him because his prices are reasonable . His location and parking is very easy to get . read more

I took my Sony camera in for repair and Mike said that it was probably the zoom part that needed to be repaired. Well, it took him a month, yes a full month, to let me know that he couldn't repair my camera. He said he couldn't get the part and I said really. He said it was too expensive! I think he could have told me this in a week's time. At least I got my camera returned the way I took it in. I guess Mike can't fix them all and service is really slow. read more

Plastic lens mount tabs broke and one of the tabs was floating in my d300s body. Mike took it to the back and managed to fenagle the bit out. Took ~5 minutes, gave him a few bills for his time and was happily on my way. Cal's referred him and didn't want to open it up themselves. Super nice guy, the place is a dusty museum (kind of fun). May bring some older film cameras to him for cleaning. read more

Mike's shop is a little cluttered and dim but regardless of that, he was able to get my camera body repaired and working again much faster than expected. Can't recommend enough. read more

My Canon T3i had an error 20 message popping up on the viewfinder. I took it in to this man's shop, but after he gave me an estimate to fix it I declined to pay. When I got home my camera worked just fine. I don't know if it just needed a breather or this man has some magical touch, but I will say that he did seem to be a nice and approachable person. His shop is decorated with countless vintage cameras and it's really interesting to see his collection. Although I didn't pay for his services, his prices seem fair. I would suggest checking this place out if you're having camera trouble. read more

After looking for camera repair shops in the area for a while, I finally decided to go here because of the great yelp reviews I read, and I'm glad I did. The small shop was filled from head to toe with antique photography equipment - a sign that the owner didn't just do this for a job; rather, it was his passion. He fixed and even cleaned the inside of my camera for a beyond reasonable price, making it obvious that he cared more about ensuring a quality repair than making profit. I will definitely be coming back for any other camera related issues I have. read more

Class act. Very Professional and the owner definitely knows what he is talking about. If you are passionate about your craft then you will excel in it. The owner diagnosed the problem quick and was able to give me straight answer. The shop itself if cramped full of classic photography memorabilia. I thought that the owner would be up to date with the new digital technology (Sony RX100) but he was able to tell me exactly what was wrong and what are my options. Big thumbs up. read more

This is an incredibly overdue and well-earned 5 stars. In 2011, I took a lens in awful condition to Mike for cleaning and repairs, and it's thanks to him that it's become one of my go-to lenses. The beat up Angenieux 17-68/2.2 Type L2 I brought him had haze, fungus, and, as I learned from Mike later, saltwater corrosion! I wasn't sure how much could be done, but the work Mike did ended up surpassing my wildest expectations. In a week, he managed to thoroughly clean the lens inside and out and returned it to me with the glass nearly pristine save for some etching left by the fungus. The price he charged was incredibly reasonable, and in the 5 years since, I've not had any issues with the lens, with no recurrence of haze or fungus. So if you have a lens you think is beyond hope, don't hesitate to bring it to Mike. You may end up pleasantly surprised. read more

Everything in this place is super old-school and dusty, but I love it! It feels like a crazy vintage camera repair shop. I came in here to get my front shutter fixed. Mike examined it and told me that he'd have to disassemble it. He gives you a ticket with your order number and his phone number on it so don't lose it! He doesn't call you to let you know when it's ready; you'd have to call him instead, but it doesn't bother me. The place may not look like it, but he's pretty freaking organized. Mike is a super nice guy who's knowledgable with cameras. I'd def recommend coming to him for your camera repairs! read more

Thank you Yelp! Though the guy couldn't completely fix my DSLR because he didn't have the parts, he did what he could and now my camera works again! Doesn't charge a lot and the place itself has a nice nostalgic feel to it. read more

Legit man handling the dying trade. much respect to this living legend. techs of this trade are hard to come by. he fixed my hasselblad back and works great was my late uncles inheritance. thank you read more

I brought my Pentax K100D here for a cleaning. Service was courteous, quick and professional. I brought the camera in at 1pm, it was done by 4. The price was ~$40, which is $20-30 less than what places like Samy's or Ritz charges. I highly recommend Michael! read more

So last week I decided to take my brand new camera to a Duran Duran concert. Let's just say between 4 beers and the girl next to me, the camera ended up on the concrete. While the lens was extended. Needless to say, I was heartbroken. The next day I yelped camera repair and this amazing place came up! Walking into the store is like wandering into your grandfather or crazy uncles workshop garage. Pretty dark and cluttered it made me realize that only someone that knew their stuff would have such a place. Mike was very nice (and very chatty!). He said that my wonky lens was indeed fixable. 2 days and a reasonable price later, my camera is brand new again! read more

The shop is a dusty monument to old school photography and owner is a total character. He is not a well organized guy but totally honest and very fair. Most important he is very knowledgeable and honest. I was nervous about dropping my expensive pro lens off and it took longer than expected, but the price was more than fair and he did a cleaning for free on my camera too. I'll definately go back. read more

Great little shop. I think the owner has been there a long time. Very knowledgeable and super friendly. I highly recommend this shop!

I found this place online. When I walked into the store I was brought back in time with all the old cameras. Mike the owner was very helpful, and even had an old war story. I had a canon 5d mark II, that had fungus in the viewfinder. He cleaned the fungus out within 3 days. His prices are very fair. Check this place out, it's cool. read more

Pro Photo Irvine recommended this shop to me. I am glad they did. Great service at a reasonable price. Mike is a repair wiz and a nice guy to boot. Saved 65% on a lens repair compared to the price quoted to me by Nikon. Will definitely be a return customer. read more

I can't say enough good things about Mike and his business. We had a last-minute broken camera when we arrived in the area to attend VidCon...and a working camera was a must, ASAP! Where other sources shrugged and said, "buy a new lens" (to the tune of $250+), Mike repaired the lens for a fraction of the cost in just a few hours. Delightful gentleman with a love of photography equipment and a real charmer to chat with. A real old-school craftsman. If I'm ever troubled with a broken camera or lens, I hope I happen to be in Orange County, because I know where to go to set things right! read more

It is awesome to find someone with the talent that Mike has these days. A true artisan who is able to stay relevant in this age of disposable devices. If you judge by looks, don't go to Mike's shop as you will mak all the wrong assumptions. If you love tech and are impressed if what another can achieve, take your latest challenge to Mike! read more