CUSTOMER SERVICE IS NOT DEAD!!! On July 27, 2021, I contacted Kurt's Camera Repair online (https://www.facebook.com/Kurts-Camera-Repair-139103822806350) about 2 screws missing from my husband's old digital camera. Could Kurt's tell me the size or the cost of the replacements? Kurt's just asked for my address. Today, July 31, 2021, I received the replacement screws in the mail...and at no charge. THANK YOU!!! My husband is amazed and very thankful read more

After reading reviews about camera repair places near me and just about all over the US, most of them had absolute nightmare tales that out weighed the good reviews by 5/1 . Then I came across Kurt's and I read through every one I could find, of course filtering out the Just crazy people who don't understand hand repairing , scheduling and that the world just doesn't revolve around them after turning 18 and moving out .. So, I called and talked to them , explained what was going on , I had the dreaded eRR error code on a Nikon DSLR. I use this camera to photograph my Art and Leather as well as film with it. So it was devastating when it locked up on me. They knew almost right off the bat what was going on and were very nice over the phone. I decided to ship the camera all the way to California from here in Virginia . And sure enough when they called with the estimate the issue was just what they suggested over the phone when I called. The price was more than fair and better than most places I contacted before as well. The repair was done in more than a timely fashion , it was shipped within one day of payment and it arrived 4 days later, packed professionally and safely. The camera works like new, I asked them to clean the sensor and remove some dust from the viewfinder too. They did a fantastic job, the camera is just as clean as when it left, you cant even tell one fastener was removed from the camera body. A sign of pride and professionalism. I'm more than pleased with the service, communication and repair, I couldn't recommend them enough and if I ever need anything repaired in the future thats camera related? I know exactly where to send it without worry... Christian. read more

Got my camera repaired here pretty quickly for a reasonable price. Everything went smoothly and customer service was good.

A little pricey for just a sensor cleaning, but can't complain about the professional quality of work and it was done in less than a day.

I went into Kurt's after having continued issues with canon repair services. Upon arriving at Kurt's, Mike was super helpful,insightful and patient with me. He helped me test my camera bodies and lenses. His honesty and attentiveness was super appreciated. I will absolutely be coming back as things need repairing! read more

These guys were very friendly and helpful during my repair process. I was directed to Kurt's from Nelson Photo, in point Loma to get my old film camera(Asahi Pentax Spotmatic) and lens a refresh and cla. These guys at the time were very busy and gave me a clear price and two month eta. They fell short about a week off, not bad! but definitely was worth it because the camera came out fully reworked and proper! Definitely would recommend Kurt's to friends and family. read more

Do you remember when good, courteous service was the norm? Had a camera issue and drove to Kurt's. It was a long drive but worth the trip. They sold me nothing but solved my problem completely. I give them the highest recommendation and will give all of my business in the future. read more

I brought in my Canon full frame camera to get the sensor cleaned. I also noticed I had two large pieces of dust in my viewfinder. They weren't getting onto any images but it was still distracting. The nice woman told me they would try to clean the viewfinder too, but sometimes the whole thing has to be disassembled in order to get the dust out. I dropped the camera off at 9:30 AM and it was ready by 2:30 PM the next day. The sensor is clean and the viewfinder is now clear. Great job! And it was the original $79 I was quoted. I'll come back here for my camera cleaning needs. Update: I was shooting at the beach, slipped on a wet rock and one of my best lens hit the rock. Fortunately for me the UV filter I had on the lens took the hit. However, the filter was bent and I couldn't get it off the lens. I called Kurt's and they said they could get it off. After waiting less than five minutes they had it off. Filter was destroyed by the fall but the lens was undamaged. The cost of getting it off? $0!!! Moral of the story: always have a UV filter on your lens for protection and always go to Kurt's if you have any problems. Great service!!! read more

These people are a life savor! My a7s LCD screen broke on me a few weeks before a big convention for my work. They were the only camera repair place that fixed mirrorless cameras in house! They got me my camera and other lenses back exactly when I needed it to make it in time. My friends always recommended Kurt's for camera repairs and now I know why. Their customer service is spot on, and everyone is so friendly; even with me calling about every other day to check on the status. The price for the repairs weren't as damaging to the wallet as I thought it would be. So all around I highly recommend coming here for any camera needs! Thank you again! read more

Stopped into Kurt's today to have them take a look at my Pentax 6x7. The shutter was stuck and it ended up only being the battery that was flipped the wrong way that was not letting it function properly. Regardless, Mike the owner was helping me out and was very attentive and told me more about the camera then I knew prior and we even ended up chatting for a while. I will 100% come here in the future if I have any camera repair needs. read more

Dropped off condition not acknowledged I dropped off an Olympus 35mm SP rangefinder for light seal repair. When I picked up the camera the "spot meter" button on the back was missing. They said it was missing when I dropped it off....even though the drop off form indicates no such missing item...and it was there when I dropped it off. They said that they could not help me but if I got a "junker off eBay" they could install it for me. It's difficult to trust these old cameras to anyone...and I will never trust any of my cameras to Kurt's Camera again. read more

I brought in my whole kit of lenses because they were having trouble locking into my camera bodies, and before even checking me in the helpful team started to evaluate and discuss the issue. Their extensive knowledge helped them deduce that it was not due to a mechanical issue, like I thought, but possibly do to some residue on the lenses. They took the lenses to the back cleaned the mounts, and all was back to normal. The best part no charge! My mind was blown. Good people helping out the photo community. read more

I purchased a Sigma 18-250mm lens while on vacation in St. Thomas, USVI. When I got the lens home I noticed that some of the images were out of focus. I contacted Sigma and they referred me to Kurt's for service and warranty repair since I live in Northern California. I sent the lens to them with all of the required documentation. They kept in contact with me and gave me status updates. They confirmed that the lens was still covered by the manufacturer's warranty and they completed the repairs. I got the lens back in no time. I attached it to my Nikon D3200 camera and took it to a local cars show. The images came out FANTASTIC! I am very appreciative of Kurt's work and customer service! I highly recommend them! read more

I went here to see if they can repair my camera. They went to the back room, then came out and told me that there is something wrong with the shutter. They could not fix it, told me that the whole shutter needed to be replaced, and I had to send it to Casio. Anyhew....I went to Professional Photographic Repair and they were able to fix it, didn't need any parts, and it was ready to be picked up in 2 days. Enough said. read more

Fast, quick and easy. Repaired Nikon SLR which was under warranty w/o hassle. Recommended!

I would give 6 stars if I could. Kurt's Camera Repair is awesome! Cliff was great to work with--very communicative and honest. Here's my more detailed story. I'm a fairly serious photographer, and I have a 10+ year old Canon L lens (a lens from their professional series). I still don't know what happened, but let's just say that the lens/glass/focusing rings got separated from the mount somehow. So, of course, I sent it to Canon for repair, who promptly sent me an estimate for $400 for repair--I thought about not repairing this lens, but since this lens is still worth nearly $1,000 on eBay, I approved the repair. A few days later, Canon sent me back my lens unrepaired...why? They said they no longer had the parts for this lens! So, I was thinking I was totally out of luck, but then I noticed that Kurt's was listing some of my lens's parts on eBay--so I called them directly. I talked to Cliff, and I sent him some pictures of my lens, and he said that they couldn't make any promises, but that he'd see what they could do. Within 2 weeks I had my fully repaired lens--and they took the initiative to replace a couple of the focusing rings (they looked worn), and the autofocus motor. The lens is now working better than it was before, and the cost with shipping was just over $250! I'm a fan for life...I'm very impressed, and I'm grateful. read more

I went to Kurt's to see if my vintage movie projector could be fixed right away as I was having a viewing of my 1980 8 mm film that evening.. Mike was so very helpful and kind. I would recommend Kurt's read more

My $1,400 Nocticron had an accident. I don't know when it happened, but I just about fainted when I saw a giant crack across the front of the lens. Luckily, after inspection, I saw that a filter took all the damage, but I now had a cracked, stuck filter I couldn't remove. I was ready to pay anything to get this filter off after all my home attempts failed. I did some research and decided to try Kurt's. Well, it took them five minutes to get the filter off and get me my baby back to 100%. On top of that, they cleaned the lens so it was absolutely spotless. And they didn't charge a thing. I know this now: Kurt's is the best. I have a broken Olympus flash that I thought about getting repaired for a while. I now know where to go. read more

I brought my camera, a kind-of-rare Panasonic FZ200, in to be cleaned. Summarized: - Dropped it off for cleaning on 12/2/2013 - They cleaned it and put it back together, but the LCD on the back failed to work - They ordered a part, received and installed it. No luck. - They ordered another part, received and installed it. No luck. - They sent it back to Panasonic, who fixed it, then *lost it.* - The shop got another camera (new, but refurb) from Panasonic this past Monday. - I picked it up this morning (yes, it's late March, 2014). The good: - Given the drama, they didn't charge me at all, and threw in a 32 GB SDHC card. This earns three stars on its own as it goes a long way toward fixing the problems. (I didn't know there would be no charge until I showed up today to pick it up, though I guess that's fine.) - They warn you in advance that it'll take two weeks for the service. It's on the estimate paperwork. Anyone who says they didn't have this warning is lying. - The quoted price seemed fair, though I didn't get to pay it. (See above.) :) The bad: Do not count on proactive customer service. - They didn't call to tell me it was ready or give status. I called them on 12/23 to see if it was ready, and it wasn't until then that they told me about the LCD failure. - They would say they'd just done something, but subsequent questions would reveal that they hadn't *yet* done it but would the next morning (or that was the plan) even if it was something they'd had weeks to do. It was like this was the pain-in-the-butt case they didn't want to deal with until they had to, and that was only when I called. Based on what they told me about part delivery ETAs, I think all the above steps could've been handled in a month or so if they'd been interested in fixing it, but it's been 3.5 months. They did apologize verbally for the duration (and again, it was no charge). - They would tell me they'd be calling me back - and even when they'd call me back - but then wouldn't. My phone logs tell me that I've received four calls from them in total. (Three were from Cliff, always when there was good news; one was from Eva, and the latter was probably because I bitched about never getting called back.) - Their record-keeping on a case is poor. Several times, I'd call and ask the front-desk folks for status, and they'd tell me something several days older than the info that Cliff had told me a day or two before the call. - Even today, I had to visit twice because the engineer's case notes didn't include where the camera was, so he had to be there to give it to me. (I'm not taking stars off for this as I did tell him I'd be there the day before and I didn't show up as expected.) The neutral: - I can't actually vouch for the performance of their work because the product I got wasn't the one I dropped off back in December, but I first dropped it off there based on the other Yelp reviews. read more

Helped me out in a bind when I needed a replacement spring to fix the AF on my lens. I will be using this place for any camera needs in the future and would recommend to anyone, very friendly & appreciate the spare lens for parts. read more

I would definitely recommend Kurt's Camera to others. I brought my digital camera in there twice, and both times, I have received speedy and efficient service. They are fair when it comes to estimates and guarantee their work for 6 months. read more

I used Kurt's camera repair years ago and had a very positive experience. Recently the port in my Nikon DC 3100 camera didn't work any more. I use my camera and download constantly. It would have been a very expensive repair to take camera apart and fix but the owner suggested I just buy a card reader and download that way. Great idea...and it worked! Once again it was very refreshing to find HONEST people to work with. You can rest assure if and when I need a camera repair I will use Kurt's. read more

Phenomenal value, prompt and perfect service and a no-nonsense approach. Could not possibly be more satisfied in a camera repair shop. Thank you for the A+ service of my DSLR and 35mm film camera. I'll certainly be back. read more

Owner/management is terrible here. Had my friend drop off the camera and got two different quotes did not honor the lower quote I got previously. Since I wasn't there and my friend was picking up my camera, they were trash talking the whole time. This place sucks. Stay away read more

Kurt's Camera Repair is great!!! They repaired my Canon 70-200mm 2.8L IS and saved me hundreds off Canon's repair estimate. They even had my lens ready in time for an upcoming event. Kurt's is now my go to repair place for all of my camera equipment. read more

I must say, I rarely take the time to write a review on yelp, but when I do it's because I'm truly floored by a person or business going above and beyond. I used to live in San Diego and recently moved up to Aptos(Santa Cruz area). As a budding shooter a couple of years back I took my camera to Kurt's a couple of times as they had a golden reputation. Fast forward a few years and now I'm a working class pro shooting Nikon. I recently started to have focus issues with my D4 with any lens I used on it as well as my 70-200 on both cameras. Because I didn't really know of anyone I trusted up in the Bay area, I sent them in to Kurt's for service. I was so impressed with the care the took in not only repairing the camera/lens but also the excellent communication and open dialog approach they took in explaining everything that needed to be done as well as including test diagnostics upon completing the repair. They packaged my equipment incredibly safely so that even the most disgruntled UPS guy wouldn't stand a chance at harming it on it's way back to me. My worn and battered camera/lens look fresh and work as flawlessly and accurately as they did when I first drained my bank account to buy them. Lastly, I this was all taken care of so swiftly. Nikon's repair department can take around 6-8 weeks. The fantastic staff at Kurt's turned this around in about 2 weeks. Hat's off to them - they've earned my loyalty many times over. read more

I have a theory - that "Kurt" is really the Wizard of Oz. I took my broken lens there a few weeks ago, and the girl at the counter took the lens into a secret hidden back room. She returned with a quote. I had another question about the body of the camera. Again, she disappeared into the back and returned with an answer. Two weeks later, I got a call that it was fixed. The timing was exactly what they had quoted, as was the fair price. I cannot confirm or deny that "Kurt" actually exists, but my camera now works and I'm a happy customer. read more

Staff was extremely helpful, very effective and overall excellent and accommodating customer service! They go above and beyond!

Jan 2010: Very Helpful!!!!!!! I just wanted to let the owner of the shop know how much I appreciated the honesty of one of your employees named David. In November 2009, I stopped by the shop (after finding it on-line) with a Canon Powershot A80 and A95 that had problems with the LCD. I wanted to drop them off to get fixed but David informed me that this was a common problem for these cameras and showed me a piece of paper indicating that Canon had indeed issued, not a recall, but a service advisory, and that I should call Canon, and see if they will honor the repair. I called that day and Canon e-mailed me a UPS shipping label and had both cameras fixed and sent back to me at no charge within 3 weeks, as David had indicated. So,. I just thought it's only fair for me to take the time to let you know that I appreciate that fact that David is extremely honest and knowledgeable employee. Unfortunately, I think most camera shops would have ripped me off and charged me for the repair. Thanks again, and I have let family and friends know that Kurt's Camera Repair is an honest and trustworthy shop! San Diego, CA read more

Dear Kurts, I would like to thank Jenny for helping me diagnose and repair the image stabilizer on my Canon Rebel T1i this morning. I know it is pretty dumb, but I have taken over 30,000 photos-some published in newspapers, mail order catalogs and on websites, but never pushed myself to learn the mechanics of the camera. I thought for sure I was going to have to buy a replacement lens and I appreciate her help and honesty. Sincerely, Peter L. Massaro Owner Identiproducts read more

I was referred to this camera shop. My lens on my camera wouldn't shut. The estimate date it would be done was 2 weeks. They had my camera ready 9 days before expected date. I was a happy camper. Only thing I would say is that they should greet people when enter the store. They make it seem like you don't exist unless you say something first. read more

I'd highly advise you not to come to Kurt's, unless you enjoy wasting your time. I've driven down to Kurt's from La Jolla four times and have yet to get the camera part fixed. I found Kurt's through yelp, but the 4 stars is misleading and you should know why: Short review: Polite people, but TERRIBLE service. Long review: 1st visit: Very friendly, I explained the problem of my viewfinder and they said they would do their best to clean it and if they needed to order a new part, would let me know and it'd be ready for me within a week. Great! Sounds easy enough! 2nd visit: I had to call them after the week had passed and they said it wasn't ready yet but to come the next day. So I went down to pick up my camera and on was presented with the bill for over 100 dollars. Wow. Was not expecting that. Turns out they took it completely apart and cleaned it out. Hm okay that's fine, as long as the part I needed to be fixed was resolved, then I'll pay a little extra to do what it takes. Then I looked through my viewfinder to double check and the problem was still there. I questioned this and the girl took it back to the technicians to take a second look. She came back to say it was a part in the viewfinder and if I wanted it to be replaced, I'd need to order it and pre-pay since they don't have it in stock come back when they receive it- give it 14 days. Maybe she should have told me this over the phone, so I didn't waste an hour off work to drive down. Fine, I'll order the part. 3rd visit: 2 MONTHS later, I get a call saying my part is in. So I drove down to be told that the part actually has two pieces, and I only ordered one of them -_- how was I supposed to know? Shouldn't they have told me this when I ordered the first piece?? So I had to come back when they got the second piece in. 4th visit: I got a call saying to come in anytime and they will fix it on the spot. Already anti-Kurt's, I reluctantly drove down to the dirty camera shop. I would have said screw it, but I did need the part and already paid for it. Since I work during their M-F business hours, I decided to come on Saturday. Upon arrival, the guy said my pieces are both there but I would have to come back on a weekday when the technicians are in. The lady who called me said to come in ANYTIME and nowhere on their site does it say Saturdays- no technicians. He was very rude and said there's nothing he could do about it. Overall, a disappointing and frustrating experience. read more

Stumbled upon some old Pentax lenses, and this place inspected them carefully, and they clued me in on what the real deal was. They were honest, informative - 'nough said. Those traits seem hard to come by in repair shops of any kind. 5 stars. read more

Fast and friendly service. Very reasonable fees and seem to be honest. Took care of my 2 badly damaged Canons in a week. I felt safe doing business with them. Recommend! read more

I came to know Kurt's from Ken Rockwell's website. I drove down to Kurt's on April 2 to drop off my Mamiya 6 system. The body is mostly fine, but the rangefinder needs to be adjusted because the two images do not completely overlap when focused, which is distracting. The 50mm lens' focus mechanism is quite stiff and there is some visible haze going on inside. I just got the body and lens out of the package. The rangefinder was adjusted right on. The lens was re-lubbed and feels great. And haze is gone. Best of all, no sign of disassembly can be found, which is what Ken Rockwell was raving about a good camera tech. I'll definitely take the other two lenses to do the cleaning and lube some time in the future! read more

Outstanding service and fast! I was charged 70% less than what Procamera in Claremont quoted me! Kurt's camera shop was honest, and communicated clearly what they can and cannot do. Mary at the front desk was very personable and provided amazing customer service. Highly recommend to other Yelpers read more

Very disappointed in the service and repair of this shop. I brought my camera in because the battery was dying quick. 2 weeks later after dropping off the camera it's still not working and I even called to see if the camera was ready and they told me they haven't looked at it yet but will do so today. Wtf!!? Really after 2 weeks?! So they call me back 15 minutes after getting off the phone w them letting me know the camera is un-repairable due to limited parts Samsung sells. WOW! You could have told me this from the first day I dropped off my camera! Now I'm going to Best Buy to have the camera repaired and will be needing to purchase a new camera for my trip this weekend. POOR KNOWLEDGE from the employees here. POOR SERVICE as well. Will not be coming back here again. Sorry KURT you lost my business. read more

They are fast. Unfortunately, the parts I needed were backordered from Nikon. I won't hold it against them. They're very friendly and super helpful. read more

Remarkably great place. I was referred here by George's Camera shop in North Park because of damage to my point and shoot camera. They took a look at it, and instead of charging me about $40 for the part and labor, they fixed the problem themselves for free and told me how I could best prevent the problem in the future. Honest, friendly, knowledgeable, conscientious...all the things you look for in a store like this, and they have it. read more

my ae 1 is workin fine! just dont fall on it while snowboardin and you wont have to visit kurts... read more