The team at Kurt's was a godsend when a variable ND filter got stuck on my Sigma lens and would not budge despite trying multiple sets of filter wrenches and almost all of the usual tricks. I was prepared to take a hammer to the filter myself but decided to see if a local shop had better luck with it than I did. The filter couldn't be saved, but they were able to get it off without glass flying everywhere and potentially scratching the lens, and that's all I could have asked for. Most of all, they were friendly and professional throughout the entire process. They have my business and support in the future! read more

Great service center for old film cameras - I've been using them for decades and have always gotten great service.

Simply the best. Fair prices and great work. Let the professionals handle it and save money in the long run.

Canon camera. Lens would not open/retract. Living in New Hampshire could not get it looked at. Even Canon factory repair said it was too old and would not accept it. Found Kurt's on the internet. Described the problem on the phone and they said they could probably repair it. Sent to them by FedEx. Repaired for $135 plus cost to ship back. Cost to buy comparable replacement would have been high $600's. Received the camera and it is once again perfect. Great price, great service, friendly staff......any future problems with any of my families cameras will be going to Kurt's. 100% happy and would highly recommend them. read more

All I can say is WOW. This place was recommended to me by at least two camera shops. I heard horror stories about repairs for Sony mirrorless cameras taking forever because it takes time to get the spare parts, etc. I dropped off my camera for a repair and sensor cleaning. She said that it would be ready in 2 or more weeks. (I forgot exactly how long.) TWO DAYS later, I received an email stating that the work was done and that my camera was ready. I picked it up and looked at the sensor-- squeaky clean. The repair cost included the sensor cleaning, which my camera was in dire need of. If I had dropped off my camera for a sensor cleaning alone, it would've cost $79 (for a full-frame sensor, less for smaller sensors). The only reason I'm giving them four stars is because in the past year, I emailed them three times, and I messaged them once here on yelp. Nobody ever replied. Otherwise, I highly recommend this place. read more

Two weeks ago I shot a major sporting event. I noticed a ton of slightly or way out of focus photos. Took my equipment in knowing something was wrong Equipment was written up and explanations given Got a call and e mail on for additional work to be done D600 sensor cleaning 24-70 f2 auto focus motor cracked rolls broken focus ring needed to be replaced. D4s auto focus out of spec. Shutter release contact bad. Repairs done picked up equipment one week later with note replaced card door no charge I asked why the door I was told it was missing one screw and another was loose Not only was the estimate fair. I was kept in the loop on each repair. All three were done in a timely manner at a fair price. I was treated like a VIP. Thank you for a job well done read more

Excellent service and support. Took care of my issue swiftly and promptly. Excellent communication and quality of service at a reasonable price. read more

This is my fourth time coming here and I have yet to have a bad experience (knock on wood!); hence, me returning for multiple services (repair my wife's P&S, sensor cleaning on my FX, etc.) through the past two years. Once again, great service & repair turnaround. In this case, I dropped off my glass (Tokina 12-34mm f/4) for repair on Tuesday and expected the repair to last a couple week's based on part availability and time of labor. Then to my delight, I get a call back today (two days later) to inform me it was done. Also, the original quote was for about $130 and was only charged $94. A common phrase us photogs use best apply with my own personal experience "Under estimate & over deliver!" THANK YOU KURT, y'all rock!!! read more

Kurt's Camera Repair - Getting my Tokina 12-24 f/4 repair (broken back when I use to promote for ClimaxSD in '10), finally?! - Photography Stores & Services Near Me - Santee, California

For the first time in my 78 years I dropped a lens, my Sigma 150-600. The sound was cringe worthy and the impact broke the UV filter and bent the metal frame so as to cause it to jam in place. I figured out how to get it out, but the front outer ring of the lens itself was cracked. It still worked, but I plan to give it to my granddaughter in a few years, so I wanted to get it fixed. I imagined a price that would be almost as much as the cost of the lens, but the reviews made Kurt's sound reasonable and expert. I sent it in and about a week later received a quote that was of great relief to me. They did a fantastic job and returned my lens in a timely fashion and it looks fantastic. They are reputable, honest and reasonable and I recommend them highly! read more

My camera took a tumble last week - on the concrete. The lens was toast but mostly I was worried about the body - and for some reason the lens would not come off of the body which is why I had some panic going on! I had headed over the Kurt's from recommendations for George's camera shop & really came upon a gem! Really nice people & they took my camera in the back and looked at it for a little bit figured out what was wrong and fixed it right there! They really know what they are talking about. The whole thing took about 15 minutes and when I asked them how - they just said no charge. Really? They just asked if I had a chance to give them a good review and that's exactly what I am doing!! I think there are many people who trust their cameras to get fixed here and when you walk in your just the sense that they really know what they are doing - they only fix cameras here. We are lucky to have a great shop like this in town! read more

Turned in a Canon Rebel t2i for cleaning as I had a spot showing up in all my photos. Spoke with Chris when I came in and he couldn't have been friendlier. While I was at the counter two other guys came in and from what I could overhear of their interactions with the other two employees that came out, both ladies were very polite as well. A great relief since all the other camera places I read reviews for seemed to all get many reviews stating they were rude or inattentive. Not my experience at Kurt's. I came from Oceanside specifically because of this. My camera was taken in and they took thorough notes for the service tech who would be cleaning the camera. It was Saturday when I dropped it off and I told Chris that I would be back in SD the following Saturday so if possible I'd like to come get it then, he said he'd make a note of that and if they could, they would. The camera was ready Tuesday! So very fast service in my experience. Picked up the camera, paid the agreed upon price and after I checked the photos for spots, there wasn't any. In summary. Great service. Friendly people. Job completed as request for price we agreed upon. Will return if I need future service. read more

This will definitely be my go to spot for any camera repairs/parts needs from now on. I just recently purchased a 24-70 2.8 L lens for my Canon and noticed there was quite a bit of dust inside of the lens itself. Well.... being that I've been a mechanic and have dealt with electrical for a little over a decade now, I tend to get that mind set that there is no job I can't do! That is until I took apart my lens and damaged my aperature flex cable FML. The damaged ribbon resulted in my camera not being able to shoot anything lower than 2.8 aperature and would give me a communication error. I started to panic that I wouldn't be able to fix my lens in time for my friends upcoming proposal this week due to the fact that if you look the part up online, they all ship from China. DOUBLE FML!!!! I stumbled across this business after searching camera repair shops on google, gave them a call, and was helped by a nice lady who's customer service was on point. Better yet? THEY HAD THE PART IN STOCK!!!! So I went to the bat cave and I just now finished putting my lens back together(this was def a lesson for me) and everything works amazing. Thank you guys for all your help! read more

Very professional!!! I highly recommend Kurt's Camera Repair. Staff is professional and courteous. Good communication skills, great service and turn around time. read more

I reached out to Kurt's Camera repair, because all pictures on my digital camera had a blue tint to them all of a sudden. I have had my camera for years and I have loved it, so it would be worth having it repaired. The email response was that they weren't sure what could cause that, but to bring it in. So I drove 45 minutes to Kurt's. When I got there the front person took my camera back to the technician, who within 2 minutes had determined that yes, the pictures had a blue tint to them, but that was the factory setting. The attitude was an indifferent "it is what it is." I know for a fact that that is not how it used it be, factory setting or not. Maybe there is no way of fixing it, but I wish I had known, before I spent and hour and a half on the road, that they had no interest in figuring out why the pictures are blue-ish... because that fact was never questioned. I guess the two stars, as opposed to one, is for being honest with me that they didn't want to figure it out (probably saving me some money at least). Too bad I didn't know that before I spent time and gas going there. All in all, a disappointing visit... read more

All it would have taken was a single phone call or email from Kurt's... Two months ago I dropped off a telephoto lens that needed some work. An employee's coronavirus infection delayed things by about a week - not a problem and not the fault of Kurt's. Two or three weeks later I got a call to let me know some of the work that needed to be done couldn't be done there, so I was asked if they could send it off to a facility in the midwest. I thought it was a bit odd that they couldn't do the work there at Kurt's but I gave the okay. A few weeks later I hadn't heard anything so I emailed Kurt's for an update. I got no reply. I called later and spoke to someone, the owner maybe, who said he'd have an update for me the next day. The next day came and went with no call or email from Kurt's - the single call or email that would have turned this whole thing around. Even contact from Kurt's to let me know that there was no update. Instead, I was left hanging. At that point I was done with Kurt's. Apparently my clear instruction to them to return the lens was lost in translation and I was given a semi-update, certainly nothing specific enough to change my mind, so I repeated my instruction to return the lens. In short, I came within one day of filing a small claims suit against the company. I got the lens back today, un-repaired as we agreed, two months and one day after I delivered it to Kurt's. So two months without the lens and a two month delay in getting the lens to some other repair facility. From now on, all my repairs are going to the manufacturer's own facilities. It seems Kurt's has gotten generally good reviews, so don't base your decision only on my review, but do take it into account. I know the pandemic has thrown everything into disorder, but it would have only taken that one call or email to prevent this discontent. Unfortunately, because no work was done I can only give a one star rating. read more

Wow I came in to see if they could remove a filter that got stuck to the end of my lens ( after a nasty fal). The person behind the counter gave me a quote and I said ok and she took it back. Less than 5 mins she was back and there was no charge! I was really impressed with the professionalism and the fact that they took care of me right on the spot. Thank you! read more

Went in to get my Mamiya RB67 light seals replaced, and by happenstance walked out w a free Petri FT 1000 w 2 rolls included. Everyone is really nice and super knowledgeable here, and the pricing is awesome as well. read more

The fixed and performed a CLA on a vintage Takumar lens of mine. Great service and positive attitude. I will be using them in the future!

A really honest place. They diagnose the problem for free and give you an honest price unlike other places that tried scamming me for $1000. Fortunately my camera T6I had something wrong with a censor which would've cost me a little below $300 but I went to Walmart and fixed it myself for $2. My SD card holder was missing a piece to trigger the censor but I just used a piece of wood. They know what they're doing and they're honest with prices, with me at least it was. read more

Kurt's is great. The owner really take a personal interest in you as well. I highly recommend!

I shattered my UV filter and it subsequently got stuck on the lens. I didn't have the tools to remove it so I took it in. Kurt's removed the filter, made sure any glass was removed, looked over the lens for damage, and cleaned it up. I was in and out in about five minutes. We had a shoot same day so I was super impressed--they are life savers. read more

Repaired my Sigma 50-500mm quicker than the initial estimate. Reasonable price. The staff was extremely knowledgeable and explained everything in detail, even gave me the defective parts back with the lens. Excellent customer service and communication. This will be my go-to shop for any camera/lens repairs in the future. read more

This is an updated review for Kurt's Camera Repair. My first review was 1 star due to lack of communication, length of time for repair and poor final exam of my gear to make sure it works before returning it. I'm not completely confident I would return in the future if needed. My gear was repaired yes but the overall service was undesirable. So the 1 star is now a 3 star. But beware, other customer reviews here on Yelp reinforce my complaints. Communication, poor. 1 star. Turn around of repair, poor. 1 star. Discount of repairs to make amends, fair. 3 stars. read more

Shot some photos last week and it looks like my Nikon 24-70 2.8 is just a bit off. Called Kurtz to make sure they are still working on Nikon lens. Brought the lens so they could do the repair The lady who checked me in suggested leaving the camera. Glad she did I got a call the same week from the technician looks like both my lense and camera are a bit out side of Nikons specifications. Had a nice conversation he explained everything I like having an honest local repair facility. Looking forward to getting my equipment back soon read more

Kurt's Camera was of extreme help when my camera was in need of a second look after I was scammed by a supposed "Sony-authorized" camera repair shop here in New York City. Knowing Kurt's solid reputation while I lived in San Diego, I decided to ship my camera to them for assessment and repair. Not only was Kurt's able to determine the underlying issues of the camera, they were also able to justify that the camera returned to me from the "repair shop" here in NYC was, indeed, not my original camera! Needless to say, with Kurt's help, I was able to win my case against Sony and was reimbursed appropriately for the experience I had undergone. Now, I will never trust any camera repair shop, other than Kurt's. Whether I am across the country or anywhere else, they will forever have my business. Honest service like this is incredibly hard to come by nowadays, and I'm glad that I have found a shop that I can trust. Thank you, Mike (and his team) for your dedication and for the truly outstanding service! read more

Thank you for working during the CoronaVirus. I am over the moon to have my camera back, better than when I bought it new. You did do MAGIC. I am now enjoying to wander around taking photos again. THANK YOU very much, with much GRATITUDE! read more

lost my camera to Kurt's. I sent my Canon SX20 for repair in January. It is now September and I still don't have my camera. After waiting 3 months and sending numerous request, they sent me a replacement camera that was in poor condition. I sent it back to Kurt's with a request for my camera. All they did was send the wrong camera back to me again! I don't know if my camera got lost, stolen or broken, only that they are not taking responsibility to resolve this and I cannot get my camera back. read more

My Sony FE 4/70-200 G Oss lens got broken on vacation. The service provided was exceptional. Not only they offered shipping to Monterey, but had a reasonable price and quality service. They were professional, knowledgable and friendly. I am highly recommending them. read more

Absolute live savers!!!! My camera was repaired and back to me in just 3 days. I was so upset thinking it was unrepairable and I'd have to replace the camera completely. They're so kind and I'm so happy I found Kurt's Camera Repair. read more

These guys are awesome! I came in for a lens sensor cleaning before a photoshoot tomorrow and they squeezed me in since I was coming from Carlsbad. Prices are super affordable and they were very knowledgeable. Stoked to find them read more

I definitely recommend their services!! The owner and his team are on top of it I needed to fix lens filter thread and they were able to get it done in a few minutes! Everyone was very helpful and kind! I would definitely use their services again! read more

It's unfortunate that this is one of the few camera repair shops in San Diego. I dropped my camera off on March 6th for repairs from water damage. I received an estimate on March 10th for two possible repair options. I was told if one doesn't work then they will try the second option which would cost more but I would receive a call to notify me first. I hadn't heard anything so I called a month later and was told they were waiting on a part and "hadn't heard" from the company where they ordered the part from in a while so they would call and cal me back the next day. I called two days later and was told the part was not received yet but should be soon. A few more weeks went by and I called the first week in May. I was told that repairs were done they were waiting for the camera company to send their software to reset my camera and no ETA. Finally, over two months (10 weeks toys) after I dropped off my camera, I just got a call on May 15 that my camera is ready. Kurt's was not proactive at all and I did not receive the customer support some people have raved about. I never received a call regarding the excessive delays unless I called first. Hopefully I won't need repairs to my camera in the future but if I do I will not be taking my camera back to Kurt's. I would gladly pay more to ship my camera to the maker directly or find another repair facility. read more

Great experience - dropped off my favorite camera, repaired on time and at a good price. Very pleasant staff at the front desk. Also gave a six months warranty on the work. Would highly recommend read more

Sent in a lens for a warranty repair. I've had bad experiences in the past with companies not wanting to honor warranties. I was expecting a call asking for money. Instead, I got a call a lot quicker than I expected that my lens had been repaired, adjusted and updated! Less than 2 week turnaround. Couldn't be happier and when I need work done, I'll be using Kurt's! read more

I came here because this place was recommended to me by a friend who does a lot of photography and he said their prices were fair and they did a good job. I went hiking in the Narrows a while back and ended up falling in the river and getting my camera wet. Since then, I could turn the camera on, but not take any pictures. I brought my camera in, and they told me the issue was with the motor in my lens. They suggested I get my camera body cleaned, and buy a new lens- fixing the lens would have cost about as much as another lens of the type I had. I was grateful for the advice and had them clean my sensor- the cost they offered was comparable with other camera repair shops around town. When I got my camera back, I was really excited-- I had already bought a new lens and was excited to try it out. The minute I put the lens on and looked through the viewfinder, I was completely baffled by what I saw. There were several long dust fibers all over the place. I looked inside the camera, and saw a few particles of dust, but nothing like the fibers I was seeing inside. I brought the camera back to Kurt's and asked them what the problem was. They took the camera in the back, and the tech said he found a spot that was missed on the last cleaning, so he cleaned it and had the girl at the front return it to me. I looked again and the fibers were still there. I asked her what that was about, and she said the fibers were not on the sensor but on the prism within the body, and that they would have to take the whole camera apart to clean that area, but that it wouldn't affect my photos. I was disappointed and left the shop, but a minute later turned my car around because I thought to myself, these fibers weren't there when I brought the camera in, and it would drive me nuts to have them there every single time I tried to take a photo with my camera- if I brought my camera in to have it cleaned, and received it in worse condition than I had brought it in, there is something really wrong with their service. When I came back, they had their manager come out to talk to me about the situation- I think his name was Mike. He gave me a really hard time about the dust fibers, reinforced what the girl had told me earlier about it not affecting my sensor, and then basically told me I probably had those fibers in there beforehand, and that it wasn't their fault. I don't know how anyone could miss those fibers-- you'd have to be completely blind to miss them, and if so, then I don't think you have much business working with a camera. He kept arguing with me, telling me how dirty my sensor was and that it was probably my fault-- how could anyone with a sensor as dirty as mine was not notice, and I probably didn't notice the fibers. This is funny news to me, because when I brought my camera in the first time, the girl told me that my sensor was not that bad. Also, I had told both her and this jerky manager guy that I had fallen in a river in the middle of a 2 day, 16 mile hike through water, with overnight camping, and the camera had gotten soaked, so of course the sensor was dirty. He continued to argue with me, then tried to negotiate saying I should pay half the cost of cleaning the camera (for the second time!), and that he would have to talk to his tech to see what the real story was because he couldn't take my word for it that the fibers had not been there before. This was such a fiasco. I left the camera with them, and a few hours later he called me and finally said he'd clean the camera for me as a courtesy (I don't know what the heck he thought was courteous about any of this entire ordeal), but that again it was probably my fault, but he couldn't prove it. I came back a couple days later to pick up my camera and was relieved that the fibers were gone. There were still some spots I could see through the viewfinder, but at this point, I just wanted to get the hell out of there and never look back. There was this large nasty note on my bill saying something to the effect of 'this customer is to never receive free services from us again'. I just took my camera and left. And you know what, for the 2 cleanings they did on my camera, there was still some dust inside the opening where you plug in the USB port to transfer images to your computer. Fan-friggen-tastic cleaning job they did. Awful. The only redeeming thing about this place is that one of the girls who works in the front is super nice- the shorter one with the husband who works in the back of the shop. She could teach that manager a thing or ten about customer service and high quality standards. read more

I've got an old medium format film camera that was not in production for very long and you can't get parts for them anymore, so I e-mailed Kurt's telling them exactly what problem I was having with the camera and what kind of camera is was and asked if it was something they could take a look at. The e-mail response I received said that they had a guy familiar with that particular camera and that he could take a look at it to see what the problem was, but if it needed parts then they couldn't help me. So, a couple of days later I drove down there (about 30 miles from my workplace, so not particularly close) with my camera and the young guy at the front counter took it back to the techs, only to return seconds later--the tech wouldn't even look at the camera because he "hadn't had much luck" repairing that particular camera. I said, "I sure wish someone had just said that in the e-mail rather than telling me to bring the camera down here." They gave me a referral to another shop that might be able to help me, but I still left annoyed at the fact that I had driven all the way down there for nothing after they said they'd take a look at the problem, only to have the tech dismiss it on sight. read more

I had posted a quick tip a while ago saying they were great but I did not review them. So here it is (and unfortunately, this review is not good). I dropped off my camera after it feel on the ground and broke. They said they could fix it, so I left it there.. they told me the camera would be done on June 30th. I went there a couple days before that to pick up my camera just to hear "im sorry but we could not fix it" ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? Why didnt they call me? I told the lady I was told the camera could be fixed and I was disappointed that they did not tell me earlier that it was not fixable, all she said was "i guess you can send it to panasonic and have them fix it". I unfortunately do not have a camera and had to wait over 3 weeks to find out they were not going to fix it.... oh well.......... read more

Expert and efficient - plus above and beyond. Kurt's Camera turned my camera around quickly and for a decent price. I had already had my Nikon D5100 repaired recently at the tune of $250 at a local repair store - the guy took two weeks longer than the original quote and he screwed up the mirror. I contacted Nikon and their only offer was to mail the camera in - really? That will take FOREVER! Kurt's not only got it done in two days, but for a decent price and it's better than ever. I'm so impressed with the professionalism of the staff and the quality of the repair. I would never go anywhere else - and it is a huge drive for me - 140 miles round trip, but worth it. read more

The absolute best camera repair shop! I'm really new to using a film camera, basically a week new and dropped it and the slide came off. I stopped at multiple other camera repair shops that couldn't fix my slide on my Olympus. Many places told me it was impossible but then so came across Kurt's and the told me to leave my camera there and see if they could find anything to fix it. I left my camera with Kurt's Camera repair over the holidays and just three days later I got a call that they fixed it. So amazing. Every one that worked here was so amazing and down to earth. I 100% recommend you go here if there's anything broken with your camera. (: read more

I have a special Micro Nikkor lens, but the grease had all dried up and it wasn't working. Kurt's took it apart, cleaned and lubed it and it is as good as new. I use it on my Nex-7 and that is a good thing. Note that there are now cameras, like the Nex series and others, that can use the perfectly good old manual lenses that have been hidden away in closets for years now. Quality old lenses are now hot stuff and it may be worth it to you to fix them up. Way down by Mexico I think, in the world's dullest strip mall, they do work through the mail so you don't have to drive all the way there. They are busy, not super fast and there can be a missed communication, but I think they try to do it right and are honest and capable. read more