I am a professional wedding photographer. I was in town for a wedding my husband and I were photographing together. I needed a few odds and ends from a great camera store, so I hopped on my yelp app and found this one. At the sight of 2 stars I was a little unsure of how this experience would go, but time was of the essence and so we went in. Can I just say, We had THE BEST experience the whole time we were in this store?The salesmen, Dennis, may not be the nominee for this years' charisma award, but he was INCREDIBLY knowledgeable, kind, and extremely helpful. He knew every detail about each product We talked to him about. Employees at good camera stores are paid to know their product, answer questions, and sell the best equipment to meet their clients' needs... Not become your best friend. Woodward camera surpassed all of our expectations and certainly do not deserve the terrible reviews they've gotten so far!! They also give instant rebates on lenses (not annoying mail-ins), and offered to replace my compact flash card for free if it ever mal-functioned! Now THAT is great customer service. Thank you, Dennis and Woodward Camera for being so wonderful in our time of need! I will definitely be back when a wedding brings us back your way! www.secrawford.com read more

Unfortunately, for some reason, I've been back a handful of times hoping things got better. I've made an effort to support this local store, but will not do it anymore. Customer service is terrible, and the old crabby men behind the counter have no idea what is going on. The prices are mostly outrageous. For a while I was taking medium format and 35mm film to get developed here. A few scratchy, dusty rolls of negs later and I decided I'd rather take them to Walgreens. I even paid an extra $75 or so a year ago and bought an old Canon AE-1 and some lenses from the store. I paid $140 I believe for everything. Today I went back hoping to trade in the body for a Nikon equivalent (to use my lenses). They told me somehow in the past year my AE-1 dropped in worth to only $16. I explained how much I paid them for the camera, and the man told me that the worth of a camera goes down. Yes, I'm sure in one year this 50 year old camera somehow dropped $84 in worth. I wasn't trying to sell the camera to them, I was only hoping for an even trade. Also, while testing out some of the Nikon's, the man told me the autofocus would work. I told him I'm not sure that it would. He was sure that it does. Tested out three different cameras and when none of them worked with autofocus, he took a look and realized he was clearly wrong. I won't be returning, and you really shouldn't waste your time or money. read more

This place is awful for printing photos. I tried to get some professionally taken photos printed recently and had to come back 5 times because they could not get the color correct. The photos were very yellow. Then the last time I came back some of the black and white photos had black printer marks all over them. The woman tried to tell me it must be the photo bc she hadn't seen that before and then I finally made her go look at the original digital version before she agreed. Every time I went in there, the two women who helped me at the desk were extremely rude and acted totally annoyed, as if I had done something wrong. I finally asked for a refund and the woman's attitude was horrendous. I will never return to this place and it's unfortunate since it's around the corner from me read more

Woodward camera is full of knowledgeable people NOT... I had a salesperson tell me a Promaster lens is very close to the quality of a Nikkon/Nikkor lens. One of those times I really miss Century Camera :( 9 read more

I find the staff here to be rude and unhelpful... I was ignored at the counter for almost 5min. Then treated like I was not worth their time. From some of the other reviews this seems like the norm. Not sure how a camera store can stay alive today without having great customer service. read more

Woodward Camera is the last real camera store I know of. It's a great place - people are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Service is excellent and prices reasonable. read more

My husband was disappointed with the purchase of a lens I had made for his camera at Xmas. The owner was courteous and considerate. He stated "what ever it takes to make you happy, we are going to do". We were able to exchange the lens for the exact match for the camera. In general we found the entire staff knowledgeable and helpful. We will continue to shop there for all of our photography needs. read more

Ha! Love this place! I'm always finding new cool gadgets for my ridiculously expensive hobby. I find that their customer service is just fine...I formulate direct questions and receive direct responses. Plus, they're great at camera/lens repairs, and are pretty timely with developing. read more

My overall experience here today was great. I had come in with an older SLR camera that had an error message. Pete talked me through the process and let me know approximately how much repairing it would cost and then showed me some new SLRs and how much those would cost. He was so helpful and made making my decision a lot easier. I am now the happy owner of a brand new camera. Thanks Woodward camera!! read more

I went in to learn about a camera that I could get pretty much anywhere for a similar price. I wanted to support the local economy and possibly learn a little bit from a store that has been around forever. What a joke. I was in and out in less then 60 seconds. I asked if they had the model for me to see. He came out with a box and said it was the only one they had and it wasn't a demo. I didn't get the feeling he was willing to sell me on the features. So I said, ok thanks and left....their loyal customers cannot be going into Woodward Camera for the charm that is for damn sure. read more

How sad. This place used to be the photography place to go. Now, the staff is rude and biased toward specific brands. When asked about Olympus, they acted as if I was asking for a camera made by Fisher-Price. It was awful. read more

My husband and I were there last week to buy my dream lens. The man behind the counter was fantastic and very helpful. He also showed me lens that were like the one I wanted that were less expensive then the one I wanted. I decided to go with the more expensive lens because I had already made up my mind. We are going back next Monday, I hope they are open to buy my last two lens that I want...We had a wonderful experience there... read more

I live in Birmingham, and Woodward camera is right down the street. Despite being so close and convenient, I will buy online or travel 20 minutes to Camera Mart in Pontiac . I'd love to support the local economy, but not these guys. Although I should know better, I went there yesterday to buy the Nikon D600. Against my better judgement, I went to Woodward Camera b/c I wanted it right then and it was convenient. The place was empty, yet I was ignored as I stood at the counter. I asked for some help, and the guy behaved as though I was bothering him. I told him I intended to buy a high end Nikon and he was condescending. Even though I knew exactly what I wanted, and they had it right there, I left the store and ordered it online instead. There is no way I would trust these guys to help me if there was a problem. Besides, the guy was so rude, I would have felt violated if I gave him my money. All he had to do was be civil and he would have sold me a very expensive camera. I walked out laughing at the absurdity. read more

Visited the store Oct 29 and were "greeted" by a rather surly gentleman. I asked if they sold infra-red filters, to which he replied they did not (!!) He looked at me as if I had 3 heads and 5 eyes and steadfastly refused to engage in conversation. The first impression of the store was "cluttered". I will not return to this store! Neil L. read more

product and price 4 star customer service 0 star average 2 star they just won't help you. it's a cool place i found what i wanted. a Manfrotto backpack. but it has all kind of pockets i don't know what they're for. so i went asked one of the sales person. he doesn't wanna help me at all. gave me that " take it or leave it" attitude.but i bought it anyways because i love the look and thinking i can probably figure it out when i get home. when i got home and looked it up online. i realized it's one of those backpack and tripod kit. they open the box and sale them separately which explains why the backpack doesn't have a label or instruction to tell you which pocket is for what. i feel a little cheated because if i have known it's a kit i wouldn't have bought another promaster tripod that doesn't fit the pocket in the backpack. they know. they didn't mention a word to me that this is a kit or try to help me picking up my tripod and bag. i love my bag and tripod. just hating the customer service completely and totally. read more

Do not sell equipment to them! The price for my only slightly used lens was severely undervalued & when I got my trade in $, it was less than what the employee told me he could give me for it moments before. What a rip off. I'm disappointed. They don't take their walk in customers seriously. Condescending in person and short, unhelpful and disengaged over the phone. I'm never going back there again. read more

Tom is a talented digital refinisher he did an awesome job on restoring an old photo of my brothers that I thought was beyond repair. I highly recommend Tom. read more

I did not let the bad reviews deter me from going (and the fact that it's the only camera shop in the area). I am still considered a little more on the beginner side of camera work and went in. I wasn't greeted or smiled at. I was asking a question about lenses and the guy at the counter seemed rather annoyed by my questions. I finally made it clear to him that I was a beginner and wasn't sure if he could explain. He started explaining and actually turned out to be quite nice and took time to explain everything to me. I had since returned and went right to him and he was just as nice! Even though I would definitely return again; please work on being more approachable to beginners. If I were timid, which I am not, I would have been deterred and you could have lost a customer. Nice selection of products! read more

Kim at Woodward Camera is fantastic. I brought thousands of photos and slides in to be scanned, and she took excellent care of me and my pictures. Kim is patient and so helpful. I would highly recommend gathering up your family pictures and take them to WC to get them preserved for the future. read more

The only reason I didn't give this place one star is because the people who work at the film counter are friendly. However, the older men who work at the camera equipment counter make me dread coming in (especially the bald guy with the mustache). My boyfriend is a photographer and frequently needs to stop in for lenses and other equipment. That guy never fails to talk down to him and make him feel like he knows nothing, even though my boyfriend is very knowledgable about the cameras and photography in general. We spend good money there. They should try to be a little more helpful and work on their attitude. The store is only a mile from where we live and we'd rather inconvenience ourselves by driving out of town than come in to Woodward Camera and be disrespected. read more

A while ago I went into this shop with my dads analog (high end from the early 90's) camera with numerous high end lenses. I wanted too replace the analog body with a digital body. I believe the associates name was brad (not 100%) nonetheless he was so rude. I walked up to the counter, started to ask him if I could replace the body and before I even finished my sentence, without looking up at me or even seeing my camera....he said no. Apparently he did not want what could have potentially been $700+ dollars. Recently my dad took the camera somewhere else and he was able to convert the analog body to a Digital body. Will never go back here again, glad they are doing so good in this economy that they can turn away business. Better for the guys that are hurting and appreciate the business. read more

I'm visiting family in Michigan and needed a camera store. After reading the Yelp reviews, I was prepared to be snubbed at Woodward. My husband and I stopped in today in need of some accessories for a new Canon SLR (memory cards, UV filter, etc). Woodward had what we needed - only a bit more $ than they would cost online - (but more importantly, in stock!) and we had great, friendly and well informed service from Dennis. read more

This place is awful!!! I took in my old home movies two years ago to have them transfered to DVD and spent about 400 dollars. two years later they call me saying they have an order for me to pick up. It was one of the tapes! Then they tried to charge me forty dollars for it and when I refused they were extremely rude. finally they just let me have my tape and when I got home there was nothing on the DVD transfer! I could not believe they had one of my precious home movies just sitting around for two years and then acted like it was my fault when I came to get it. I would never go back there! read more

I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING BUSINESS WITH THIS SHOP, online or otherwise. I ordered an item through Woodward Camera's ebay shop on December 15 due to arrive by Dec 20 in time for Christmas. After I hadn't received it by the time promised, Over the course of the next 3 days, I messaged them twice through ebay with no response, then emailed their shop directly with no a response, then ended up calling their shop directly and talked to "Rick" who said the item I had ordered had been delayed but it had been shipped out. I asked if I would receive it by Christmas and he just said, "uh, ummm, uh..." I told him I needed it sent overnight in order to receive it by Christmas and he said he could do that but that I WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. Are you kidding me? This was their error. They could have at least contacted me as soon as they knew the item was delayed so I could purchase it elsewhere, but didn't even have the professionalism to return my emails! The least they could do is correct their mistake but they were unwilling to help. The item was sent out UPS Ground to go across the country so I am sure I won't be seeing it until the New Year. Completely frustrated with my experience with Woodward Camera. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS SHOP. Complete lack of professionalism. Would give it ZERO stars if I could :( read more

All that's left are internet stores for photo equipment. There's nothing locally that deserves your money.

I stopped there yesterday and the staff was great, the salesman (Pete) was very helpful and informative.

who ever said "GRUMPY OLD MEN" couldn't have been more acccurate. I spent over 4k in their store, Canon 7d, 2 lenses, bag, CF card, Etc... there was a problem with one of the lenses after a very short period of time and the extremely rude OLD MAN implied 4 times that the lens could have been dropped which was not the case, it was clearly a defect, and said it would have to be sent back to sigma, which i have no problem doing, It was his PISS-POOR attitude that made me never want to spend another dime with them. DO not give them the business. Go to Camera Mart instead. read more

I had a photo that had been torn and needed to be repaired a friend recommended that I get them to help me. I took the photo in and they assured me that they would repair it in the store and that it would be done the next day. The photo that had been torn and badly damaged was transformed into a perfect picture again. They put it on a cd and they made me a new 4x6. This was the only picture of my daughter and my mother before she passed away. They did such an amazing job and they even made the color come back to life! This was the best experience and if you ever need something special and done right I would recommend them. read more

I do not recommend even phoning for inquiries at big establishments like this one, the staff are rude and unhelpful; you will only get the wrong informations and runarounds. If you know other stores that are helpful, I suggest you try them instead. You will get your money's worth and come out wiser. read more

I had THE worst experience at this camera shop. Woodward Camera may be the place to go if you're a professional photographer, but if you fall short of that grade, I would recommend avoiding this place entirely. The person who "helped" me was a condescending prick. He didn't care to listen to a word I said, and began the interraction by interrogating me, a process complete with eye-rolls, dramatic pauses, and a "you're wasting my time" tone. I have news for you Woodward Camera, one of the advantages you may still have over e-tailers is the chance for human interaction. If you don't value that, then get ready to be extinct. read more

They tend to have what you need. A wide selection of cameras and camera equipment for digital, film and video needs. It is easy to see why they are a better selection for a photog than Best Buy. However, their customer service department seems to be headed by an Ogre, and they are some of the least friendly but knowledgeable curmudgeons in the greater Bloomfield area. read more

I wish i could post zero stars. This store is terrible the customer service is nonexistent and the gear is wildly over priced. I tried to purchase a memory card they wanted $119 plus tax the same card was on sale on amazon for $51 the original price was $55 where did this store get the $119 dollar price from, if you don't know what you're looking for and havent researched the cost they will take every advantage of you they can. The store also has a sign posted saying they match Amazon prime and orders fulfilled by Amazon i tried getting a price match the sales guy spoke to the owner and pointed me out as the buyer i acted as if i wasn't paying attention he tried whispering a number to the clerk which i heard and they still tried to charge me way more than what was on amazon i pointed out the sign and they could careless, this wasn't the first time they overcharged me for something and even sold me the wrong thing and tried to hassle me about wanting a refund or exchange a hour after i bought the thing. I don't understand how this place stays in business. I will never ever go there again i suggest you don't waste your time or money either but if you do go be aware of the actual cost of the product you're buying, photography is expensive this store makes it even more expensive, don't get taken. read more