Camera & Video Camera Repair

Archived Q&A and reviews ▼

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Digital camera repair

Aug 2005

One of the buttons on my digital camera is stuck. It might be something simple and mechanical (or not). Does anybody know any place in the Bay Area or even outside that fix digital cameras? It is not all that expensive but would rather not have to spend a lot of money (and reserach time) to get a new one. And I need to stop begging other parents to send me their pictures ... Thank you in advance for any help, Stefano

I have had good luck with Apollo Camera, 1411 Webster in Oakland, (510) 891-9486. When the viewing screen on my Canon S400 was cracked, I called a couple places and Apollo quoted the lowest price and fastest turnaround. When I went in, he had a used screen in stock that he sold me for a substantial discount, and it has worked fine for at least a year. A couple months ago I dropped the camera and it came apart (though somehow it still worked). I brought it to Apollo and he spent about 15 minutes putting it back together while I waited and charged me $10 which I thought was quite fair (he did check to make sure nothing else was broken and expressed amazement that it was ok). Also, when my daughter was a newborn my previous (regular) camera broke. When I explained to the folks at Apollo that I didn't want to miss a single photo opportunity, they were very accomodating and fixed it overnight. Stephanie

Camcorder Repair

Feb 2005

Help! In the excitement of preparing to film a speech my child was about to make, I managed to insert a tape backwards into our Sony camcorder, and now it's stuck. I've asked my children not to do anything memorable until it's repaired. :-) It seems Dale Sanford's has gone out of business and Albany Video, recommended on the website in 1999, is also AWOL. So, who can perform this delicate operation, so that I can return to our tradition of filming events that we never watch again? Natasha

[no replies received]

Dec 2004

Our camcorder flew across the room...Looking for a reliable repair place in Berkeley/Albany/Oakland area. The recommendations on the website are a little old (I'm not even sure Dale Sanford's exists anymore). Thanks!

[no replies received]

Sept 2004

I have a camcorder that needs a simple repair. Any recommendations about how to do this inexpensively? Is it worth fixing? Most quotes I've gotten have been for over $100 for a simple repair. Thanks!

[no replies received]

Video Camera Repair

Jan 2005

I would love a recommendation for a place that fixes video cameras at reasonable prices. I took mine to a place that ended up wanting to charge me an exorbitant fee. I told them to forget it, not fix it, and then held my camera hostage for almost 5 weeks. I am desperate to take footage of my wee one. Any suggestions?? Allison

[no replies received]

Camera cleaning or repair

March 2003

Hello, I went thru the website and I couldn't find anything recent about a camera repair shop. I have a k1000 Pentax camera and the lens is really dirty . . . or moldy? Could you please recommend me some place reasonable ? Thank you Grecia

You can try East Bay Camera Exchange in downtown Oakland. I've taken my cameras there for the last few years and have have pretty good results. Their turnaround time seems to be 3-5 weeks? angela

Hi. I've been told the best place to have your camera cleaned or repaired is this small storefront on Broadway and 21st. in downtown Oakland. I think the place is called Broadway Camera repair.

They are directly across the street from Sears. I've taken my camera there because I thought that my camera's meter needed to be cleaned and re-calibrated.

They checked everything first and assured me that the body looked good. They couldn't find anything wrong with the camera. They told me I could bring in my negatives to have them look one more time.

They did this free of charge. They are open Monday-Saturday. beth

I have used Apollo Camera Repair Co. 1411 Webster St. (14th St.) Oakland, CA 94612 (510) 891-9486 and they are very reasonable and quick. They were recommended to me by the Photography Dept at Laney College. They do the work themselves. Many other places just take your camera and send it out. vickie

More Recommendations

Feb 1999

There is an excellent camera repair (and used camers) shop on Solano, a couple of doors east of San Pablo Ave. The name slips me at the moment but they do very good work. Desiree

Camera repair: This, unfortunately, isn't in Berkeley, but I've recently had two cameras repaired at Apollo Camera Repair on Webster near 14th in Oakland. Unlike the repair shops in camera stores, this place is small and does the work themselves. Run by a very nice woman. The prices were half what I was quoted at camera stores, who, in fact, just send the cameras out to places like this for repairs. Apollo also repaired a camera that the other stores said couldn't be repaired. I highly recommend it. Linda