Mid State Camera Services

I WISH I would have read the old reviews on Unilocal prior to going to this place. What a horrific experience. Outside of echoing the negative comments already made (they are so true), here is what happened to me:
— I dropped camera and lens during a shoot and needed repair.
— on my initial visited they wanted $ 150 to tell me what was wrong and how to fix. Said the $ 150 would be applied to bill if stuck with them to do it. I told them that it felt too much and the guy pretty much immediately dropped it to $ 75 (?!). I said ok.
— they told me what needed to be done ($ 1,500 worth of work) but would only then tell me that they would not credit the $ 75 because «they gave me a discount».
— $ 1,500 later (mind you they said would take 4 – 8 weeks… It took 2.5months!!) I got my camera back.
— the guy said I had 6 month warranty «just like canon» if ANYTHING went wrong.
— one month later, I am having issues and… Guess what? The guy told me it was separate issue. Suggested I give him $ 50 to look into it and tell me how much it would be to fix… I pushed back hard this time and he said he would need $ 20!
— so unprofessional, so rude and a scam if you ask me.
— oh, and they will claim that you get a better price on parts from them vs. Canon. I told the guy I called Canon and the prices were the same (I did the homework) and he quickly changed his focus to Canon labor being more expensive.
— in my opinion, this place is not trust worthy at all, they are rude and they scam you with high prices and upfront «inspection checks» where they just take your money.
I would strongly discourage doing business with these folks. It’s too bad… My motivation to give them the business twice was to support local… But boy these guys don’t do themselves or their customers any favors at all. VERY NEGATIVE RATING.

I took in my D3 to have an error message fixed, Terry at Mid States tells me that it was $ 250 just to look at it, I was desperate! I left it there, he said it would be the end of the day to hear anything (giving him enough time to cash the check). He then said it was going to be over $ 1000! I called Nikon in New York, they said it would be $ 40 to look at it and about $ 500 for all the repairs he had told me needed to be done.
I look online and he did cash the check and I now have to go pick up the camera that is not repaired and I am out $ 250! BEWARE OF THIS SCAM BUSINESS.

All negative reviews, DO NOT do business here…
I photograph for a living, my hotshoe on my canon 5d became loose and in a pinch I went to Midwest Camera Repair. They charged me $ 25 to look at it, then would quote me when they found the problem.
My quote via phone was $ 85 to fix the problem or $ 150 for them to clean it while they had the camera open. I asked if that was $ 85 plus $ 150 or just $ 85 or $ 150. They said or. I told them to goahead and clean it. Then I asked is that the total. «yes» so what is my total? «yes that is it.»
When I came to pickup the Total was $ 260. Not $ 150. I stopped and said this is not the price you quoted me. I asked them to do the right thing. they declined.
So FIY consumers These people are Crooks. Do not trust them with your gear, signup with canon’s repair service not anyone else. I am writing this on the EL straight from Midwest to my next gig. They took advantage of my need for turnaround. I am promptly calling The Better Business, and City of Chicago to lodge my complaints. As well as the city mags who rate them, why because people take advantage of those who do nothing. Helping my fellow photogs just trying to make a living for their families.