Kurt’s Camera Repair

I had two different camera stores tell me that it would take 3 – 5 weeks to fix my camera and that what was wrong with it was «very rare». I went to Kurts and he said «oh, that happens all the time!» Took my camera in the back and I waited about 15 min and he brought it out fixed and in perfect working order! Then when I asked how much he said — free! He was super friendly and helpful. I had my dog with me and he gave the dog treats! I was super impressed and so grateful for the fast and obviously very experienced service! Sooooo great!!! Thank you Kurt!!!

I had dropped my zoom lens on the first day of our vacation and hit the UV filter just right to lock the filter in place on the lens as well as loosen the glass in the filter. Needless to say, this was not what I had planned. My lens was almost brand new and the thought of having damaged it made me sick to my stomach. After reading all of the great review’s for Kurt’s Camera Repair decided to take it there and see if they could repair it. I walked in and showed the women behind the desk what had happened and she took it in the back and returned with it 10 minutes later with the filter removed. When I asked her how much I owed her she said, «nothing, it is a professional courtesy». Furthermore, they had examined my lens and said while there was a slight mar in the lens coating that everything should be fine. Am I thrilled, ABSOLUTELY! Will I be coming back with anything else that has an issue, WITHOUT A DOUBT! Would I recommend them, WITHOUT RESERVATION. These guys could have charged me a lot and told me that my lens had some serious issues and I would have paid for it. It’s an expensive lens and something that is important to me. However, the fact that they were so fair makes me trust them even more and will be a returning customer.

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!

I never leave bad reviews and was never compelled to until now… I brought in my camera and waited about two weeks but never got a call back on the status of my camera. I had to call them and to my surprise the lady told me they would take a look at it today and just to call back tomorrow. I didn’t even have to wait until the next day because they called me back the same day and told me they couldn’t fix it! Like seriously?! I had to be the one to check up on the camera? Such a waste of my time! I should have taken it else where like to Georges camera on Clairemont Mesa right away! At least they had the decency to follow up right away! Disappointed with this place.

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.

This isn’t just the best camera repair shop in San Diego. They are also the best run business overall. They have great customer service, fast turn-​around times, fair prices and most of all, integrity! I was a professional business consultant for over 20 years, so I know what I’m talking about when it comes to businesses who know how to show they truly care about their customers.
I’ve been a professional photographer for about 10 years now, and this is the only place in town where I bring my equipment. If they can’t fix it they don’t charge you. In fact, even if they can fix it, but think you could buy new or refurbished equipment cheaper, they’ll tell you rather than charge you. The bottom line is that you can trust them.
I’m writing today because I was just overwhelmed by their latest act of outstanding service.
I never want to be without a camera, but I can’t carry around my fancy equipment everywhere I go. So, I own a little beat-​up Canon PowerShot SD750. I throw it in my purse, and pull it out for emergencies, scouting out locations for a shoot, catching images that I otherwise might miss, etc.
Well, I finally dropped it one too many times, and the lens wouldn’t retract and the shutter wouldn’t release. For $ 50 Kurts’ Camera Repair fixed it. Well, after I got it back, it had a different issue. When I took shots in bright sunlight, they came out pink. Probably a result of when I dropped it the first time. I told Kurt’s about it, without hesitation, they said it was covered by their warranty and would not charge me to fix this new problem. I didn’t expect this level of integrity, and I was thrilled. But it didn’t stop there. Because I live up in Escondido, they also offered to send me a shipping label to save me a trip to San Diego (very thoughtful of them). So, I shipped it back, but they couldn’t duplicate the problem.
Then they really amazed me. We emailed briefly about settings, and finally about shipping it back. However, before I could do that, a package arrived at my home with another refurbished Canon SD750! I couldn’t believe it. They sent me a newly refurbished camera, and thanked me for my patience. Just when I think they can’t be any better at what they do, that’s when they really astonished me.
I’ll never go anywhere else, ever. I am their loyal customer for life.

Seriously, I don’t know how this place gets such a high rating. It was because of this that I decided to send my sigma lens in for repair. About 2 weeks before christmas, I sent my lens in. About 3 days later, I get a call telling me they received my lens and gives me a quote to get it fixed. The girl on the phone didn’t even tell me what was wrong with it. When I asked, she just seem to have guessed. She also told me the parts will take a couple days to come in and I should have my lens soon after that. She said it will be done before Christmas. Christmas passed, it didn’t come. After new year, I called for an update. I’m not sure if it was the same girl, but she apologized and said because of the holidays, the parts too longer than expected to arrive. I said fine. She said the parts were definitely coming in and gave me another estimated completion date. After that date passed and another week or so passed, I called again and this time complained. I spoke with another girl, possibly the same girl, and after she talking to the tech, said it was next for repair. At this point, I was already really pissed and she tells me, it was next for repair when it was suppose to be done over a month ago? After the weekend passed, I get a call and finally after 2 months, it was done! It took 2 months for a job that costed about $ 100! At least they were «gracious» enough to take off shipping charges for the delay! I won’t be a returning customer. Two stars for getting my lens back to me in working order.

Yesterday, as we were passing thru San Diego, I desperately needed my Nikon’s sensor and lens cleaned of dust. I figured I’d probably have to drop it off and then maybe get it back by mail in a week or two. But when Jennifer discovered I was from out of town, she went into the back and the techs (anonymous miracle workers) agreed they’d put a rush job on it. So, a three day job was reduced to an hour and a half. We had a nice lunch, picked up the camera, and were on our way. Very nice folks at Kurts. PS. They have a pizza fund… if you’re as pleased as I was, they accept donations.

I had just bought a new Nikon DSLR the day before, and it already had dust on the sensor. Even though it was a Saturday and they did not have any technicians in the shop that day, they were willing to call one in so that they could get my camera turned around the same day. They empathy they showed towards my problem and their urgency to help me makes me want to come to them if I have any issues with my camera equipment going forward.

Let me just start by saying WOW… Everyone here was super friendly and helpful.
I came here in an emergency to fix my old Nikon N80. The back door has been broken for a long time and I had been taping it shut (ghetto, I know) and it seemed to work for awhile. til recently. It finally stopped being tricked by my taping the door shut trick.
So I had a photography project due for school on Tuesday, and I came in to Kurt’s Camera Repair on Friday, worried I wouldn’t get it fixed in time. Well they were SO nice and friendly and after hearing how I needed my camera fixed ASAP they were willing to jump right on it. It was an easy fix of taking the back door from another camera and putting it on mine. They quoted me ’30 minutes’ !!! How rad is that?! Plus it was around $ 70 for labor and parts, not too bad in my book :) Everyone who worked here was over the top nice and you could tell they loved people and their jobs. I also watched them as they helped other customers and the other customers all seemed to be pleased as well. One customer and I were talking and she mentioned nothing but good things about this place as well and said she had been coming there for years!
Keep up the good work everyone, you have gained a permanent loyal customer for life: D
All the people I encountered were: Cliff, Karina, Roy (Tech), and Eva.
I would definitely recommend anyone come here for their camera problems.
Plus they have a really cool wall of older cameras on display!

Best camera repair shop anywhere! Honest and kind staff. I won’t send my Nikons anywhere else. I am a working pro. Big Thumbs up!

I must say, I rarely take the time to write a review on Unilocal,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.

Broken SD card with wedding photos – crisis mode. We went to Kurt’s Camera Repair based on a friend’s recommendation and turned in our card in hopes of recovering even just a few photos. They couldn’t save our photos, but I’m giving them four stars because they were extremely friendly, fast, concerned, and they didn’t charge us when they couldn’t recover anything. They did everything in their power to help us, and even gave us recommendations for our next steps towards recovering our photos. Would definitely go back for any camera needs!

I brought in my old Nikkormat which had a cracked mirror on the interior. Kurt’s found a replacement and cleaned and refurbished the mechanisms and lens. This old camera takes the best pictures and I really appreciate the folks at Kurt’s Camera!

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 50 mm 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!

Nothing short of awesome! From Louisiana sent my Nikon lens for repair and had it back working perfectly at a very reasonable cost in exactly 2 weeks. In their shop for maybe 2 days. Nothing Nikon close to me, so they are my choice now for my repairs and service. Great communication via phone and email. Highly recommend them!!!

I’m a bird photographer from SW Michigan. We arrived in San Diego with a Canon 7d Mark II attached to a 300 mm 2.8 L II lens and 2x extender. The equipment backpack slid off my husband’s back a little too fast and it hit the ground with a sickening thud. Major damage. Kurt’s Camera Repair did an excellent job of fixing all 3 components quickly and reasonably. Support staff was very professional. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Nancy McKown

Kurt’s Camera Repair is just plain excellent!
I took my older Canon 1ds MKII in for a shutter replacement, and they did a fantastic job — quickly and less expensive than Canon…
Since the shutter was not able to be sourced directly from Canon anymore (Boo Canon!) they looked around and found a new, OEM shutter somewhere else and got it all taken care of for only slightly more than the estimate (Due to the cost of the shutter assembly).
Plus, they were all very friendly and professional.
Good job all! Keep up the excellent service.
TL/​DR — Kurt’s fixed my 1ds MkII shutter issue when Canon didn’t even have a replacement unit available. The camera works like new now!

Came in for a estimate, which they do for free, and they told me what was wrong with it, and gave me my total. The cost was reasonable and included a cleaning, so there was no complaining about that.
Just got my camera back today, and it’s working smoothly. It took two weeks, but I wasn’t in a rush, so I didn’t mind the waiting.
Service here is amazing! Didn’t get any of their names, but I was helped by a younger female when I first came in, and I was helped by an older blonde lady when I came to pick up, both of which were extremely friendly. Based on the service and the repairs I got from Kurt’s I’d definitely come back!
Thanks for the help!

Brought my broken Canon EFS kit lens and was told that it needed a new autofocus motor. It took them a few days to get back to me to confirm that that was the problem and then they said it would take about a week to fix. Counting the days on the calendar I figured I would be able to get the lens back before I left for the holidays.
Well, a week past and I didn’t hear back from them so I decided to call back myself. They said that it was not ready yet and if they finished it within the next day I could come pick it up. Unfortunately, as it turns out it was not ready until after I had already left for holiday. To be fair, they did not give a firm date and I imagine it is very busy around the holidays, but I felt that they might have been better if they had just called me as soon as they know they wouldn’t be able to get to my lens. I would have been ok with that.
The staff is very nice and courteous, I had no problem with them whatsoever. The prices were fair and after using the lens I am happy with the repair.
In short, they probably could be a little better in communicating their backlog or shortage of help but I would go back if I needed camera repair again. Not that I’m wishing damage to any of my equipment, but I suppose it’s inevitable.