I am an amateur photographer, if even that. I have an SLR, which I don't deserve. I normally don't write reviews. I was at a Hawks game, when I dropped my SLR as I was trying to switch out the standard lens to a zoom lens. Somehow, when I dropped my camera, an attachment ring for my fisheye lens snapped onto / got stuck on to the portion of my zoom lens which attaches directly to the camera. I brought the lens in initially to another camera place. The guy asked me how I did it. I told him I had no idea, as I may or may not have been intoxicated at the Hawks game. He told me it would cost about $200 to send it in (presumably to the lens' manufacturer) and have them fix whatever is broken. I said thanks, but no thanks, as the lens itself is maybe $200-$250 new. I brought the lens into International. The guy working looked at the lens, and asked me how I did that to the lens. I again told him I had no idea. After a couple of minutes of messing around with it, he was able to pop off the connecting ring with a screwdriver so as to not damage the actual zoom lens. Then he cleaned it up for me, and did not charge me a dime. Good as new $250 zoom lens for $0. I'm now bringing him my wife's camera that was dropped to see what he can do with that. When I mess something up again, I'm coming back here. read more

International Camera is the best in Chicago! They've helped me out a couple of times right on time! Their service is excellent, pricing is better than I won't name them but you know them. My most recent repair was my Tokina 50-135 2.8 I dropped it. the lens to body ring completely busted they totally repaired it, cost under 300 bucks and it works just like i bought it brand new. read more

International Camera - Photography Stores & Services Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I needed an unusual custom modification of a pair of mirrorless Pentax SLR cameras. Dean called Pentax, figured out what was required and did the modification. It was a very clean and effective outcome with no damage to the cameras. Kudos to Dean and iCamera for being willing to take on a non-standard repair and doing a bang up job. read more

i would like to give this place zero. we used this place last year for a shutter curtain repair on a canon DSLR rebel. the repair was fast and done correctly (3 day turnaournd) fast forward to last week. my wife took her canon DSLR rebel Xti in for repair. first they have moved (its not worth nothing where as i dont think you should go) into a smaller office space and there is a new person behind the counter. He cracked jokes with my wife about how if the camera is still under warranty that if he destroys it then no big deal, right? haha, not funny! She drops it off and is told she would get a call later that day or the next. she calls at the end of the next day and the shop still hasn't looked at the camera. The next day they call back (this is day 3) and say its a fuse prob and should be a quick fix. Ok one whole day no call. another day she calls and he first claims to not know who is calling and then says that he found other problems (shutter) and it will be done friday or monday. wife calls monday and now its still not done and he has found "extensive water damage". WHAT! just now. 2 problems with this: 1) this camera has never been near water 2) if its so extensive why did you just notice it now!? so she goes and picks up the camera as at this point we feel we are being had. The camera is now over at MACK getting fixed properly. avoid this shop at all cost. even if you went here before. read more

I am a professional photographer and have used the for many years. They aren't the best communicators but they get the job done fast and for a good price. read more

This shop really helped me out in a pinch. They diagnosed and repaired my broken shutter curtain in 24hrs flat when I told them I had a plane to catch. This included having a part shipped overnight from Nikon at no extra charge AND they even cleaned my lens at for free. Reasonable prices and friendly service. read more

Not the best experience. I went in for a memory card repair: when I plugged my camera into the computer, the windown spun and then said it had zero pictures. The data on the card had inverted itself. I chose this shop because it was close to work and had reasonable reviews. They looked at the card and said that there was a 95% chance of recovery and that this was really a favor to me because they have plenty of real camera work. I thought this was rude and asked for a price. They quoted $40. This seemed really high and odd that they were talking about putting it on a disk. I was short on time, so I left the drive with them to process. After returning home, I learned that their $40 price was really high, but that if they were putting my pictures on a zip drive on the disk it should all fit. I waited a week and received no call from the store. I called and learned the work had already been done. When I showed-up, they said it would be $90 and that that was a discount. When I challenged that they said $40 and their receipt didn't specify the types of discs or what they were using. They dropped the price to $70 or were not going to give me my pictures. For the 15 minutes of work to invert the data and $5 of discs, this was price gouging. If you need something done with cameras or pictures, I would go somewhere else first. Make sure the place understands that most people use memory sticks and not "discs" to back-up photos or information. Everybody runs a business, but these guys don't really care about customers. read more

They looked over my 8 x 10 camera with me, discussed it's issues, and fixed the lens problems quickly and for a great price. They obviously knew what they doing, and have integrity. You just don't see places like this anymore. read more

Took my camera to be fixed twice here - they didn't fix it the first time and then when I went back they told me I didn't explain my problem correctly. Charged me again to 'fix it', still not fixed! Expensive and they don't do the job correctly. read more

I dropped by canon S95 and lens wouldn't retract anymore. Took it here and they fixed it for ~100. Works great, no problems.

These guys do EXCELLENT work! They fixed a wacky problem with the lens of my Panasonic Lumix Camera. Their value is the greatest by a far cry. Highly recommended. read more

I am a professional photographer from out of town. I called International Camera on Sunday, and they returned my call first thing Monday morning. I was able to bring my camera in and it was fully repaired in a few days. My experience with International Camera was fantastic and I would highly recommend them to any photographer in the Chicago area. I was able to have my camera returned to me before my flight out of town. I truly appreciate that they were not only professional, but had experience in specialized cameras. read more

They are great! I was so embarrassed with my camera because I had to go to California on Friday and take pictures for my portfolio. But the thing was that I found my camera broken on Monday! I was so urgent and since I'm studying abroad right now, I was also worried about the cost. I went to them on Tuesday. Got an estimation call on Wednesday and got my lovely camera back on Thursday! Great! They're kind, nice and fast! Thank you! read more

The people at International Camera repaired my camera quickly. They were also very friendly and I got a great customer service experience. Prices are very hefty. Unfortunately while they were repairing my camera, someone changed my camera settings from shooting in RAW to JPEG, but never informed me of this. Unfortunately, I only realized 4 days into a vacation, after taking many surreal photos. For a photographer, this is a nightmare situation. Please inform your customers in the future if you change camera settings. I am heartbroken right now, which is why I removed two stars ( in addition to the price). read more

Wow! Super impressed with the service I received at International Camera. I came because there was some sand in my camera's monitor. They took my camera apart to repair it by the next day, and cleaned the inside as well as the monitor. Unfortunately there was a little mark that was left behind on the monitor from the cleaning, so I called to let them know. They told me to bring it back in - and they replaced the screen with a brand new monitor for no additional cost! I would never go anywhere else. Make sure to call before you go in to make sure they are open. read more

Amazing job fixing a used camera. Dean also took the time out to help me figure out how to use it, and was super patient and friendly. My camera works great, they know what they are doing! This place is one of things that makes Chicago, Chicago. read more

my lens got serious damaged and i found that international camera is the only repair shop i can go on weekend. he is friendly, fast, and did great job for my camera. also he explained very clearly what problem is when i found problem after repair. read more

I purchased my Nikon D-40 in 2007, and it has come everywhere with me and has the cracks, dirt, sand, and smudges to prove it. It started failing last week with a stubborn shutter error message. The auto-focus also had started to fail sometimes. In addition, the battery was cracked and swelling, and the body had a gaping hole in the corner. I thought my beloved camera was on its last breaths and was thinking about getting a new one. I took it to International Camera, and they fixed everything for $135 and said it should last another ten years. Yes! This old camera isn't going anywhere, except everywhere with me. I will say that the entrance is a little sketchy, and to get up to International Camera, you have to take an elevator located at the very back of the building in a dark garage. Kind of spooky. But whatevs, my camera works! read more

I read the good reviews of this place on Yelp so I dropped off 2 regular digital cameras to be repaired. That was almost 4 weeks ago. I had heard nothing after almost 3 weeks, so I called a few days ago and asked when I could pick them up. They said the cameras would be done the following day. It's now 4 days later, and I called to ask if the repairs were done. The guys tried to tell me they were "waiting for a camera part" - so I asked if I could pick up the camera for which they did NOT need a part. I think he was just lying, because then he admitted that neither camera had yet been repaired. On top of that, he acted utterly unconcerned and unapologetic, laughing and saying, "oh, those Sony cameras...." Who knows when I will get my cameras back? I won't be visiting International Camera again, that's for sure. read more

Small shop, but the guys there are knowledgable and trustworthy. The repair on my Olympus was a lot cheaper than I expected too.

Kids dropped the camera and broke the filter and I couldn't get it off. They resolve this as well as another no-click issue I had been having but had forgotten about. Dropped it off on a Friday and picked up less than a week later for $200. Not sure if that is a good price or not, but the work was fast and professional. read more

This place is great. Dean, the owner/manager, about their business and is very knowledgeable. Two times I have brought in my Canon 60D and both times put them on a timetable for when I needed it back, and they have come through with flying colors. I only wish I knew of this place earlier when I needed work done on a lens. My life would have been much better. I will never think twice about bringing my equipment there. Prices fair, speed great, knowledge great, all good. read more

I went with a simple repair, and was turned away. This was not because the repair was impossible, or would have been too costly, or even that it was beyond the expertise of the repairman. I was turned away because the repairman said he did not like my lens, and therefore refused to work on it. No other explanation was given. When I asked why exactly they could not preform the repair, he became quite snappy and told me to leave. I then brought the lens over to Mid-State Camera Service (which is a few blocks away) and presented the same lens and asked if he could repair it. He was very friendly, and explained what was wrong with it, and what needed to be done. If you need something repaired, bypass international camera, and go to Mid-state camera. It'll save you some trouble. read more

Horrible. Horrible. Horrible. This place doesn't even deserve 1 star. All I did was buy a battery for my camera. First off when I tried to tell him the type of camera I had, he laughed like I didn't know what I was talking about and asked to look for himself (I had the spec info but not the camera). After barely looking, he grabs a battery from the shelf OPENS IT and hands it to me. Now I have an issue when this is done because it usually means you don't want me to bring it back. I should've turned around at that point but I needed it for my nephew's graduation. Ok. Fine. I get home. Put the battery in my DSLR camera and it gets stuck! Now I'm pissed. I paid $30 for a camera battery that I not only cannot use but is now stuck in my camera. I called them and he tells me to bring my camera in and they'll fix it. Why the hell would I trust you with my whole camera when you couldn't give me a correct battery?? Negative. Will never go back and you should stay away. read more

This is only the second internet review I've ever written. Yes, I'm a lousy internet citizen -- not often willing to spend the time to help others benefit from my experience. But I'm compelled to write in support of this business. I took my Pentax k100d digital SLR to them because it was crapping out after a few shots with rechargeable batteries or new ones straight from the package (it uses AA batteries). After 4 days, International Camera called me and said that there's nothing wrong with the camera but that it needs batts more powerful than standard AAs, and that my rechargeable batts are shot. And they told me what type of rechargeables to buy. From what he described they put my camera and the batts through extensive tests to confirm this diagnosis. I asked him if I owe him anything for the diagnosis and consultation. He said "No, there's nothing wrong with your camera so I cannot charge you." Where do you find that kind of service any more? They've won my loyalty for life. read more