You gotta love a deep and critical review like Chris S's. "Overpriced". Is that all we care about in this day and age? Not me. The folks at Shutterbug are knowledgeable and helpful and they have the best selection of cameras in the North Bay. Their prices are competitive, but may be a little higher on some things if you're used to shopping out of state on the internet (roll the dice anyone?). But can you put a price on service? Any time I've had a question or problem they have been there for me. Priceless. Their lab services are great too. I'm so sick of department store/Costco quality photos. You get what you pay for. At Shutterbug there is actually someone there with knowledge and ideas to assist in creating and completing photofinishing orders. What a breath of fresh air! If all we care about is rock bottom price, then all we will eventually have is just that with no service to go with it. Thank heavens for locally owned businesses like Shutterbug! read more

Camera shops are becoming as scarce as hen's teeth. Shutterbug is about as close to home for me as I can get. Great customer service and a good selection of lenses and cameras plus accessories. There are times when I don't want to wait for an order from Amazon, Calumet, B&H, Adorama or Canon to arrive and this shop fulfills my needs. To bad they aren't a bit closer to home. read more

They digitized my 80 slides, very poor results: over-exposed, out of focus, took them back to show them, they looked them over, agreed with me, did not seem able to do better, wanted to try again, but same system. I've used DigMyPics for years, excellent results, same price, and wanted to try a local business. Must emphasize: do not go to them for this process, they don't get it, don't seem to know how to do it better and even after reviewing the results (comparing original slides with digitized set) did not offer a refund! read more

my last experience here was years ago. it was so unpleasant I have not returned. To make a short story shorter, I was publicly humiliated when I was leaving the store when one staff asked another loud enough for us all to hear, "Did she PAY for those?" Being accused of attempting to steal my prints was too much for me. read more

They do it all...even get those old single use cameras developed (kids went to camp and could not use a phone???) anyway the customer service is outstanding here...there are actual people working here and they get this help you!!1 WOW what a concept...good prices...wonderful customer service...they called me to let me know my film was done... read more

The guys don't know what they are talking about. Just a step up from Best Buy but not by much.

Bummed out. I was an hour away with traffic and needed an item for next day shoot. They closed in an hour. I called at 5pm and friendly person said, "Sure, we can stay open for an extra five minutes." Yay! Awesome support and service. I pulled up at 6:04pm and one guy was locking the inside gates. Another guy was walking away from window and I can tell he was basically telling other guy not to open the door. Then he turned out the lights. Guy at window basically shrugged when I mimed that I had just called. I then was very disappointed. They said they would stay open for me... they then did the opposite and in a pretty rude way. I love me a local camera store... these guys can do better. It was lame on their part to agree to one thing and do the opposite. If they would have given me five minutes to pick up my item, I would have written a very different review. They had the chance to be the heroes, instead they were the... zeroes. Two stars because I still support local, even if they sometimes suck. read more

This is the first time I have gone here and nothing about my experience was good. When I first dropped it off the raised the price saying they had to send it out as their machine was not working. It had been several weeks so I called yesterday and it had not even been done. They assured me they would rush it. They called today and said it was ready. I paid for 3 copies and there was only 2. He seemed annoyed when I told him i wanted a refund for the difference since they oviously didn't have to send it out! Not once did he apologize for having my order wrong. Actually he said to me well we've been here 50 years. I'm so disappointed don't think I'll be returning! read more

I've been gong to Shutterbug for years. I bought a Olympus E-500 a few years back and with it an extra battery plus battery charger. As a Realtor I'm constantly using my 35mm with its wide-angle lens for the marketing of our properties. I MUST have it with me and having a full battery is essential. One of my batteries was NOT charging and the other seemed weak. I took both batteries PLUS the charger back to Shutterbug on 3011 Santa Rosa Avenue, Santa Rosa. I LOVE this store. I can spend way too much money here. The staff, long timers, are fun and really KNOW their stuff. I spoke with Richard and explain my problem with batteries and charger. He tried a few batteries and determined a couple of things--ONE--The charger was toast or as he stated, "Defective"--I got a replacement! Also, one of the batteries was dead-done. I got another replacement as it was also "defective"!! No asking for a replacement, no pro-rated jockeying--HERE YOU GO! Defective. I felt so guilty I ended up buying a new lens cleaner kit with carbiner to attach to my camera. Great customer service and super customer care! They absolutely rock! The Olympus is STILL going strong. read more

I wish I could rate this place higher. They've got excellent customer service and the staff is always friendly and helpful. The just cannot compete with modern prices on the internet. Lenses on Amazon can often ring in at hundreds of dollars cheaper. This isn't the camera's store fault. It's a consequence of the times. read more

I enjoyed taking a DSLR class with John about a year ago, but my experience with Shutterbug's printing of photos and photo books has ranged from OK to horrible. They did a fine job printing 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10's that I sent the electronically, but a 16x20 print I made from their in-store kiosk machine completely wiped out the purple of an evening sky that was stunning in a smaller version. Shutterbug then sent the print to its lab for chemical processing instead of ink jet printing, which gave good color but the paper wrinkled terribly inside a frame. Shutterbug's in-store kiosks are really bad. They're heavily used, and the number of complaints voiced by other customers using these devices has now become very understandable. Recently I created a 40 page photo book of wildlife shots that turned out nicely, except that certain species-identifying captions got carried over from one page to another in some random manner, and the pages' background color shifted from beige to white to gray at random for no apparent reason. I should have previewed the book more carefully, but was getting apprehensive about the crashes that other customers were experiencing and just wanted to get it done before that happened to me. I would have composed the new book on my Mac and sent it to Shutterbug electronically via their website, but an employee had told me that the color of photos in the book they assemble often do not run true to what the customer transmits through Shutterbug's website and the kiosk is far more accurate. So today I returned to the Santa Rosa store and spent 3 and 1/2 hours, cropping and adjusting brightness and contrast for each photo, enhancing most and getting all the layouts, background colors and captions just right. Just before starting to preview the whole thing, I mentioned to an employee about liking what the "enhance" function on their machine was doing to the images. He strongly cautioned me against that, as Shutterbug has been having trouble with a sandy wash appearing on prints where that editing function was used. I asked about going back and eliminating the enhancement but was told I would need to start each photo afresh. I figured the certainty of proper colors would justify another 45 minutes of efforts, but right in the middle of the process the software crashed and, like every other customer with a printing problem, nothing could be salvaged from the effort. No words of apology were forthcoming, either. It's pathetic that Shutterbug 1) does not prominently display a warning not to use "enhance"; 2) uses a software system so substandard that it does not let you save a work in progress, times out after just a few minutes and is so crash-prone; and 3) offers you absolutely nothing, not even some free printing, to compensate for the immense amount of time that I and many other customers have wasted this way. I have no idea whether management reads these reviews, but want them to know that my purchase of the newest 120-400 mm Nikkormat AF zoom lens that I'd been discussing with John wilI now be coming from B&H. read more

Just got an enlargement done at Shutterbug to replace a Costco enlargement that I really like and wanted in the better quality I thought Shutterbug would provide. Wrong! The Costco print is better in every way and was one third the price. read more

I really like this place! Yes the staff is a bunch of guys in their 50's but who cares. No they don't jump across the counter with joy to yelling hello to greet you but I still think they are friendly. I went in there only to do some research on lenses for an slr camera that I wanted. The place was busy (Christmas season) and the gentlemen, knowing that I wasn't there to buy, answered all my questions. He never rushed me and went above and beyond to help me narrow down 2 lenses I would like. He put them on the camera, let me shoot pics and taught me how to hold the camera properly. He spent at least 30 min with me. Not to mention I had my 18 month old daughter with me who was very demanding for my attention and he was very sweet to her. When I went in there I had no intention of buying my camera from them, I was going there for information and then going to purchase it somewhere else later. After the level of service I received I purchased the camera their a few weeks later. There will forever be my go to place for all my camera/photo needs from now on. read more

Amazing service, expertise and product variety of all things photographic at a this local photography specialty store. Lab work second to none. Prices competitive and a great value for the buck. Again the service is attentive and informative and so worth the time. read more

My last two visits to this shop were reasonably good, and very bad. In the first visit, I returned a Nikon camera I had bought a little after a month, after finding out it performed poorly on a backpacking trip. The lens would often not open up completely, the zoom for both still and video would occasionally lose focus completely. Shutterbug took back the camera since I was willing to trade for another one. This is where it gets bad. The rep at the store, an older guy who I believe has been there for some time, tells me to upgrade to a NIkon Coolpix AW120. Tells me it is great for backpacking, nearly indestructible case would protect it even if dropped from a rock. This is not much of a concern to me, since I am quite careful with cameras when I backpack, but his assurance that it would perform much better than the previous camera and his sincerity sold me. Since there was no lens to come out when you turned it on, it solved the problem of the lens not opening properly. So I bought it, getting credit for the other camera, and took it on a backpacking trip. The zoom problem was just as bad on this one as the previous, both for stills and video. Often it worked fine, but it also from time to time completely blurred out upon zooming (I am referring to the optical zoom, not the digital zoom beyond that). So I took it back to the store. The same older guy who had urged me to buy the camera because of its near indestructibility, pointed out the case was cracked, which I had not realized. He then lectured me about how badly I must have mistreated the camera, dropping it on a stone or hitting it against a stone, neither of which in fact happened. And regardless, the zoom problem occurred from the get-go. So Shutterbug would not take the camera back. The gentleman also assured me there was no portable camera manufactured which did not have the zoom problem, in contradiction to what he told me when he sold me the camera. I am still looking for a good, portable camera I can stick in my pocket, take on a backpacking trip, that will take high resolution videos that stay focused as it zooms. i will not be getting it from Shutterbug in Santa Rosa. read more

They were so nice and helpful. I had a monopod and a fluid head mount, but it wouldn't fit. I thought I needed an adapter, so I called Shutterbug and they said they had adapters. When I got there, they showed me that all I had to do was remove an in-place adapter on my fluid head. They didn't charge me anything. Thank you so much! read more

I love this camera shop, not just because they carry everything under the sun but in addition to that they have exceptional customer service. Everyone is so knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. I work for a locally owned business, so I appreciate that they are local too. The fact that they price match is amazing since smaller independent stores pay more for their goods than large corporate big box stores. To me, the customer service and convenience is big. I've been shopping here since 1991 and will keep shopping here. read more

The staff here are so nice that it's a shame to give this place one star, but they didn't treat my film with the care and respect that other places have done for me in the past. I've only had two rolls of film developed here, and the first time was fine, but this last roll I got was completely ruined. The color was absolutely drained from almost all my shots and half my shots were unusable due to awful streaks and smudges. They called to let me know that my film had been damaged and claimed that it was minor and hardly noticeable, and I know that there are things that are out of their control when it comes to mistakes like these, but I wouldn't call an entire roll of damaged film "minor". They did give me a full refund and a free roll of film which was very sweet of them, but it doesn't make up for the work I put into my photos being treated like trash. I won't be bringing my film back here again :( read more

Shutterbug Camera Shop - Photography Stores & Services Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

See all

Poor service, not accommodating to disabled persons. Counter staff are not concerned with waiting customers while they spend way too much time with customers engaging in extended personal dialog. Time is money & the staff appear to not care about keeping customers unnecessarily waiting. I encourage you to go elsewhere with better customer service. read more

So far I am a fan. Just got a camera there and while I am not a photographer, I am an artist and need a dslr for my work. Prices of course were higher than online but it is a totally different experience. I love buying online but with the variance in pricing you never really know what you are getting with cameras. Nice to have someone I can ask about flashes, filters, lenses, etc.... and get an answer from an experienced professional. read more

Good range of products and great inventory mix, but does not sell parts which is why I went there from out of town to begin with (after a google search said it was a repair shop). I should have called ahead. Guy behind the counter was nice, but less than helpful suggesting that "You'll have to go to San Francisco for that part". I will return when I am ready for a tripod, camera storage, lenses filters or accessories, but not for parts and I wont count on exceptional customer service. read more

Hello all, I called this camera store because I knew about them about 14 + years ago as I lived in CA then, and I wanted a special photo backpack and when I called the store the owner answered the phone (WOW that's service! ) and it was a great pleasure talking to him, he knew what I wanted and had EVERYTHING in stock! I wanted all of the accessories for this pack and did not want to call around (because that can be frustrating and expensive because of the shipping cost! I live in IL and I wanted them to ship it to me to save the sales tax. I received a great experience from the owner and they made me feel like part of there family. I would recommend to anyone if you are wanting a real camera shop for that personal level of knowledge and service CALL THEM! Christopher E. read more

OK, three or four stars. I'm not expecting a Samy's to be supported here, and in fact was surprised to see a store as well stocked as Shutterbug. Hey, it's not NYC. I often find what I need, and as a pro, I'm picky about my needs which are often pretty esoteric. Still, they usually have it. Sales people have to deal with complete novices to professionals, so I feel for them. If you want expert advice, educate yourself. Photography is a demanding and deep subject. They really can't educate everyone. Simple cameras are probably the bane of smaller stores. read more

Great shop with very helpful and friendly staff. I have my headshots printed here and they are always a pleasure to do business with.

Stopped in to buy a Contour camera. The version 2 has been out for nearly a year, and all they had was the version 1. AND THEY WERE SELLING IT AT THE VERSION 2 PRICE ($199). The version one MSRP is $99. They wouldn't even talk to me about lowering the price. Also, they told me there is no such thing as a Contour 2. BS guys! I bought it on Amazon. This store is for amateurs only. read more

Well, I usually always like to go local and not utilize the giants in the area for cameras and have always had good luck with Shutterbug. However today I called the Coddingtown shop and was assisted by a very nice person who incidentally had to direct me to their main store for the particular product that I was looking for. She gave me their phone number, and the product number to make it easier for the other store to look up exactly what I was in search of. Very helpful as is my usual experience. I phoned the other store and was greeted by not as friendly of a voice. I said "Hi "Name" I was just speaking to the Coddingtown store and they said that the product I was looking for should be in your inventory. I have the product number if that would be helpful" Her response was abruptly "What is it?" As I started to read the number off to her, she cut me off and said "NO, what it is?" So I named off the product, to which she immediately said, "well give me the number". After I did, she said, "well it says we have one, but I can't see it". It began to be clear that she was busy, so I asked if there was an easy way to have it put on hold, so that I could come down and get it later today. And she started to get a little exasperated, so I simply said, "You know, it's okay, you sound pretty busy" and then I hung up. I realize that it is the holidays and that stores are swamped right now, but there are much better ways to handle customers. She could have taken my number and had someone phone me back or placed me on hold. Instead of just stating that she was unable to help me at the moment, her irritation sounded as if I was asking her to stop her entire world for me. I would have happily called back, but instead, I called another store. I have purchased many of our cameras, and camera equipment from Shutterbug and was ready to make the $110 purchase for my husbands Xmas present. But Val, your attitude this morning caused me to shop at Best Buy- where I hate shopping. I would think that in the current state of the economy local business would hate to turn away dollars... Sorry Shutterbug, your customer service was not on this morning, closing my wallet to you. read more

I was running short on time before work and when my daughter had to go to a girl scout event. She needed 3 to 5 photos to make a project. I tried Target online & when i called to confirm, there online system was down. Shutter Bug is right across the street so I thought I would give them a try. 1st I called & asked if I can upload to them via Internet. The guy said I had to move them from my ph to my pc. ??? What?? He says oh wait never mind. Yes, you can do it from our website. Ok no prob. I send pics over website everything is fine. I call to get a ETA. The lady says internet orders are next day. 2nd prob. Since, when in 2016 with all of the current technology does printing 5 photos take 24hrs! No where on the site does it say it wont be ready until next day. I ask if there is anyway i can get them today. The guy says its considered a rush order and i woukd have to pay double the price. I politely ask if i can get a break on the "rush order" he says No! It will be $.39 each. Not only did he charge double he added on 1 cent to each pic. I will never go there ever again, & I will tell everyone I know not to go there as well. What kind of creep says to a little girl scout NO, you pay double for our company's lack of technology. read more

Pamela is extremely rude and not knowledgeable at all. I had my photos upload working on my photo project and as she walked by I asked a simple question and she deleted my entire project! I was in the store for 10 minutes while she tried to help another customer with photo uploads and couldn't help him, he finally walked out. She told me to change computers to one with an updated system but I would have to download and app and then start again. When I told her I had already spent a bunch of time uploading and creating my project and she deleted it she made a loud sigh turned around and walked away. I asked her name and who her manager was and she laughed at me. Her manager Francis overhead all of this but never once tried to help. read more

I'm not asking a store's staff to drop everything and serve me when they are with other customers. But I'd at least like an acknowledgment that I'm in the store and have been waiting for 15 minutes with no acknowledgment. Too bad this is the only place in town that processes actual film. I expect this at Best Buy, but not at a local business that (I assume) wants me as a customer. read more

We have purchased several cameras and many accessories over the years - Shutterbug has knowledgeable employees and great products and it's our go-to store for serious purchases. We have shopped their pricing, and found them to be slightly more than discount, and worth the ability to walk in and get personalized, valuable in-person advice. It seems like the feedback on Yelp is polarized based on service. I strongly believe that you can get excellent service at this store as we have many times, but like many retail stores, they can also suffer from long waits for help or inexperienced newer staff. If you are not getting the service you want or expect here - I strongly suggest that you ask for a manager. This store can and will exceed your expectations! read more

I bought a Canon DSLR and a bag from Shutterbug. The prices were the exact same as on Amazon and the staff was very friendly and helpful. My wife and I like to support local business. read more

Bought a telescope for my husband's birthday from this outfit. After two years the attachment for the computerized direction finder broke. The telescope is useless without it. Took it to Shutterbug where they kept if for weeks promising the sales rep would come in and fix it. After more than a month and several calls found out that the sales rep said he would try to find a part but it would cost $200 to fix. Mind you this is a small attachment part. The salesman suggested we just buy a new telescope for $299 when the original was $750. This place does not support their products, provides negligible customer service and gives snotty responses into the bargain. If you have a lot of time to waste, like poor service and salesmen who don't know what they are doing, this is the place for you. read more

I am getting ready to take an international trip and am down to my last few hours before I leave. I waited to the last minute to try and find a lens cover and upgraded memory and when Best Buy didn't have what I was looking for, I scooted over to Shutterbug. I arrived just after closing time [doors were locked and they were letting customers out] and a gentleman locking up saw the utter terror I had on my face. I would have completely understood had he told me too bad, so sad. Instead, he let me in and helped me get the items I needed. He did not rush me, asked me about my trip and was pleasant throughout the entire experience. You just earned a customer for life. read more

On our way to a wedding in Oregon, the bride called to see if we could procure a last minute and fairly random photo accessory for her wedding photo booth... an ipad air tripod mount. We called the Apple store and Best Buy, no luck. A friend suggested the Shutterbug and we stopped there before giving up. They had a generic tablet tripod mount that would work perfectly for our needs, and it was priced similarly to Amazon. The salesman was helpful and friendly. After paying, I wandered around the store for a few minutes and wished I had about 3 more hours to peruse! The store is awesome. Tons of merchandise, competitive prices, and lots of helpful sales clerks. Wish we had a store like this in Monterey! read more

Love to support local stores - but! I went in to make a calendar for my Mom as a gift. The first time I sat and scanned photos for 30 minutes only to have the computer "crash". The staff said they would scan the photos for me. I came back the next afternoon and they said that they didn't have time. I finished the calendar, after the staff complained that the program had been changed and they weren't sure how to use it. I was told that the order would be in the next week. My son went in to pick up some photos and he asked about my order and they didn't have any record of it! I called the Santa Rosa store and it was there. My son also had the same experience - some of his photos were delivered to Petaluma while the rest of the order was in Santa Rosa. read more

I was visiting from out of town and needed an odd piece for my new canon. They open early on Saturdays, in time for me to make it to the wedding. I walked in, gave the girl my camera. She figured it out, they had what I needed and boom, I was out of there. I was impressed and grateful for this store!!!! THANK YOU SHUTTERBUG! read more

I have used Shutterbug to develop three rolls of film on three separate occasions and each time I've been very happy with the results. I've never had to wait for more than a week, even though they have to mail it to Santa Rosa for processing. I would recommend this shop to anyone who needs film processed. The staff there are always nice and courteous, and always willing to answer any questions I have about camera functions / film specifics. read more

Paying sales tax is not a concern, but having stock and reasonable prices is. Unfortunately, I've had bad experiences with both the lack of stock (common Canon camera accessories) and pricing. Recently I purchases two batteries, MSRP was $69 each, That's MSRP - not some internet discount site! Shutterbug price was $90 each. Like I said, tax is not the issue, but pricing is. read more

This is my first yelp review. The reason I am writing this is with the hope that they will read this, take the feedback and make a change. I am a local professional and I am always needing gear, ranging from small to large. I really care about local business and want to support these guys. I am not sure why they are so bad, but every time I come in here I leave empty handed because they don't have what I need and are not interested or willing to help me find it. I think part of the problem is that they are commission based, so unless you are buying an expensive camera package, they don't really give you the time of day. The irony of that is, I am left without an incentive to buy from them when I am making a big purchase, because I have no sense of loyalty to them. In a time where you can get everything cheaper online or from a big box store I think it is in important to develop really good customer relations, and these guys just seem like they could care less. Beyond that their knowledge and understanding of the products they carry is super limited. It's a shame because I would love to spend my money locally, but I can justify spending it here. read more

I have been shopping at this place for years, and I do not agree with the statement at the bottom. Buying from Ebay or Amazon is different than from buying at local companies. I asked a sales person at shutterbug personally about their prices and they explained this difference to me happily. Online stores are able to mass order their products at a discount- shutterbug cannot order in such volumes. However- their knowledge of photography and service exceeds that of best buy.. costco.. they go out of their way to help me whenever I come in, and I know a couple of staff by name. I can also call them if I get stuck on my D700. they always help me out even over the phone. If you want horrible service and people speaking in bad accents because you want to pay 30 dollars less than stick with online stores. They are vastly different than niche specialty shops that provide knowledge, good customer service, and put up with people like me who have allot of questions. My memory card that I bought from them (at a higher price than usual) had an error. They recovered all of my images and gave me a brand new memory card for free. What other stores do that?? read more