Colonial Photo & Hobby Inc — Attraction in Orlando

Today was just another addition in a years long list of unenjoyable experiences at Colonial, and it was finally genuinely awful enough to warrant posting a comprehensive review.

As countless others have said: the staff here is condescending, almost constantly, if not on every single occasion that you visit. Regardless, of your skill level, degree of knowledge, or years of expertise - the staff here will talk to you as if you are a simpering, syphilitic imbecile who somehow, by sheer chance, managed to both pick up a camera AND simultaneously wander into their glorified pawn shop, er, I mean reputable, locally owned photographic retail store.

During past visits to get film developed, I’ve been lectured on the merits of how I chose to shoot certain film stocks by a teenage employee, as if I was also a child, and not a nearly 30 year old man who has quite likely forgotten more about photography than this kid could ever hope to learn. Knowledge aside, it’s not the place of the employee to offer unwarranted technical and artistic criticism on photos that are turning out and technically perfect; I simply wanted my film developed, not my work critiqued.

I’ve also had some broken equipment that I sold to them that they gladly offered me hundreds of dollars for, while at the same time offering pennies on the dollar for non-third party, name brand, better serviced and maintained equipment and then offering no logical explanation as to why they chose to lowball me.

Today, I waited for an inordinate amount of time in line while trying to trade-in a medium format setup, only to get to experience all of the worst parts of this business in quick succession.

After taking my camera to the back, their habitually grumpy tech made a point of asking me if I was going to buy anything no less than twice, which would’ve been a major improvement in their customer service, were it not for the fact that he was clearly only asking as a more polite means of conveying, “If you’re not buying anything, then step away and stop fogging up the glass, you smelly poor.”

After nearly an hour of waiting for them to check my camera, their equally inept female staff member then told me that there were a litany of issues with the camera along with “vital missing parts”. The “issue” in question was that the 50 year old camera was dusty, and the film lever wouldn’t advance; this secondary issue would’ve been remedied almost instantly had any of their “experienced techs” bothered to check whether or not there was a legitimate issue, or if the camera was simply at the end of the roll. This was in fact the case, as I brought it in with film inside, and mentioned this to the tech, specifically so that they could test the advance lever with film in the attached 120 back. As for the “vital” missing part, the film back currently on the camera didn’t have a darkslide attached; for non-camera people, that’s the film camera equivalent of a lens cap. The absence of a $6 darkslide in no way inhibits the function of the camera unless you’re actively changing backs while shooting, and again, it’s a $6 replacement part that is in no way vital.

Thank god, I actually have some semblance of knowledge with regard to cameras, as they very clearly don’t.

Moreover, for my final issue, I’d encourage anyone reading reviews here to glance at the demographics of people who seem to have the worst customer service experiences at this location. One review decrying different treatment for people of a certain complexion is maybe a coincidence, but if you take the time to comb through the reviews here as I have, it becomes glaringly apparent that this isn’t a one time issue. At best, you can say confidently that this store engages in classism; that is to say, they’re much more responsive to older white men in nice leather shoes, than joe schmo off the street in a pair of vans, but at worst I would argue that this store operates on a daily basis through assuming that anyone of a certain skin tone or tax bracket, is a lowlife and there to steal their...

I just recently made a purchase at colonial photo and hobby. The worst part about colonial photo and hobby is their return policies. With the return policies, if your product that you bought is either defective for example, or it did not perform as intended, your options for return are minimal. What they do is they give you a gift card. So if you buy a camera for a $1000 and you want to return it, 99.9% of the time, they will try to get you a gift card because they want to keep your money. If they don't have what you need you are stuck with a $1000 gift card for who knows maybe 3 months, 6 months, or maybe even a year or 2 years. The main point is that they have your money they're not going to give it back to you. For this reason I do not recommend any type of shopping at Colonial Photo and Hobby. There are better options out here in the Orlando area like Best Buy. If you're not satisfied with your product, they have no objections returning your money. They will refund your money back to your credit card or refund your money in cash. Colonial Photo and Hobbies have no return policy options that will make a customer happy and want to come back. This is why I gave them one star. The one thing I will not tolerate and I will make known to all my viewers, specifically the tourist which is what my blogs are intended for, is that they do know about places like this. I would not like to see anybody go through the same experience that I went at Colonial Photo and Hobby. Therefore, I highly do not recommend them. In addition, their sales people are not really very friendly. The sales people are commission base and therefore they are very specific to making a sales and don't care if you are a potential customer or not. The only thing they care about is how much commission they make at the end of the day. And I am happy to report that today Saturday, which is supposedly their busiest day, even more so because it is the last weekend before Christmas, was hurtful to them. The store was practically empty with no customers and most likely because customers agree with me in what I have just said here. Sadly to say, I do not think they will be in business much longer unless they do a drastic change in their return policy and salespeople.

IS COLONIAL PHOTO CHANGING? Above you can see my previous review that earned them a one star. So why am I doing this review again? I believe that many companies can go thru times where they readjust to what the customers are asking for. After all, it is us the customers that keep the doors open. All my reviews whether they are for restaurants or retail stores or attractions are honest and based on my personal experience. On top of that, I do not write a review based on a one time experience. That would be very unfair and an unaccurate review. So the question at hand today is about their change. Is there one? Two weeks ago I purchased from them the new Fujifilm X-T4 with a Fuji 10-24mm f4.0 lens plus a camera bag and SD card. I spent over $2800 and I paid it in cash. Not a credit card, it was paid in cash. My salesperson was Lilly and she helped me very attentively. The next day I had a minor issue with the camera and they adjusted it and the camera is working wonderfully. Now as for my camera bag, it is coming apart. So they told me to contact the company. Ok it is a $90 dollar bag but the product should not be coming apart like that and I should not be the one to have to deal with the manufacturer. I can see if the bag was 30 days old or so but it is not even 10 days old. How petty can they be after spending over $2800 with them. This is what keeps them from being like B&H. So are they working on change? Well I believe they are. Sale floor has a newer attitude when dealing with customers and there are new changes in actual merchandise in the store that is more current with times. Do they need work? I believe they do but it is a huge improvement than my last review for them and therefore I am changing my one star to 4 star. Keep up...

My mom has been into photography for a long time and as a little kid, I would be dragged into this store. I actually didn't mind so much since they have some cool model trains, and I was into model rockets at the time and would be thrilled with looking at the selection of rockets.

Last week (May 3rd, 2014), we were in the area and thinking of something to do for our 3 year old son. I thought it might be fun to take him to Colonial Photo & Hobby and see if he would be interested in the rockets, trains and other toys they have. While there we did find a nice slot car set that he'll be getting for his birthday.

Also, while I was there, I noticed that they carry Olympus equipment.

At the beginning of this year, I decided to invest my Christmas money on a camera, and ended up going with an Olympus micro four-thirds camera. I've since purchased a few lenses and accessories from Amazon. Amazon has also started to charge sales tax here in Florida, so the prices that you pay online are the same that you pay at this store.

I decided to stop by this store today on my way home from work, sans kids. I headed over to the photography section. The first thing I notice is the crowd of customers working with the sales reps, or waiting. I stand by the counter waiting my turn, but it's difficult to know where I should wait. I really wish they would use a ticket system... you know, the kind where you pull a numbered ticket out of a dispenser and wait for your number to show up on a screen.

I initially waited behind this couple already being helped, but after noticing that this one customer wanted to be very chatty, I knew I should wait somewhere else. At least the employee helping them was being very friendly and helpful. I then spot another employee who looks like he's about to finish up with a transaction. He was an older soft-spoken gentleman named Ken. When he was finally done, a few of us that were waiting look at each other to confirm who was going next. Fortunately, it was my turn. I wanted to get a new strap for my Olympus PEN E-P5, as well as take a look at an Olympus telephoto zoom lens. Ken was very helpful and allowed me to try out the lens on my camera body. This is something that you can't do online and why I prefer to shop at a local store. Also, he was very helpful in helping me choose which Blackrapid strap to get with my camera.

Ken was helpful and polite the whole time and he finished the transaction with a handshake.

As soon as I can justify buying another lens for my camera, I'll be going back to pick up some more equipment for my camera.

I do wish they would carry Panasonic micro four-thirds camera bodies and lenses, such as the Lumix DMC GH-3 and GH-4 bodies, and their full line of micro four-thirds lenses.

However, I was surprised that they did have the Olympus 25mm f/1.8 lens in stock, as this is a difficult item to find in stock online.

Overall, I'm still a fan of this store and glad that Orlando has a great resource for hobbyists and photographers. My biggest complaint is their lack of queue management, which a simple ticket system...