Pro Camera Inc — Local services in Charlottesville

Short version: A great store suited for enthusiasts and professionals. Super-knowledgeable staff. Richmond Camera is friendlier towards beginners, but has more limited stock.

I consider myself a regular at this store now, and I've had the most peculiar experiences here. Sometimes the staff is super-helpful and nice and sometimes they look at you like you're trespassing as soon as you walk in the store. It helps to remember that the staff here are experienced photographers, and my best experiences have been when I come in with an idea I want to explore and use the staff's expertise to guide me in selecting the appropriate equipment.

You can always count on the staff being very knowledgeable and I've always gotten great advice here. They don't try to upsell you to the fanciest product, they consider your needs and try to find the best gear for your situation. No online store will ever say "you really don't need that", and here it's the norm. This applies in particular to used equipment. If you need a UV filter, they'll happily find a used one that suits your needs for a fifth the price of a new one. If you need a $75, optically-perfect, super-duper-multi-coated filter, they have those in stock, too.

They have a great selection of used gear and while their prices are a bit above eBay, I'm confident the people here would never try to sell me junk, and anything I get has been carefully inspected and found to work as it should. I've never needed to return anything I've purchased here.

Visiting Pro Camera is always a kid-in-a-candy-store experience, the place is packed with beautiful classic cameras next to the latest and greatest technology. The "$10, no returns" lens bin is always fun to browse, and I've actually been very happy with a 135/2.8 lens I got from this bin. Also take a gander at the beautiful 8x10 view camera with the 300/5.6 lens. Refreshingly, they don't play cheesy music in the store, you can explore at peace with your own thoughts.

They do a great job developing film, though the turnaround times are a bit on the long side for E-6 process film. They also have a nice variety of films in stock.

Overall, other than the occasionally gruff service, I've found this to be a great source for my photographic needs. For a professional or serious amateur, this is a great store.

The other store in town in Richmond Camera. They are friendlier, but their stock is more limited. Richmond camera is wonderful...

Saddens me to say, but I'll have to stop using Pro Camera. Their repairs, which are done by Bill, are great but the owner has little to no respect for customers and has an inattention to detail. I recently left 4 items for repair in early October. Since then I've had no updates so I called in today. I was told by the owner, Edward, that they had no knowledge of when the repair was finished and didn't call me because they had been asked not to. Actually...they'd been asked no to call me every 3-4 days, which they had in the past. When I stated that it was ordinary to call someone when a service was finished, I was told I was a "problem customer" and that it would take a few more days to generate an invoice with shipping. Throughout the entire conversation Edward was constantly raising his voice and talking over me. In the past, I've had other conversations where I've been told he has a lot of older customers who were problems, but I wasn't one of them, which I thought was weird. Makes me wonder how many customers are "problems" to him. TL:DR Repairs are great. Avoid Edward and buy your new cameras and film from other...

Gratitude. My heart is full of gratitude for the craftsmanship, care, diligence and skill to Ryan Jones and the ProCamera team.

My dad gave me his camera years ago in decent condition and I shot with it until it stopped working. I was lucky to have inherited my grandfather’s camera which also needed work.

It took me YEARS to find someone to be able to fix them. I had leads on people who say they could and those leads would fall through.

I was so excited when I got both cameras in for repair when they allotted new repairs to come in.

What I did not expect was the level of precision and true craftsmanship in repairing both cameras. I don’t even know what to say. They are BEAUTIFUL. They are restored to mint condition. It is so far above and beyond my expectations I am truly stunned.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart as you have restored for me that are irreplaceable in value.

My father will be getting his camera back as his birthday gift this year. He bought it at 19 years old and just turn 73.

Thank you so very much. I am grateful and blessed to have found...