Ball Photography

I warn anyone thinking of going to this store. Especially if your reasoning is to support them to keep film photography alive. They do not use traditional processing, and give no disclosure to customers.
I had 2 rolls of black and white film processed at Ball. I was given the option of glossy or matte for my prints. I chose matte, expecting the standard photo paper would be used.
When I picked up my photos, they had been processed DIGITALLY and printed with an inkjet. The fact that they do not let customers know that analogue film will not be processed in the traditional technique is unacceptable. The results were HORRENDOUS. The black and white images were composed of visible color pixels (look closely or under a loup – the employee claimed not to see the color pixels). They were printed on a thick cardstock paper and visibly blurred (explained by the employee as a result of the ink spreading on the paper used as well as the lower quality of the inkjet printer they used.)
In response to my concern and dissatisfaction with the images, I all received was an offer to pay again to have the images printed on semigloss, and some less than satisfactory explanations of why the results of the first printing were bad.

While working in Asheville I needed some camera accessories and this place had everything I could need fully stocked and really great people if you’re in need of a camera or any kind of photography equipment this is the go to place

Knowledgeable staff. They helped me find a set based on my limited knowledge and a poor description. Led me to a used body, new lens, and an all inclusive light tent.
One employee grumbled that I arrived as they were closing. Rightfully so, as I got there about 3 minutes to close and had no notion of what I needed. They took the time to assess my needs and my budget, regardless. After I purchased, they invited me to a free course on how to best use my equipment.
I didn’t get any help at one of the big box stores. Go with a specialist. You’ll always come out ahead.

I chose to take my camera to this store because there are no camera stores where I live and I didn’t want to have to send my camera to Nikon. I was in town for photography classes so I rushed down to Asheville on a Friday evening to beat their 6 p.m. closing at the store. When I called to say I was about 10 minutes away and was going to drop off my camera, the man on the phone said, «We’ll be open if you make it before 6.» First bad indicator, I should have followed my instinct and heeded the horrific reviews of this place. When I got there, I was not greeted in any way. I was more of less glared at for arriving at five ’til 6. A different man took my camera and my information and literally could not wait to get out the door and jump in his Honda to leave. Second bad indicator. When I went to pick up the camera the next day, I barely made the 5 p.m. closing, having been in class all day. Again, not greeted, treated like I was a nuisance and in the way of them getting home. I was given my camera and absolutely no details of the cleaning. I take responsibility for not asking more but I made the incredibly bad mistake of assuming they were ethical and that I would get what I paid for. I wanted to purchase a cleaning kit. They didn’t have any. I wanted a gray card. They had large ones but not the kind in bags (important to not get a gray card dirty or any color other than 18% gray). So, I didn’t purchase. I would like to have looked but again was practically pushed out the door. That evening I discover that they ran my battery dead which was strange. Third bad indicator. Why would they need to kill my battery? Were they out using my camera? Who knows. Sunday I checked to see if the obvious specks on my sensor were gone and cleaned — the whole reason for this horrible experience. All the specs were still on my sensor and there was still sand behind the live view display. The camera had not been cleaned. They were not open on Sunday and I drove home to where I live 70 miles away. I called Monday and, giving the benefit of the doubt just to be hospitable, said there must be some mistake, my camera had not been cleaned. The man who answered said he was the one who cleaned it and became defensive. He said «my card» had all the details of the cleaning. I was not given «a card» and told him that. I said the specks of dust or dirt that I wanted cleaned were still there and how could that be explained. He then asked if they were visible in photos (trying to change the subject and divert from his lies). I had not taken any yet and told him so. He then started saying that the dust was in my view finder and that would be much for labor intensive and expensive to clean and implied that this was all my fault for not knowing where exactly the dust was. I thought that was the whole reason for the cleaning. Removing dust and dirt, cleaning exterior, alerting me to any things I should know about, etc.
Avoid this place. I don’t care if it’s a mom and pop and it makes people feel all toasty and warm inside to patronize a mom and pop place. There is a reason mom and pop places are out of business. Snotty, rude, chauvinist, unethical «service.» This place has a bad, sexist vibe if you are a woman so women photographers, avoid this business. Buy from B&H — a family owned, wonderful business based in New York.
I hope this place goes out of business and soon. It’s in a creepy part of town and not performing a service for which one pays is called stealing. So is selling expired film, which I read in another review. I’ve also read that the 5-​star reviews on here are written by family members and that the men in the store are father and son.
Just horrible. I always dread visiting Asheville for many reasons, mostly all the hate in the atmosphere and people so desperate for attention, but this was just the icing on the cake. Do not patronize this establishment. Put them out of business.

My trip to Ball Photo was simply amazing. I am writing this after coming back from Ball and finally joining Unilocal.We are in Asheville this weekend for my wife’s work and since I am a film photographer, I enjoy checking out shops in other cities. Ideas the reviews of this joint and was expecting the worst. Wrong! I’ve been in some amazing stores around the world where the owners love photography and love the older film gear. Ball is similar to a store, in my home city of Atlanta, called Wings Camera, and is similarly owned by the same family for decades. Ball Photo has a staggering amount of gear for sale and I was awestruck by what I saw. If you’re a film photog, you must stop by this place. Every major brand has a full two or three level 3×6 glass floor display dedicated to the brand. Canon, Minolta, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, and many others are well represented with lenses, bodies, and many accessories you’ve only read about. I got there at 3:30 and was immediately bummed that I only had an hour and a half to look. There is a huge section for flashes, filters, and most anything one might need. They did have some digital stock, but all I looked at was the film stuff, so I cannot comment on their digital gear. It’s a modest sized store and I spent most of my time in a 20 sq ft area where the Nikon film gear was stocked. I could’ve spent hours more looking and likely wouldve bought more than the killer 20 mm lens I got had it not been five and I needed to go to get our baby fed. I don’t know what people expect these days, but the gentleman who helped me was terrific and didn’t «sell» me a thing, I bought bc he had it in stock, was cool, and gave me a great deal. If you know your gear, and know what you want, you’ll love this place. I really don’t understand the bad reviews at all. I’d go again in a heartbeat and if I lived here I’d be there every week.

An old family owned camera shop with an incredible selection. GREAT service. I bought a tripod for my wife and a used telephoto lens that fit her new camera. So much knowledge here and they did not try to sell me the most expensive items… even though I was clearly a novice. They exist in what I call the saddest «mall» in the town that I have ever seen. Hard times in this mall, but please buy your stuff at this great local treasure.

I had a 35 mm slide from 1966 — the only photo that exists of my parents on their wedding day. It had splotches all over it like circular worn areas. It wasn’t like that 20 yrs ago! Mom recently died and I thought someone might be able to touch it up, but didn’t think much could be done. Ball Photo took a look at it & said they could work on it, but it could be up to $ 44 depending on how many hrs it takes. I also wanted them to print a photo to see what the quality was like compared to other (cheap) places to print pictures. Ball Photo had the job done very quickly. When I saw how beautiful the print was I started to get weepy. It was perfect and crystal clear. They put a white edge around the boarder just like old photos have — very professional touch. The gentleman asked me what he’d quoted me for a price. I told him ‘up to $ 44 depending on how many hrs it takes to restore. They only charged me $ 29.00 and that included the stunning print on extremely high quality photo paper. They not only do very high quality restoration, they are very honest as well. It was a pleasure to do business with them. They’re a ‘mom & pop’ store with old fashioned customer service. If you have heirlooms that need help go to Ball Photo in Asheville NC. You won’t find anybody better than them. (They’re one of several stores along the parking lot where the Innsbruk Mall is.)