Advance Camera

At first thought, you might think that Advance Camera only focuses on camera repair but while talking to Jordan today about repairing my 18 – 135 Canon lens, I mentioned my technology issues with losing years of photos on my LaCie external hard drive. (I explained that an Apple tech already looked at the hard drive with no success and was directed by Apple to a reputable, but very expensive data recovery shop in California.) Jordan was extremely patient in answering my questions. He suggested that their techs could look at the drive and determine if they could save my photo files. SUCCESS! Dave, the owner and lead technician, listened to my concerns about losing years of photos, and he immediately tested the hard drive with his Mac. He suggested I run out to get a new external drive and he could transfer all my files while his computer was able to read them. Not only did Dave put the customer first, but he suggested a data recovery company in the Portland area that I could go to in case this transfer didn’t work. Dave also was able to give me excellent suggestions for future data storage that will be more reliable for the volume of photos I save. Dave also was very empathetic about the repair to my lens and needing it by the weekend for a gymnastics meet. They are very accommodating and understanding about repairing the equipment efficiently and quickly. Each time I have brought in a camera or lens to repair, every employee was understanding, informative and professional. Prices are extremely reasonable and there is no question about their expertise in repairing a variety of equipment. I am extremely impressed with how they solved my problem with my external drive when it looked bleak. Dave, Jordan and the rest of the Advance Camera crew truly made my day by solving some serious issues with my equipment. Thank you so much for handling my equipment issues successfully and so promptly! Outstanding customer care!

Advance Camera is one of those places where the distribution of the reviews, along with their content, gives you a good vibe about the place before even going there.
Keep in mind that Advance Camera is a smaller store in a strip mall on Beaverton-​Hillsdale Highway that is mostly about camera services, though they also sell some cameras. This is an easy 5-​star review based on my one experience with them.
I’d assign the stars as follows:
Star 1: professionalism
Star 2: fair prices and guaranteed work or product
Star 3: patience (for questions indicative of limited knowledge) and courtesy
Star 4: experience and knowledge which they can distill into everyday language
Star 5: conveniently located right on this main thoroughfare, inboard (toward the city) and just off of OR-​217, and with some parking out front
I thought I’d sort of go to Beaverton-​Hillsdale Highway and that their store would jump out at me, so I didn’t jot down the number of the address. It took a few iterations and, during these iterations, I wound up with a marginal slice of pizza at a place whose name I’ve understandably and easily forgotten. However, I won’t let that detract from Advance Camera’s very favorable rating. There you have it … the second of two paired reviews on a drizzly Sunday morning.

This place knows what’s up! I’m floored by their level of professionalism. I came here to get a dust particle removed from a lens. Not only did they fully disassemble, clean, and fix a gear issue I had but offered that if anything happens they had another similar model they would sell me at a very good rate. Two months later I come in and they remembered me and my Exact camera model! I took the offer of getting the similar one. This will be the camera shop I’ll be using for the rest of my life!

I brought two cameras to Advance Camera for evaluation and repair this morning. I left very appreciative of their service. They fixed one on the spot at no charge and gave me good advice on the second. I could not have been happier. As you can tell from all the favorable reviews, this is a great place for camera repair.

This is probably the best camera place in town. Or at least it’s the best I’ve found so far.
The place is always busy… so you have to wait your turn to talk to someone and you always get that «rushed» feeling when you’re there. But the people I’ve talked to there all seem to know their business so it’s generally worth the wait.
The quality of the products they have isn’t always the greatest. I needed a circular polarizer for my Nikon and all they had was a cheap quality filter at a very high price.
They have used gear at the store for sale. The new gear is sold via amazon. I’ve not purchased and used equipment from them so I have no comments there.
Their camera sensor cleaning service is reasonably priced and they did a good job on my D7000. No complaints.

My recent experience with the team at Advance Camera was excellent! The clinical camera I use for work (Canon G12) was dropped during a training session, cracking the piece that holds the swing arm view finder. Although parts are no longer being sold by Canon for this model, Kathy offered to try to hunt down parts on the internet if necessary, and to expedite the repairs since we use this camera daily for business. The other shops we’d called said 6 weeks at a minimum. As it turns out, Kathy had one used G12 and was able to use the part from that. Not only were they able to do the repairs while I waited (20 minutes, maybe), the cost was more than reasonable. I witnessed several customer interactions while I was there, and every person was receiving the same stellar service. The folks at Advance Camera are obviously committed to high quality service, and they’ve earned another lifetime customer!

I’m a believer! This is hands down the BEST experience I’ve had in a camera store. Jordan was friendly, extremely helpful and genuine. Typically, I try to stay close to home but this was such a stellar experience it will be the first place I go from here on out. I’m looking forward to signing up for a class in the fall.

We recently moved to West Slope from the NW/​Pearl neighborhood. I was referred to Advance Camera by another customer. I could not be more pleased with their service. The clean up job on my lenses, camera sensor, lens alignment and impromptu photography tips session by Jordan were all amazing! Thank you so much! I will definitely be back for any photography or Lightroom needs!!!

I had a wonderful experience here where they gave me great advice about an issue I was having with my camera. They were really friendly and helpful. I’m glad I found them and will definitely continue to give them my business.

Fantastic. Took an old SLR in to see if it still worked (I didn’t have a battery). Advance checked it out right on the spot, took some test shots, even cleaned/​unstuck some buttons. Turns out it works, and didn’t charge for looking it over.
Very solid and great accessories selection, bought a memory card on the way out. I will return.

Great staff and easy to find location. They have repaired a camera or two for me and more recently some older Exakta mount lenses. Some were dirty and one had really bad fungus that I was not sure it could be saved. $ 40 and a couple weeks later I had something that looked perfect to me but the tech said they only got 85% of the fungus. Could have fooled me and charged me more. All my repairs go to Advance Camera.

I’ve been shooting on my camera for two years now, since it’d last been cleaned.
Never really noticed any dust spots or problem areas.
The last year I haven’t shot anything really beyond F5.6. However last week I shot some product groupings that put me around F22 and holy hot mess — about 50 little dots showed up all over my images. Even one impressive squiggle, front and center.
Unfortunately I had to keep shooting for the next 17 long hours and then edit for double that to get 200 images cleaned up. Lesson learned, don’t go so long between cleanings and get your sensor checked before large shoots. Especially when they include detailed patterned shoes that you must then reconstruct to get dust specks out of.
I came here and boy am I glad I did. Jordan was amazing, very informative about the process and gave a timeline that he beat by two days. I also brought in my 24 – 70, the focus hasn’t been as sharp as normal. I wasn’t sure if it was due to my camera sensor or the lens so he took it in and let me know that if they ended up adjusting it, it’d be $ 30 extra.
I came back in today to pick up my *so fresh and so clean, clean* camera body and lens. Not a spot left on the sensor and my lens was micro adjusted to be perfect. It was front focusing a hair.
Just took a few test shots with the freshly adjusted gear and everything is good as new.
Couldn’t be happier and won’t be going any where else.
The DL:
Full frame exterior/​interior cleaning = $ 80
Lens focus adjusting = $ 30
Getting sensor checked = priceless (literally)

I thought I had ruined my Canon SX280HS by adding velcro to the battery cover based on advice from the Canon user forums. Unfortunately the «fix» jammed the door closed. I brought the camera in and the tech popped a little opening, trimmed the velcro, and in 2 minutes I was on my way. And all that for No CHARGE! Thank you Advance Camera and I’ll keep re-​telling this story for many years.

We really love Advance Camera. They are full of helpful folks… maybe you are looking for a used camera, or a bag, or batteries, or a lens cap. Maybe you have questions about functionality, settings, or «how to». The folks here are full of information and happy to share. No question is dumb, because we are all trying to learn. The older Panasonic Lumix we bought has been excellent and insight into the camera from Advance was very helpful (we had owned Canons before). We got a lens cap free, as the Lumix kit was missing one… as well as an hdmi cable that it was also missing. Nice that they are in Beaverton, and not far away. We will use them for equipment and repairs in the future!

Walking into Advance is the best possible experience for a beginning photographer. The staff is welcoming, friendly and incredibly helpful. It’s clear that it is run by people who love what they do and do it very well.

I was traveling from Seattle to Monterey and had my Canon 5D mirror come loose when taking a photo in Centralia. My wife did some research and found Advance Camera and the glowing Unilocal reviews. I stopped to see if they could fix it. Normally, he would want the camera 24 hours for this repair, but I couldn’t delay my trip that much. He worked with me to get me back on the road in just a couple of hours.
In addition to fixing the mirror and cleaning the sensor, he cleaned the viewfinder and the camera body, and updated the camera’s firmware (which I didn’t even realize could be updated). All that for just over $ 100.
The camera has been working flawlessly since, better than before the problem. What a great experience! I highly recommend Advance Camera.

Wow… customer service the way it should be. Jordan rules when it comes to cameras.

I cannot recommend this shop enough. I came in with a busted Canon S100 hoping to get it fixed. After a short wait while they assessed the problem, my camera was returned to me with the problem fixed at no charge. I couldn’t believe it.
I will be returning here for all of my camera equipment and repairs from now on. They are honest, friendly, and professional.

The Advance Camera team are like superheroes.
If Jimmy Olsen or Peter Parker were real, they would bring their cameras to, and aquire new gear from the experts at Advance Camera.
This is a great shop for beginners like me, the staff is patient and knowledgable. I got my first camera at Advance Camera about 8 years ago. I’ve purchased accessories and gear here at a reasonable price and I even got a sweet deal on
through the shop. I’ve had my cameras cleaned here with fantastic results. I also had a repair done here once. (once, because they fixed it so good, it’s still working!)
Advance Camera Rocks!

I close my shutter
Only for a moment and the moment’s gone
All my shots
Pass before my eyes a curiosity
Dust in the lens
All the specks are dust in the lens?
Same old spots
Just a blurry black spot in my camera frame
All I shoot
Is so goddamn dirty I refuse to look
Dust in the lens
All the specks are dust in the lens!
Well, that was… until Advance Camera cleaned out my DSLR. I can see clearly now the dust is gone. Dust is the enemy of any camera, and now my camera is dust-​free, both outside and in.
My camera has been full of dust for years. YEARS. And after numerous home cleanings of the lens, sensor, mirror, and everything else, I still would see ghosts, hairs, and specks in my images. Photoshop clone and correction tools had become my crutch. Over 1,000 photos from China — dusty. Hundreds of photos from Mexico — dusty. Everything I’ve been shooting for years — dusty. And I had cleaned my sensor so many times I was simply convinced it was in my one main lens.
Thanks to the many reviews here I went to Advanced Camera. The super nice guy behind the counter talked it out with me, and assured me it was probably the sensor, and not the lens, that was dirty and dusty. Regardless, he took the lens and the body for a couple of days for service and cleaning. Three days and $ 50 later, I have clean sensor and a stopped-​down image showing lack of dust, hair, specks, smudges, or anything else. As promised.
Great service, great work, and a decent price. Plus it’s local. No sending my lens off somewhere else. No screwing around and up-​charging me.
That’s 5-​star service.