Vancam Service-Cameras

I broke the battery cover off of my Canon DSLR. Called around to several camera stores to see if they happen to have it in stock. They ALL said to check with Vancam for the part. Called Vancam and sure enough, they did. Went into the shop 2 days later and they remembered my call, my camera model and the part I called about. Impressive. Very helpful and friendly staff.

I went here to get my camera fix. I have a canon T3i and the main dial to change modes broke off. They quoted me 190 $, for parts and labour. I dropped off my camera and 9 days later they called saying they can repair my camera for less! They can repair it with old parts they found.
I paid 140 $ and it took 10 days.
One con about this place, they only take debit or cash.

I had a stuck lens adapter removed. The job could not be quoted because progressively more aggressive methods may be needed. The task was completed next work day and the cost was $ 45 plus taxes. The transaction was cash only, no receipt.
The adapter had to be drilled and considerable brute force was used to dislodge the adapter. The adapter was sacrificed and that was to be expected. The edge of the lens around the mount was scraped to bare metal. The f stop flange was loose and displaced. There were tiny metal flakes on the rear element. At the front element, paint had rubbed off the filter.
I was able to relocate and tighten the f stop flange, and clean the rear element. The lens mount was undamaged and the lens was fully functional.
The job was done but it seemed untidy and not meticulous. I think more care could have been taken to protect the lens from the tools. The lens should have been cleaned and refitted to normal before returning to customer.
When Vancam was a busy dedicated camera repair depot, I had Vancam restore a Asahi SPII and the work was excellent. The depot now is half camera repair, half shaver shop; a sign of the obsolescence of manual cameras.
The shop is competent but I would ask more questions and be more demanding next time.

I’ve been here a few times. Most recently, the issue was a broken pin on the flash card connector in my Canon XTi. The repair cost was a little over $ 100, which was reasonable, and they did it quickly so I could capture a few must-​photograph family events later in the week. Along with some advice on inserting flash cards properly, they happily lent me a charged battery (I’d left mine at home) so I could test their fix before leaving.

My Canon G9 lens stopped retracting while on vacation and none of the usual tricks seemed to work. Was told Vancam or Camtex were the 2 places locally that could fix it.
Dropped off my camera, paid $ 28 as a fee to look into fixing the problem and given an accurate estimation of what the costs would be given what seemed to be the problem.
Later received a call and email with an invoice that the camera was fixed and ready to pick up. The cost was about $ 70 less than what The estimate was so I was happy. When at the store to pick up my camera and after paying by interac, the clerk said it looked like a mistake had been made and only the labour had been included, not the parts. (the original $ 28 was deducted already) he then asked what I had been quoted over the phone and I said I thought it was similar. (I had been getting over the flu and with the person’s accent didn’t catch everything, but did recall the same total which is really the important part for the customer.) The clerk then called in the guy who had called me to ask what he had quoted me and this guy then looked at me and said. «I told you …» in what felt like an accusatory manner. Given the new total cost was within what I was originally prepared to pay, and that I don’t get charged per interac transaction, I simply paid and left. I was very disappointed in the lack of an apology whatsoever, especially after they acknowledged they had made a mistake, and then it was compounded by feeling like I was accused of not recalling the exact details of a phone conversation. Given this and the previous reviews, I would search for another company the next time needing camera repairs.

So… I work in the service industry and I have never really liked it when people use Unilocal to bitch about things. I have always used it in a positive manner because it is impossible to know what it is like to walk a day in another persons shoes. There are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes that the average guest/​customer doesen’t see/​understand.
Under no circumstances. EVER should you ever give these guys a single dime of your hard earned money. I’m going to give the synopsis of my experience as briefly as possible.
1. Broke camera
2. Brought camera in to Vancam
3. Waited 2 weeks, no phone call or email.
4. Called. They said they had emailed me. Confirmed my name as something COMPLETELY wrong.
5.They asked if I could bring my battery in (i did bring my battery in, they lost it… and then miraculously found it… Also… you are a camera shop… shouldnt you have spare batteries just in case? to… you know… test just in case the battery is at fault???)
6. Wait another 2 weeks no phone call or email. So i wrote them an email. A polite email stating that i was displeased with the service I had been given and how much money I was losing by renting camera equipment. Gave them some useful customer interaction pointers in hopes that they would streamline their services in the future. No response.
7. Phone. Leave message. No response. Phone again. My camera is ready.
8. Arrive to pick up camera. They dont take Visa… Only cash or debit. I understand that Visa costs money… BUT FIXING MY CAMERA, ONE CAMERA COST $ 500!!! That would more than cover your Visa expenses for one month. I don’t care who you are if you are charging $ 500 a pop to fix a camera you can afford to offer credit card services to your customers.
9. Go to the bank to transfer money from my line of credit to my savings account and then withdraw it.
10. Pay reluctantly for my camera.
I am an extremely hard person to piss off. I left so mad I was almost in tears. I know a lot of photographers in this city and I have made sure to tell them all about this terrible experience. I’m so mad that I am going on Unilocal 8 months later to tell the story to in an open forum in hopes that others will not have to go through the same BS that I did.
Just a response to my email would have probably prevented me from blasting you to anyone that would listen.
Lesson learned? For me definitely. For Vancam? I hope so.
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After reading the other review. SO Vancam DOES TAKE CREDIT CARDS… When its convenient for THEM. Interesting.

I took my camera to Vancam Services to replace a cracked lens and prism on a Monday. Since the camera is very old the technician told me he might not be able to find a prism. So I said to look for one, but if he can’t find one it isn’t the end of the world, but the lens definitely needed to be fixed. The technician told me my camera would be fixed by friday. So I call on Friday and the technician rudely tells me he hasn’t even touched my camera because I wasn’t sure if I wanted it fixed and I never called back. Why on earth would I bring my broken camera to a camera repair store if I didn’t want it fixed? And if Vancam services thought I didn’t want my camera fixed, why didn’t they call the number I left for them to confirm? Very unprofessional and poor service. I definitely don’t appreciate attitude.

This place was recommended to me by a few of my camera-​using friends.
I have quite an expensive Canon DSLR and for the 5 years that I’ve had it, there have been zero problems. All of a sudden I have a fairly big problem in that my shutter mechanism had failed and needed to be replaced. Thank Godness for the internets and our ability as consumers and users to be able to research these types of things. According to the wise-​ol interwebs, this type of repair should run me around $ 300 ish. The component is rated at about 50,000 actuations (uses) and trust me, I’ve done at least THREE TIMES that. So it isn’t a repair that I have any problem with. It is well worth the money to get my beloved baby back on her feet, so to speak. So my options are to send it to Ontario where Canon has their service depot, or take it to a local repair shop for the work.
So I decide to take it to this local shop. After a discussion with the technician, we agree that the shutter mechanism is the problem. He will check to see if he has the part locally or will have to order it, and let me know. Later that day he calls to say he will order it in, but he has to charge my credit card in advance for the cost of the part. Understandable. I approve of these charges.
A few days later someone calls to report on progress. They have replaced the part and fixed the problem but they have not been able to clear the error from the camera’s memory. They are going to have to send the camera to the depot in Ontario anyway. I am asked to again provide my credit card to pay for shipping and insurance charges (about $ 40) in advance. Understandable. I approve of these charges.
A few weeks later the camera is returned, I am advised I can come pick it up. I am very excited. I go to the shop and originally the clerk gives me a bill that doesn’t include any deductions for the prepayments I authorized for the part ($ 90) and shipping ($ 40). When I told him I’d paid these by credit card he replies «We don’t accept credit cards.» This threw me for a minute because I was sure that I had paid by MC and was trying to think how I could prove this. He quickly conferred with someone in the back and the matter was resolved. Apparently they only take it in special cases but not as a rule. I completed my purchase for the balance of the bill using my debit card.
The amount, in total, including the maintenance and cleaning it received, was what I’d expected to pay just for the repair itself. It was good value and I’m very happy to have my camera back.