Hooper Camera & Imaging

Stopped by to develop film and ended up spending 2bills because the customer service was great. Bought a new film camera and some film along with my film I needed to develop. Really love this place worth the drive.(Driving from Santa Clarita)

Came here when I found out Costco no longer develops actual film. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful and they did a great job helping me out with my order. Even when I had some somewhat strange requests for development.
When I got my prints back, they all looked perfect! I’m so happy I live around the corner from Hooper Camera because I most definitely will be coming back for all my photography needs!

Very helpful and gave advice and a little tutorial on a used camera I just bought on a whim.

Haven’t even been here yet but am excited to go. Just talked to Steve on the phone who was SO clear, helpful and made my 30 minute Unilocal search for a camera repair shop totally worth it. Now I know exactly what I need to do to get my camera alive and kicking again. Thanks Steve!

Super Helpful Staff!!!
My kids were fiddling with my camera & caused the lens to act funny.
They quickly diagnosed it & had it working in less then 5 minutes.
Shop Small! You are supporting great employees & the personal attention is worth it.
Great Job Gang =)

BAD EXPERIENCE:
Friendly sales staff and the loop I bought there is ok BUT…
1/​Asked for PRINTED contact sheets of some negatives I had. Was told they should be ready in 4 days, payment in advance of $ 77.94 (of course!)
2/​Over a week later I called after not hearing anything. The person that took my call said they would find out whats happening and call right back, they never called back.
3/​Called back again 2 days later, they still weren’t sure when they would be back.
4/​Then I received a call the very next day saying they were ready. (???)
When I picked them up today they were DIGITAL contact prints, USELESS when looked at thru a loop to try and see the composition, contrast ratio etc… you just see DOTS!
The worst part of this experience was the salesman NEVER MENTIONED this digital method to me OR asked for my approval to do the sheets digitally and when I pointed it out to him when I picked them up today, he was quite happy to keep my money and acted like everything was fine. I did not bother to argue, I did not want to waste any more time there. I learned my lesson.
They delivered completely useless material to me, misquoted the time for delivery by a week and withheld their methods hoping I wouldn’t notice AND kept my money without a mention of anything… amazing.
If your serious about photography, keep all this in mind before you shop there.

From the moment I walked into this place I knew it was a good idea.
There is a woman there that I am embarrassed to have forgotten her name. She had amazing knowledge about EVERYTHING I asked her and never once had me like a frozen deer in headlights.
I will definitely come back to this place and am surprised that it’s taken me so long. I had some 35 mm film developed and bought a roll for practice. Prices seemed average, no complaints whatsoever.
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHOPS.
Try it… Love it… Unilocal it…

These guys are awesome. We were running around town all day looking for a particular camera battery with no luck. Ended up at Hooper ‘s to find out that the battery was not in stock here either however, they took a battery out of the box of the same camera and sold it to us. Great service, nice people. Thank you!

I appreciate your response to my «review». Although I have nothing to add regarding that, I want to comment on some of the other reviews I’ve read that were posted since mine. A few folks have mentioned that the prices at Hooper are high. I don’t know if I agree. It seemed to me that the prices that were posted on the Hooper website almost always matched the prices posted on Best Buy’s website, within a few dollars, if not exactly the same. Even if higher, the sales people told me that Hooper would price match a lower advertised price, even one of the «package» kits sold at Costco.

Very friendly and knowledgeable staff! A little pricey, but when you need it, you need it.

I went to have my new camera checked that I didnt buy there, the guy @ the counter was VERY helpful/​nowledgable.
Great service ! ! If you need a camera & or accessories this the place to come to.
My next purchase of a camera and/​or equipment will be here !

I’m not sure if each Hooper Camera and Imaging is owned separately or something, but I had recently had a very bad experience at the Thousand Oaks location. This location however, is quite the opposite.
I had recently ordered a rental through
, and the store was very prompt to call me when it had arrived. When I had gotten there though, they were unable to give me my rental because
required that the person picking the order up must be the name of the person on the credit card used to order. While I did go back and see it on the website, it was not very clear. It was my debit card, but simply under another person’s name (provisional). Unfortunately, the person with their name on the card was unable to come at the time and was in the next city over. None of this was the Hooper’s fault by any means, and he suggested calling Borrow Lenses and having the other person give them my license number, but nothing worked. The man there (I believe Ramone) offered to stay after hours until the other person was available to come back with me to pick it up. He was very nice and very helpful, apologizing profusely for all the troubles that had suddenly come upon me. Myself and the cardholder was able to get there right before closing hours, but because of the wonderful customer service at this Hooper Camera and Imaging, we did not have to worry a bit. Excellent customer service is always a blessing, and this place has it great.

Bought a few things here for my film photo class, hoping to find some other goodies for my digital photography. «Okay» selection, but terrible customer service; the old dudes there should just be at home sleeping, not trying to help people.

Hooper Camera really came through for me today. I was accepted for an art show and needed custom sized prints made and they had to be done today. Thank you so much for helping me through my freaking out and encouraged me restoring my confidence. If you need printing done or any of their many other services think Hooper Camera and get the job done right with outstanding customer service.

I had a client give me some pictures for the website I am building for them. In going through the pile of stuff I was given, I was a bit shocked to find some old negatives and to make matters worse, they had been cut by hand and scissor and they were about 25 years old.
I brought them over to Hooper Camera in Chatsworth and 2 days later they had turned these negatives into 300 DPI digital pics burned onto a CD.
I now have what I need to continue with my work and the client now has the pics they have forgotten about for 25 years, thanks!!!

I had to purchase a couple of last minute items in preparation for my upcoming vacation. As usual, I was treated incredibly well, got great advice and was sold exactly what I needed. And I got a deal to boot. He even noted a problem with one of my lenses that would have been an issue with my photography.
I will never go anywhere else for my photography needs. Never.

I had a photo gig the same night and I needed an accessory in a bad way. Their computer showed that they had one but they had trouble locating it (bummer, but that happens). Nonetheless, they stayed after it until they found it, brought it to the store a little later in the day and even called me asap to tell me so.
After all of that, they kicked me a deal on another accessory item. I was impressed at how hard they (Ramone) went to bat for me. Support your local Hooper Camera, show them some love. Thanks, Ramone!

I originally bought my Canon T2i from this store last year and that was a great experience. Ever since then, they seem to have a ridiculous habit of turning my money away!
Two weeks ago, I called to see if they had a Tokina 11 – 16 in stock. The guy on the phone put me on hold to check.
Him: «Well, I thought we had one, did you want me to check some more?»
Me: «Yes, of course, I was just there a couple of days ago and you had one on display in the front case.»
Him: «Well that’s where I looked and it isnt there anymore. Did you want me to check in the back?»
Me, «Yes please?»
After a couple more minutes on hold, he comes back on: «I didn’t see it back there either. Did you want me to check the other stores?»
Me: «If that’s not a problem for you?»
Him: «I just checked, none of the stores have it.»
Me: «Ok, thanks for helping.»
Samy’s Camera +$ 700
Hooper Camera No Sale
TODAY
Me: «Hi, Do you have the Canon 17 – 55 in stock?»
Him: «No but the Woodland Hills store does.»
Me: «Cool! How much are you guys selling it for?»
Him: «$ 1189»
Me: «Canon has it on sale for $ 1099 and everyone else has it at that price.»
Him: «No not us, I’ve never heard of that sale.»
Amazon +$ 1100
Hooper Camera No Sale
Way to turn down $ 1800 worth of sales guys! The only reason they’re not getting a 1 Star is because of my original experience a year ago…

Hi Melanie! I just read your review about Hooper’s.
Actually I don’t know who’s your daddy. I just love this place.
I bought my big & expensive lens here, cause they had the lens in stock and were not pushy.
Fred who helped me to pick my lens, helped me today too.
He is real nice and friendly.
I wish they have photo classes.
I took the class at Paul’s photo in Torrance past 2 years.
I learned a lot, though it’s too far for me.

I had a very bad experience with this place and will not likely go again. I was looking for a telephoto zoom lens for my digital camera. I saw on their website that they had one in stock. It was at least about $ 50 cheaper online, but I thought it might be worth it to go to a real store, and they might possibly make a deal for me.
As soon as I told the salesman what I was interested in, he immediately said, «That’s such-​and-​such dollars, plus tax, plus filter.» I was a little confused by what he meant by «plus filter,» and though I certainly wanted a protective filter, I wasn’t pleased by the way he was seeming to imply that I HAD to buy one.
So I said in a questioning voice, «Plus filter?» The salesman proceeded to give me a lecture about lens filters as if I were some complete novice who knew nothing about the subject. «You need a filter to protect every lens you own,» he began, then he brought out three different filters, one of which (the cheapest one) he immediately insisted I shouldn’t buy because it was meant for film cameras only. He pushed that one away and gave me the choice of «the Cadillac or the Maserati», both of which were something around $ 50 or up. It kind of annoyed me that he even brought out the third filter, with the way that he just pushed it away, it was like a theatrical performance and not an honest attempt to tell me what options were available.
He then asked me if I had my camera so I could try out the lens, so I went out to the car to get it. As soon as I opened it up, he started inspecting the filter on my standard lens, and said, «See, this is for film cameras, you need a new one,» and then grabbed an expensive filter. I found this to be very rude and pushy, and it occurred to me that the only reason he really wanted me to go get my camera was so that he could figure out some other accessories to pressure me to buy.
Luckily at that point, he took a phone call and proceeded to ignore me. I quickly removed the lens I wanted from my camera, gathered my things and ran out the door. I just bought the lens on amazon at a much cheaper price and without the pressure of a smelly salesman lecturing me about what filters I need. He treated me like a total idiot, and had no interest in really asking me what my needs or desires as a customer were. The $ 60 filter that he tried to sell me would have only affected the quality of my pictures by a minuscule amount if at all. If I were a professional selling my work to magazines it might be a concern, but I’m not going to buy something like that just to line the pockets of a stinky salesman.
My recommendation is to avoid this place unless you really have to have it right away, and you don’t mind being treated condescendingly by the staff.