Camren Photographic

I am a professional photographer who has been using the equipment of Camren Photographic Resources for over 20 years numerous times. First of all, this is a place to rent top shelf professional photographic equipment that you can be 100% certain will work; Camren Photographic Resources is not your local electronic store. The local electronic store will sale you anything but do not ask them a question!
Camren Photographic Resources will have the equipment you need if you are a novice, pro-​amateur or a world renown photographer who just flew into town for a photo layout and forgot a much need piece of equipment.
Every piece of equipment that Camren Photographic Resources rents is in manufacture specs. The equipment will work as advertised.
I have been in Camren Photographic Resources when individuals come in with the attitude of a seasoned professional but after the second question anyone can tell that they are a ‘newbie’. My advise to them is be humble, tell Camren Photographic Resources what your shoot is about and your level of photography. (Just because you were able to convince someone to hire you to do a shoot does not automatically make you a professional.) Better yet, call and make an appointment to come in to discuss the equipment you need. I’m sure that Camren Photographic Resources will accommodate you.
As far as the owner being a little ‘gruff’, Camren Photographic Resources has been ripped off of some very expensive lens & camera bodies over the years. Even with all the security & credit card requirements Camren Photographic Resources took a major hit! I also know that individuals have purchase equipment at other locations (that did not give help on the use) and under the pretense of a rental, take up a lot of time of the personnel of Camren Photographic Resources for instruction and not rent!
Before you think it, I am not a employee of Camren Photographic Resources and neither was I paid to write this. I’m just a local profession photographer who appreciate that there is a store that I can come to on those rare but important occasion and rent that additional piece of equipment.
And yes I did have to ask a question (s), and didn’t like the response but the answer was correct and on point.
I’m just thankful that there is a Camren Photographic Resources in Denver.

I have dealt with Camren Photographic a few times. They get zero stars for first impressions, but if your skin is thick enough, they will rent you great equipment at great prices.
Advise: don’t even bring your debit card in the building, even if it is Visa endorsed, unless you want to be treated like a criminal.
Best of luck!

Pro-​tip: it is infinitely easier to be civil than it is to be an ass.
I’m glad the stereotype of the snarky, holier-​than-​thou camera shop employee is alive and well at Camren Photographic. Twice now I have attempted to rent from Camren, and twice my attempts have been met with probably the worst phone etiquette I have encountered from a business. Their customer service is abhorrent. In a business where word-​of-​mouth is so important, I am shocked that they would show such disregard for potential customers. Thomas, good work buddy, you lost yourself any personal or corporate business I would have given or sent your way.
I’m sure you’ve been around for a very long time, but you won’t be around forever. Too bad rental options are so limited in this city. Fortunately I don’t mind driving to Boulder to work with the friendly folks at Pro Photo Rental. Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else.
I’ve spoken with one other man there who was fine, although his name escapes me. Thomas, check your inflated ego at the door and remember that you are in customer service.

Terrible customer service over the phone. Asked for suggestions for a lighting kit to rent for residence photography and was given rude, vague answers. Definitely won’t be using them.

I would give this «business» less than the 1 star if possible.
FlashBack: I visited Camren and toured the studio and got familiar with all of the equipment while visiting Denver (at the time I lived in NYC). When I came in to see the studio Thomas says, «Excuse the tire tracks in the studio, recently a renter was doing a shoot involving a car and he left the tire tracks, we have yet to paint over them… «
I came back from NYC to Denver months later to create work and catch up with family.
A clothing designer asked me to photograph a few pieces for him. Being that this is a designer that has spent time in Paris and NYC, learning from the best and investing a lot of money into his craft. So I decide to spare no expense and I call Camren to rent ALL the necessary equipment. Me and a staff member made a laundry list of all of the stuff I was going to need, including several pieces of high end lighting equipment. My total, close to $ 600.
Everything is set to go. Models are scheduled, my schedule is cleared for the day, make up, hair, assistants… the whole 9!!!
I get a call one week before the shoot from Thomas. This is how the conversation went:
«Hi Eli, I’m calling to confirm your rental for next week. I also wanted to let you know that we (not realizing I had heard the tire-​track sob story already) «recently» had a renter photograph a car in the studio and they didn’t paint over the tire tracks. So if you still need the studio, you’re going to have to paint over the tracks yourself.»
I was baffled that the last renter wasn’t responsible to paint. I was baffled that they would actually, for two seconds, consider asking a new person that was spending almost 600 bucks to get on my hands and knees and paint it myself.
THE KICKER! He tells me «We do sell the paint at 15 bucks a can!!!»
I said, «Please cancel my reservation and all equipment rental.»
He replied «Ok, sorry we couldn’t help, bye»
My message to Camren. Know your place! I mean that literally, remember where you’re located. You’re not Smashbox in Los Angeles. You’re not Eagle’s Nest in Manhattan… You’re «Camren» in the slums of Denver. Know your place. I should have known better the moment I walked into that place, it looks like a pawn shop. Take some Purrell!

I write this as a first time (and last) customer of Camren. The photographic equipment I rented was in great shape and I had no problems with it.
That said, my reason for the 1-​star review is quite simple: customer service. With the holidays and crazy Christmas weekend with my 3 kids, I managed to space that my rental was due today at 1:15pm. The policy in the rental agreement states that returning equipment late results in an additional day charge.
Damn. At this point I’m pretty bummed. It’s going to be a really expensive mistake.
I call up hoping to work something out (it’s only about 3:30 pm at this point), since they told me that they were super slow and had plenty of stock on hand to rent. It’s not like I’d be preventing someone else from renting the camera and I only needed another hour to get down to the shop and return it.
I call up and speak with Thomas, the owner. I immediately get a strong «NO, our policy is clear, we’re unwilling to negotiate on the additional day charge». He mentions that they normally give an hour grace period just in case someone runs into traffic. This grace period isn’t mentioned in the paperwork, so I’m a little pissed that they bend the rules for this hour grace period, but not for anything else. He also tries to justify this by saying that he recently got dinged for an additional day charge on a movie he returned late.
NEWSFLASH: comparing a $ 3 or $ 4 late charge for a movie to charging $ 175 for a late camera return is laughable at best.
This is where it gets good! I drive down to the shop as quickly as I can, hoping to reason with them and possibly get at least some of the additional charge removed. I arrive at the shop at 4:30pm. As I walk in, I see Thomas sneak off into a back room to avoid dealing with me. Super classy.
I wait for them to check the returned equipment out and am then informed that not only am I being charged an extra day for returning the gear late, but I’m also being charged for INSURANCE for the second day as well. Granted, it’s only $ 15, but it’s shocking and completely slimy. I protest, stating that I’d clearly rather not pay for the insurance on the second day when I won’t even have the gear.
The individual I was working with went in the back to talk to Thomas and came out seconds later, saying he would have to charge me the insurance. Thomas continued to hide in the back room during this conversation. Again, real classy.
I understand that per the contract, I owed the additional day charge. The way it was handled, without a shred of concern over losing future business, forcing me to pay additional insurance for a day when I didn’t even have the camera and the cowardly attitude of the owner left me with a terrible taste in my mouth. All this on the day after Christmas. I urge you and anyone else to avoid this business like the plague.

I read some of the negative reviews about Camren before going and so braced myself. So far I’ve dealt with three employees (during two visits) — only one of employees weren’t all that helpful and kind of gave me an attitude. I knew this ahead of time and so tried to brush it off and not let it get to me but I can definitely understand the reviewer’s frustration.
They have good equipment and seem to run a nice shop and also what other choice do you really have? The service they provide is needed and is not available in many cities so I would say do your best to just make it about business — if you want their advice then just be upfront and sincere about the level of knowledge you’re currently at and if they aren’t super busy or already irritated they should be pretty approachable.
also come on — where else can you rent a $ 1,500 lens for only $ 25 for the weekend?

You know what «pretentious» means?
It means: «Attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed.»
Folks at camera shops tend to have a «holier-​than-​thou» attitude to them, especially towards people like me who don’t really care about the technical aspects of photography. It’s like the musician who plays by ear, or the painter who doesn’t mind using finger paint to create masterpieces. I actually saw a guy once who made life-​like color portraits with the 120 crayon pack from Crayola. I’m sure some studio arts major somewhere was thoroughly pissed off.
What I’m getting at in this specific case is that boasting about your knowledge of camera mechanics does not automatically make you a better photographer. It just makes you look like a douche. It makes me want to say things like: «Take that aperture and shove it up your pinhole!»
If you’re dying to meet a live example of the above, I suggest a certain «Thomas» at Camren. This is how he lost a potential customer:
Thomas: GoodmorningthanksforcallingCamrenthisisThomasspeak­inghowmayIhelpyou?
Me: Hi Thomas, I’m just curious — do you guys have any Canon flashes that are available to rent?
Thomas: Yes, we do. We’ve got the Speedlite 580 EX and 580 EXII.
Me: How about Vivitar? Do you have any those? They should work on a Canon too, right?
Thomas (realizing that I’m apparently not a professional Zeus-​like photographer like he thinks he is): Well OBVIOUSLY any flash would work on any DSLR. Some won’t work properly with TTL settings unless they’re shot in manual.
Me: How much does it cost to rent the Canon flashes?
Thomas: Twenty a day.
Me: Okay, so can I come in and take a look? I’m looking to rent for this weekend.
Thomas (irritated): Are you going to reserve? It’s Thursday, the weekend starts tomorrow. You should always reserve. Items don’t just stay on the shelves unrented, especially if they’re high in demand. I actually don’t know anyone who thinks they can come in same day for rental equipment. Everyone I know ALWAYS reserves. Do you know how hotel reservations work, by any chance?
Me: Umm…
Thomas (continuing): Rooms don’t just stay empty all the time. Also, people rent the most when it’s the weekend, so are you going to reserve right now or not?
Me: Well, I can’t really reserve until I know what I need. You know what? If I need to, I’ll come in and take a look later on today. Thanks for your time.
Thomas: Bye. (hangs up)
Me (thinking): Holy shit. I called for camera flashes — NOT hot flashes!

I would rather tape 2 magnifying glasses to the end of a cardboard tube than to try & rent from these guys, ever again. I placed an order earlier in the week to rent a lens for my daughters wedding. My only child and a very special occasion. I called to place the order while on a quick break at work. While I was back at work, Camren called to ask if I would confirm my order with them.
Duh — I though that was the reason I had called them in the first place. When I tried to call back, I was placed on terminal hold and actually made my airport shuttle bus 5 minutes late on the departure.
When I showed up, they would not accept my ID because both Drivers licenses (regular & CDL instruction version) had a hole punched in them, by DMV while I await my new CDL license. The Camren clerk seemed concerned about what would happen if I were pulled over. I didn’t know they worked for Homeland Security as well.
Since I have recently passed Passenger Endorsement, General Knowledge, Pre-​Trip Inspection and Driving test, I am more aware of the rules of the road than 90% of the drivers today. I drive as a professional, and becoming licensed only lets me drive a bigger bus than before. I will not be getting pulled over anytime soon, because I drive as if my license and career depends on it.
They charged me the full rental fee because another customer had not been able to use the rental, since I confirmed my order with them, yet refused to let me rent the lens. How about odds that if they find another customer to rent this lens, that I will not get my money back.
Take my advice and go to Mikes or
for your rentals.

These guys are awesome! Prices are reasonable and fantastic service. Reserve ahead if you want a lens to make sure it’s in stock for when you need it. They always have the Canon lenses I need.
They aren’t open on the weekends and only M-​F 8to5, so plan ahead. It could be to your advantage :-D.

I often use the rental darkroom here. It is roomy and usually quiet. Their hours, though, are regular business weekday hours. Monday — Friday 8 – 5 or so.
They have all the chemicals and tools, you just bring the negatives.