Encinitas Photo Center

I came here to get a quick consultation on a camera that my friend had given me. She was cleaning out a lot of her DSLR cameras and knew I was an avid photographer so she gave me a camera, lens, and another DSLR Body.
One of the bodies she gave me had a small issue with a knob on the top and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it. I did a search on Unilocal,and this was the closest camera shop to me. I brought my camera in one day to see if they knew and could lead me in the right direction to give me a quote on how much it would be to fix. In the end, they gave me some information but it wasn’t much help because they told me that I should super glue down my piece to hold it in place and see if it worked… THEN if nothing worked, then they would help me. Also when they were looking at my camera, they asked if it worked and what condition it was in. They asked if there was a battery and I said no… That’s when they gave me the super glue answer because they couldn’t really play around with my camera to see what was wrong. EXCUSE ME… YOU ARE A CAMERA SHOP!!! YOU DON’T HAVE ANY EXTRA BATTERIES AROUND???
Unfortunately, this is the only camera shop in the North County area, so I will see if I will bring my camera back and then I will update my review.

The woman that works there tries hard, but as someone else mentioned, if he-​the owner, is not making a profit, he will do minimal service. He has terrible customer service skills. The only reason people go here is because it is the only one in the immediate area.

When I bought a new camera to replace my broken one the man was basically cordial.
But when I brought the broken camera back for repairs, the guy was a jerk. He was completely non helpful and apparently his service stops immediately if he is not making a big profit. That is not where I will spend my money.
I will never purchase there again!

I am an Encinitas native. Been coming here for years. Highly recommended.

I truly had a bad experience, just like all others previously leaving posts on Unilocal.I walked in for a simple passport photo. That guy Gary working this place is a dork. He’s arrogant and classless. He doesn’t have a good handle on how to properly deal with the public. He’s overpriced, non-​communicative, and when he does open his mouth he’s very condescending. Avoid at all costs. I would drive to a «photo center» all the way in Chula Vista to avoid an interaction with this grumpy middle aged man.

I have gone to Encinitas photo Center to get a poster printed. I was greeted by a friendly woman who took in my order.
They were very fast in printing out my design on the glossy photo paper. It turned out great and the quality of the print looked so good.
Thanks, Encinitas Photo Center for the fast service!

Encinitas Photo Center really flexes their niche location and it shows in their pricing. Went in for a simple lens cap and they wanted $ 15! Asked for a price match, because they are less than half that online. The response from the older gentleman working the store was «They’re fake, they aren’t selling real Nikon lens caps» really? I am turned off by businesses with nothing better to do than pass off deprecating comments about other businesses they know nothing about. I went home and ordered my lens cap plus a roll of film that use often (that they never have) for LESS than the $ 15+tax they wanted for the cap. My GENUINE Nikon lens cap and roll of film was on my doorstep in 36 hours with free shipping. Unless I have a «photo emergency» I will not be back.
At the end of the day, EPC isn’t the worst stop if you need to get that item same day. However, you will pay out the nose for it and support a rude, uncompromising storefront. If you can make it, a certain used photo shop off Adams Ave in San Diego will treat you with respect and work with you on pricing. I recommend the drive.

Overpriced, rude and a joke of a store

I really miss this place since I moved! Anytime I had a camera issue or a questions about the best film for some random lighting or situation, they were very pleased to offer some solutions. This place makes film fun again. I always looked forward to that «your film is ready for pickup» call.

Encinitas photo is fantastic! The fact they’ve been a successful business since the 80s should speak for itself but since I saw people give a couple bad reviews I felt a need to stand up for this awesome place. I now go there on a regular basis. Great customer service. I’ve often spent 30min just chatting with the owner about the photo industry and he’s so friendly and excited to help everyone moving forward.
They fulfill all my film needs. I buy all my film there and just purchased a Pentax film camera. If there’s ever a problem with your purchases they give you a big window to test it out and return it if you’re not satisfied. I’ve read the bad reviews and they are very specific rare occurrences coming from what seem to be regular unhappy people. I believe it wasn’t from bad customer service, just bad customers. I’ve been in the filming and photo industry since I was a teenager and I give this five stars.
Visit there and form your own opinion.

I went to Encinitas Photo Center with a specific need in mind for a project. I was very clear about the size of photo I needed and the owner seemed to understand. When I got the pictures back they were not the size I needed and the owner Gary said the size cannot be done at his shop. He was pretty defensive and negative. He explained he could not size the pictures the way I needed them and I had no recourse. My boss called to discuss the problem and he offered no way to please a very unhappy customer. Do NOT go to to this business!

We went to Encinitas Photo Center looking for some help with a school project. When the outcome wasn’t what we wanted there was no sympathy or willingness to work with us on the price. When asked if we could redo the project for little or no charge there was no willingness to assist. The answer was no. We went here hoping to help a small Encinitas shop but came out disappointed and out 80 dollars.

I don’t know where the bad rap for customer service is coming from. They do photo restoration at this store, so I took my parents’ wedding photo from 1978 in to have it fixed up, as the colors had faded, and there were some cracks in the surface. They did a beautiful restoration job to make the photo look like it was just taken yesterday, Gary, the owner, was very patient and helpful in explaining what could be done. I will definitely take more old pictures in to be fixed, they do a a beautiful job!

It was tough to get a feel for the Encinitas Photo center based on the reviews, so I decided to give it a go. In brief, my experience was very positive. Having said that, my project/​need was unique… So you have to judge for yourself.
More specifically, I had about 300 – 400 photos that needed to be scanned for archival and a digital photobook. I brought the photos in on a Monday and had the disk in hand by Wednesday. They retouched and removed red-​eye from a large number of the images. I also had a number of large format and unusual shaped items (think newspaper articles and magazine spreads). The quality and speed were great! It’s hard to know how the price would compare, and it’s wasn’t «cheap»… but given the service and quickness — I felt it was a good value.
I also brought in about 8 old VHS cassettes to have the content digitized/​archived. The Enci Photo Center similarly did a solid job. Since I wasn’t in a hurry, they had more flexibility, but still did this project in a reasonable time and with good value.
Would recommend Enci Photo Center for similar needs!

Horrible customer service. Came in to inquire about leather cases and was told that most stores wouldn’t carry them because they aren’t PC. Whoa, holy judgemental batman! I could have done with a simple, «We prefer to provide vegan accessories.»
I am not local so they didn’t lose a regular customer, but they probably could have convinced me to buy a neoprene case instead.

Had a great experience here. I thought my digital camera was broken since the inside connection where you would plug in the charger somehow became «pushed inside» the camera itself and the charger no longer worked. I was pressed for time and about to head to Peru the next day when I stopped into Encinitas Photo Center. Gary, the owner, was very helpful in pointing out that there were other ways to charge the camera battery. He hooked me up with a universal charger, showed me how to use it and I was set!
I even left a few rolls of film with him that I picked up after my trip. Great quality and he even checked out some of the pictures with me.
I would highly recommend coming to Gary with all of your camera needs.

I have only had positive experiences here. I took a private class to learn how to use my camera better and if i pop in, she gives me great tips, cleaned something off my lens for free and has made recommendations on products. I also sold some old stuff there on consignment. Will keep going back!

I felt I had to write a review after reading all of the bad ones. I took my Canon T3i in for a sensor cleaning, and the owner was nothing but courteous and professional. Not only did he have my camera ready in about an hour, it only cost me $ 29 (which is the cheapest I’ve heard of).
I was very pleased with the customer service and would absolutely recommend this place!

Good service they worked with me to get my camera fixed too a while but not because of them, it was the manufacture :)

The thing that sucks is that I want to like this place and support it, but I have to agree with the theme going on here that the service is lackluster. I wouldn’t say they are downright RUDE, but they’re definitely not warm and fuzzy. I went here out of convenience and lack of places that process 120 film, but then I found out about North County Photographic in Carlsbad right around the time EPC tacked another dollar onto their processing price. Again.
I think this is a good place to go when you’re in a bind, but the people up at North County are much more worthy of your business, both in their service and quality of work.
EPC does have good prices on scans.