Tuttle Cameras

On June 7, 2016, I returned to Tuttle Cameras in the morning right at opening time and purchased the Nikon 14−24mm f/2.8 wide angle zoom lens that I have been saving up for, after I was recently informed that it went on sale!
Curtis, currently the staff member who has worked here the longest, had thoughtfully set aside this lens for me after I informed him of my plans to purchase it as soon as it goes on sale again. He took it out of the back room, and I made the purchase of this special lens on my wish list! Curtis is the staff member who owns a Nikon DSLR camera and lenses, and is the one who is most knowledgeable about Nikon DSLRs, lenses, and accessories. I have known Curtis for years, and he has been the most helpful in advising me on the use of my Nikon D5100 DSLR Camera and set of lenses. This new Nikon 14−24mm lens is the third stand-​alone lens that I have bought from Tuttle Cameras. I thanked Curtis and the store Owner Eric for their helpfulness through the years as they helped me through starting and growing my collection of the Nikon D5100 DSLR Camera, Nikon Lenses, and photographic accessories.
The best part of doing business with Tuttle Cameras, a family-​owned business, is the excellent customer service that they provide after the sale. I can stop by anytime during their normal business hours for advice and help with using and caring for my camera equipment. Another aspect that I enjoy with Tuttle Cameras is their Tuttle Cameras University Classes and Workshops. I have participated in many of their classes and workshops through the years, and have learned how to take amazing pictures that I otherwise would have never taken.
As always, I continue recommending Tuttle Cameras to my family and friends. Thank you for a lifetime of wonderful customer service through the years, and Happy 70^th Store Anniversary!

This place is awesome! Everyone is very helpful and it’s right here in the heart of bixby knolls, I love coming here after shopping at the better half boutique (another favorite)

I went in here 15 minutes before closing to purchase my first «real» camera. I did a little research and they had the Nikon that I wanted for a trip the next day. I was not rushed in the slightest. LaToya was knowledgeable, patient and personable. They closed late so as not to rush me. Great, albeit brief, experience.

Very helpful!
Junenoir was super nice and very cordial to deal with.
I would go back.

Very decent prices and knowledgeable staff! I’m née to photography and they have been more than helpful with suggestions.

Been wanting to come check out this store for a while now and never made it before closing hour, well today I was in the area and felt I had some time to check things out.
Walked in and the store isn’t big but it’s not small either. Steven was adjusting some equipment and right away greeted me and asked me if I needed help. I asked him a few questions and he lead me to the section I was looking for.
I eventually made my way to look at other shelves and Anthony from the register asked if I needed help, at first I declined since Steven already helped but then I did ask for Anthonys help. He looked online and found a lens cap I might be able to use. Both Steven and Anthony tried but finally Anthony mentioned I should bring the camera in before I purchase.
Enjoyed my time at this store and bought a few goodies for my camera bag. Make sure to check in on Unilocal,they give you a little rubber lens with a cleaning cloth inside of it.
Street parking is available but limited, I ended up parking next door in a small strip mall.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I went to Tuttle’s to see about selling our DSLR camera and the employees were very helpful. They offered us a fair price so we decided to sell. We were then informed that the woman who cuts the checks had just left for the day (it was a Saturday) so we we’re told to come back on Tuesday. The guy who made us the offer said he would leave a note for his fellow employees and that the offer they made would still be good then.
My husband went back on Tuesday and no note was left… So they inspected the equipment again and offered him 40% less than what we were originally offered! He told the employee the entire story of our previous visit and all she said was «well we don’t know where he got that price.» The price we were first offered was witnessed by 3 employees, none of whom were there when my husband went back. The manager wouldn’t even come out to talk to him. We had heard good things about Tuttle’s and were really shocked at this lack of customer service. Needless to say we did not sell our camera to them. We love supporting our local community and are disappointed that this experience left a sour taste in our mouth.

The owner is very knowledge and super nice. A good place to buy a camera.

Great camera store. Just made my first purchase here. Chris and the rest of the staff here were more than helpful. They were very friendly and professional. They quickly answered all my questions and made a great effort with requests that I had in regards to the item purchased. I know some prices may be cheaper on line, but you don’t have the service and knowledge readily available on line as you do in the store. I will definitely shop here again to make future purchases.

Great little camera store of that dying breed: storefront, locally-​owned. They matched my price from the internet for my last camera purchase. They’ve been a Long Beach standby for ages so give them your business when you can.

I’m a firm believer of supporting brick and mortar retail stores. With a plethora of online stores literally «next door», free shipping, most cases no tax, and super competitive pricing it’s very difficult to not to buy things online. Most items are tangible and have to be held, felt, weighed, sometimes installed or demo’d because somethings you can’t do online staring at a photo.
What differentiates both establishments? The answer is easy, the level of service. It must be no less than stellar, otherwise loss of sales, plain and simple. With that being said, I write my experience.
Let me preface my experience with some history. I have purchased several accessories, lens caps, lens hood, lens filter, also a Canon lens 10 – 18 (which I avoided Best Buy to come here and buy it), and a couple other items, over the course of several months and for the most part service was good, It’s why I returned.
The other day I went in a bought a Promaster lens hood $ 16. I didn’t have my camera with me at the time but I bought it anyway because the sales clerk said I could return it with the receipt and packaging. I took it home, and isnstalled it. It is a 2 part design, an attachment and a the hood itself which is a terrible design for a simple concept. After installing it if you need to remove the hood the by twisting it, the attachment also comes off inadvertently each time. The Canon version is a one piece design. I thought this is awful,
I’ll return it and buy the Canon version for a few $ more or so I thought. I bring it back the very next day with receipt and packaging. This time I get a different clerk, Anthony. I tell him it’s a bad design and doesn’t work properly he offers to refund me with a 6% restock/​return fee. What? Now, I can understand if it was a special order item or an expensive item but for something that was in stock and only $ 16 and clearly a faulty product by the manufacturer which I mentioned. I’m sure this 6% is voluntary and not mandatory and in this situation not necessary. He then points to the receipt as if to spite me as if I can’t read. At this point, I try to stay calm as he processes the transaction. Afterwards he then offers me to order the original Canon lens hood. Let’s pause for a moment.
I said, no as to reciprocate his no also adding that I’d buy it online, which I did as soon as I got home and added a wired remote release. Which I have received today, which reminded me to share my experience.
I could have written several reviews of each visit but I chose to just to support by making return purchases. Unfortunately this situation changed my perception and is why I shared this experience.

Film! Gear! Digital! And just about everything else. These guys are a classic camera shop, welcome in an era when most camera shops have long since folded. They will process your 120 film (they send it out), black and white, color, slides, etc. They carry a variety of gear, from tripods and filters to backpacks and albums. You can buy cameras here, of course, but they also have classes that will show you how to make better use of the camera you buy. Probably there are better camera shops out there in the world somewhere, but in Long Beach, I think they’re the last surviving store with this range. The city closed down Terry’s on Long Beach Boulevard, close to downtown, and replaced it with a vacant lot in the name of making a better neighborhood (???), but I hope they have a heart and leave this last bastion of true photography standing as long as there’s a shutter in the world that still opens to let an image be recorded.

My Nikon camera had a stripped screw on the cover of the flash and the flash did not work. I decided to try out Tuttle Cameras repair service and the first impression I got was polite customer service rep that tried to answer every question I had. The repair that was needed had to be done offsite somewhere out in Pasadena which they charged me an 8 dollar fee for shipping. After a week I received a call that the flash had to be replaced which would cost about the same amount as purchasing a new camera and recommended to buy a new one instead. My entire experience felt they were pushing me to purchase a new camera instead of fixing the one I had and I really thought they were going to quote me a reasonable price.
In the end it took me a few hours to look for information online of people that had a similar problem and how they fixed it and 10 dollars on precision tools to fix it myself. If you have the time I recommend researching online if there is a possibility of fixing it yourself before spending a fortune on shops that offer repair service that could potentially be an easy fix.

Thanks to Liz for helping me and my boyfriend with the selfie stick! We were looking all over town for it!
Very helpful and very friendly :)

I had a great time in the «Shooting in Manual» course offered at Tuttle Cameras this past Saturday. Christine was very knowledgeable and attentive to each person. I took my 15 year old cousin with me, who is very shy, and Christine was so patient and able to help her with all her camera questions. It was a little pricey for me at $ 130 for me and my cousin but we did have lots of fun.
The only inconvenience was that class started about 15 minutes late due to a communication error but we still got our full two hour lesson. The first hour was a powerpoint with information about different functions (aperture, ISO and shutter speed) and for the second hour we walked outside to practice our freshly learned camera skills.

I hadn’t been here since I took a photography class about 30 years ago. I returned because my son is now taking a photography class and needed a DSLR. We were immediately helped by Liz, who was friendly and knowledgeable. She listened to my son’s needs and offered suggestions — we never felt we were being sold. (This was not the case at Best Buy).
Tuttle Cameras also offers used cameras. So my son was able to pick up a used camera at less than half the cost of a new camera with similar features. This was perfect for someone who is taking a beginning photography class.
When we asked about lenses — we were told that the lens that came with the camera would take him through his beginning class. And, that they would be able to help him select lenses later. (Again, not the case with Best Buy).
I remember I loved this place when I was a student and this is probably why. They don’t make you feel like you should know everything about the camera.
FYI: Their prices are the same as the prices at Best Buy too! And, since they also have used equipment — they’re less.

Great customer service!
I take about 3 – 4 rolls of film in to get developed each week and the staff is really friendly. I recently began shooting with a 35 mm camera and the staff is always happy to share a few tips. This is definitely my go to photography shop.

I was in town for the holidays and wanted to find a local camera store to get recommendations on the best way to protect the screen on my new camera. I was hoping for one of those stores that gives you great advice and resolves all your worries. The guy who greeted me looked kind of disinterested when I told him I wanted a screen protector, admitted he didn’t know much about them but pointed to the options they had. I asked if they help with putting them on (the ones that stick on to the back) and he said, «I’ll try.»
I kind of wish he had just said that he had no idea how, because he really didn’t and proceeded to cut the screen protector too large, attach it with a dozen bubbles trapped underneath, and didn’t remove the second sheet. I stared at it when he was done and he just kind of looked at me until I realized I now needed to pay for this.
All in all a pretty underwhelming experience– I know a screen protector isn’t the sexiest thing to buy but it’d be a bit more inspiring to get some better feedback and service.

I came here to get my 120 film developed. It took about 5 days to get the call that my film was ready to be picked up.
The staff was incredibly friendly and knowledgable.
I just wish their prices were a bit cheaper. But I understand that to get 120 film developed they have to send it somewhere else.

I bought a used lens from Tuttle a few months ago. It was either a consignment or a pre-​owned sale. It worked great until I did something to make it stop working.
I revisited the store two weeks ago to discover if it could be repaired. I was told that the cost of repair was more than I paid for the lens originally. Then a manager came up, can’t remember his name, but he is a Marine Reservist (oooh rahh) and offered to look at the lens.
Due to his experience with cameras and lenses in general, he fiddled with the lens for 15 seconds and pointed out a «feature» that I was unaware of. If I set the fstop off of a certain setting, the auto-​focus feature is disabled.
He could have gone for the sale of another lens. Instead he chose to opt for great customer service.
Kudos to Tuttle Camera, once again.