Blue Moon Camera & Machine

Blue Moon is sadly of a dying breed; analog-​focused photography stores where employees really know their sh*t. I always love coming in here to pick up or drop off film, and looking around at all the beautiful cameras they have on display. In addition to analog cameras, they also stock film, paper, and other accessories for processing. I brought my little Rollei in a few weeks ago with some film I wanted to get processed, but the problem was the camera was jammed so I couldn’t get it out. I was assuming I’d have to pay to have it repaired, but the fellow I dealt with was clearly very familiar with the camera, and after some finessing it was good as new! Magic!

Very attentive and personalized service and the place looks like a museum of vintage cameras. I had a very specific request for a VISA photo for India and ZEB was very knowledgeable and professional. Zeb, Crystal, David and the rest of the staff are friendly and they knew their stuff. The shop is delightfully filled with vintage and modern cameras as well as high tech equipment in the back. My VISA was granted thanks to their expertise and help and I hope to take tons of photos on my pilgrimage! Thank you Blue Moon.

The customer service in this quirky amazing photo vintage store is incredible. We took in our vintage Polaroid and they assisted us right on the spot with a new battery, cleaned our contact, and helped us choose and install the film. Talk about passionate about what they do and super friendly and helpful! Thanks for going above and beyond for us!!! I’m very excited to get a typewriter for Christmas there!

Imaging. It’s a human urge from cave paintings to digital cameras.
Blue Moon specializes in the photographic film era of imaging from the 1850’s to the early 2000’s.
Who cares?
Well, the highest and most expensive digital camera sensors are inferior to the finest digital cameras and your up to date smart phone.
Consumer 35 mm film is more than 90 megapixels, and top lenses are capable of resolving that.
That’s why Blue Moon exists. You can take better and archival images with the old film cameras and old lenses to attach to digital they resell.
That being said, I’m converting to digital in stages and discussed selling some film cameras. They were fair and honest about what they would consign versus what their estimated value was on other markets. They were right and I gained that value.
They also have typewriters. That might fit into your aesthetic.
Blue Moon joins the Portland list of oddities, it’s a museum which most things are for sale!
Construct your image around the narrative, not the imaging technology! Blue Moon is one of less than a handful recycled lens and body dealers besides CL for older superior imaging gear in Portland. Visit them to check.

This place is great. My conversation over the phone with one of the staff was pleasant. I was greeted as soon as I entered, even before I saw who was greeting me. The younger guy who works there set me up with film developing and taught me how to set my film properly. He was super helpful and knowledgable. It’s a further drive than a few local film developing shops, but I think I’ll make this my go to place.

This place is awesome! They have film cameras and lenses at great prices. The owner knew the answers to all my random questions about old film and old cameras and old lenses.
Sometimes larger photography stores can be snobs. At blue moon they are passionate and friendly.

Great shop with amazing knowledgable staff. Skilled developers and print makers. Never had a bad experience at this shop. I recommend it for any film lovers out there.

Remember being a kid and going to get ice cream or candy? How excited you got? This is how I feel when I go to Blue Moon. I stop in at least twice a month to drop off and/​or pick up film. There is always something new and unique and the staff is the best of any store I visit. Being greeted by name and a smile each time you walk in the door shows that they value me as a customer. Always very helpful explaining how different cameras work and will help you find what you didnt even know you needed.

The gentleman who helped me was kind and very knowledgeable. He dusted out my old Canon free of charge and gave me his opinion on its integrity for my photography class. They developed my photos and gave me encouragement. There’s a great selection of cameras and equipment. I’ll be back to enlarge some of my prints!

First time visit today. Really nice salespeople generous with there time willing to give us lots of information. No rush, no push to sell product.
Also, great displays of older cameras and typewriters.
We will return again.

I got my Pentax ME super here. They have all kinds of rare films and cameras to try out and they do a great job with processing. This is a great place to pick up a hobby.

Blue Moon is a great business, and those of us who still use film should support our local camera shops!
On their photo finishing: Cost is in line with other companies — both mail order and local. Finishing prices have gone up everywhere. I haven’t processed color with them, so can’t speak to those results. Be aware that for B&W film they will give prints that they call a «warm» tone — it definitely gives a vintage look, the print is brown instead of truly black and white. This is because they do optical prints onto color paper with a color filter — they are not making a true silver B&W print. I understand that they are able to offer a scan and digital print at additional cost, that will give a truly black and white print.
They do a full-​frame print with a white border, which is pretty cool for the novelty. They also offer a border print with rough borders (actually a mask they use while printing), which would be nice if you were looking for a rough/​instagram/​hipster look to your photos. That’s not my style, but to each his own!
I have not purchased a camera from them, but they have a drool-​worthy selection on display. I assume they are all refurbished, so if you need a new old camera this is a great place to get it.
I was told that they don’t do their repairs in-​house, so I took my repair elsewhere. My camera has great sentimental value to me so I wanted to work directly with the repairman.
They were happy to explain to me the differences between some of the newer films on the market, that I am not familiar with. They carry Kodak, Fuji, and Ilford. I am currently using Kodak TX film for B&W photos, and Kodak Ektar for the rare color roll. Based on their recommendation, I have some Fuji Neopan (B&W) to use soon. They offer Impossible Project films for your integral film Polaroids. Of course, the cost is astronomical and the product is extremely low quality — like all Impossible Project films.

What a great little place! I will always take the time and spend the few extra bucks to develop and shop at Blue Moon. Also really appreciate having an excuse to wander around the St. Johns neighborhood while doing so.

Love this place! Awesome selection. Fun displays. Great staff, super friendly and yet knowledgable! They didn’t have a lens I was looking for and checked three different places for me while I was at the store! It was a hard find. Gave me a lead to a website and I finally found what I was looking for. I will be going back to purchase some film and anything else I may need. I have been to other camera and film stores in Portland, but this place I like the best :)

Looking for top of the line service & info about film cameras? This is the place. Honest info & advice for a range of photographers. Was great in helping us assess a variety of film cameras & lenses to determine the best fit for our needs. We are fans & will be back!

I love this place! I stumbled into possession of a a 1960s Pentax Honeywell that was in pretty bad shape. The only reason I knew it was a Pentax Honeywell is because it said it… on the camera. I am a child of the digital revolution and the only thing I knew about film cameras were nostalgic images of my mom loading and advancing.
Blue Moon sent the camera out to their shop to do a full overhaul and refurbish. It came back clean, fully functional, and ready to shoot. It did take over a month to get it back, so if you’re in a jam this may not be the ideal choice. Everyone who helped me was friendly and not only happy to answer questions, but eager to. It was quite easy for me to say, «I know nothing about film cameras, help» in a place that I assumed was so hipster (read: snobby). I was happy and surprised to get such a warm welcome and they certainly had plenty of knowledge about their craft.
Peter suggested a nicely priced prime lens for the camera to get me started playing with the new technology. He easily offered his opinion as to which one he would buy in my situation, which I trusted immediately considering how much he knew about the camera. Choosing film worked the same way as well. He then gave me a full rundown of how to find my shutter speed, aperture, and ASA on this mysterious new contraption. I feel like I learned more in the 20 minutes at Blue Moon than some photography classes I’ve taken. I’m very grateful for their help and suggestions, and will definitely be going back for any repairs as well as to develop my film.
Thanks Blue Moon!

This place is a treasure trove of vintage image making technology.
I went to Blue Moon specifically to talk about pinhole photography, and Zeb spent the better part of an hour sharing his extensive knowledge of the process with me, and bringing me up to date on innovations in the medium. (I did a lot if pinhole photography in the 1980s, but nothing since) I was able to purchase a beautiful new Zero Image hand-​made camera, and a few hours later, thanks to much technical advice from Zeb, I had a processed roll of beautifully exposed film ready for scanning/​printing. (I had made up my mind before I went that I was going to buy the Zero Image camera, so its not like they were pushing me to buy anything. On the contrary, they gave a clear impression that they love what they do there and are passionate about sharing their «old school» knowledge; they aren’t just there to sell wares/​services)
Noteworthy: Blue Moon offers film scanning/​digitizing services as well, so you can opt to blend the old with the new, and bring your negatives into a digital workflow environment, if ink jet printing is your chosen medium, for example.
I’m very impressed with the staff’s knowledge, and their genuine enthusiasm for what they do. Thanks, folks!
PS: I’ve seen several comments about how expensive film and processing is, and I have to wonder if reviewers realize that silver-​based imaging materials are now a niche commodity, and are produced in tiny quantities now compared to 20 years ago, making them far more expensive. Contrary to some reviews, I was quite amazed to find you can still buy a roll of B&W film for under ten bucks! Be glad you can still buy it at all, I say. :-)

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with this venue, which is why I am giving it four instead of five stars.
Let’s start with the good; they have excellent well trained staff, who are informative and helpful. This is supplemented by a healthy selection of film cameras, accessories, and film types. The location is also away from much of the main Portland thoroughfares, which helps to keep it from being crowded and really only full of the type of customer who really knows what they are looking for. Wandering shoppers are not inherently bad, but they can be a bit of wasted space when you are in a very small specialty retail shop, with limited employees.
So what is not so good? As others have mentioned the prices can be quite steep. Then again they can be quite reasonable. I purchased a recently CLA’d Leicaflex SL in perfect condition for $ 100, and it has served me quite well. Then again picking up a roll of film, or battery, can cost as much as a three pack would when shopping online. I am also a bit miffed that they are not able to service as wide a range of vintage cameras as one would hope a shop that specializes in only vintage cameras would, but they were kind enough to refer me to vendors that could CLA the cameras they could not.
So what do you get out of all of this? A good, politely staffed, well stocked, specialty film camera shop. The prices do reflect the overhead it takes to run such a specialized boutique business, and you do not want it to become your weekly go to place for supplies. However if you are in a pinch, or looking for a hard to find item, this is the place for you.

On the Tour de Portland we took over the weekend, this place was something I really wanted to see. Upon arrival, I was very underwhelmed. Their selection of old cameras is quite extensive, but the prices are just out of the realm of reality.
I’m aware that wannabe hipsters everywhere want vintage analog equipment and I’m also aware of the law of supply and demand. This place just seems to be raking those would be hipsters over the coals.
Quite a few items were jammed into small cases, so looking through everything is daunting. We were greeted initially, but customer service was nonexistent after that.
So much cool stuff, but nothing in my budget. Go check it out, but look around — you can do better.

My husband surprised me with an old vintage typewriter from this store. It was shipped in a big box and padded with paper and those air pocket shock absorbers.
After typing for a month I started to develop a «quirk» on the machine that I didn’t like at all. Since I had a limited warranty I called this store and the woman who answered the phone was amazing.
Not only did she take the time to listen to what was going on, she contacted one of the type-​writer-​mechanic guys to advise on the situation.
I got some good advice and was offered a «tune up» since I am still with in warranty.
The problem has been resolved and I think the machine types better than it did when I first used it.
Can’t wait to take a stroll into their shop when I visit Portland.