Glazer’s Camera

I’ve been a fan of local good guy specialty store Glazer’s for years. Whether you want to take photography classes, get expertise on camera equipment, do the buy-​back thing or look at a fancy camera in person… Glazer’s is here for students, amateurs and professionals.
Did you know you can rent from them as well? Yup, I’ve done that too. Equipment that would normally cost thousands of dollars is right at my fingertips for mere pennies *rubs claws together* hashtag student life.
FYI — their new store is open and it is beautiful to behold. For those of you who can’t get enough of Glazer’s, no more cramped little warehouse for you. There’s a big, beautiful facility now open across from their old place in SLU with the same friendly service, but now with two stories, high ceilings, great natural light, and a new Leica kiosk (coming soon). Gentrification, here we come!
It’s pretty self explanatory… For all your soul stealing needs, give this place a try!

We walked into Glazer’s this afternoon intending to spend over $ 2,000 on a camera, lenses, and flash. We knew what we wanted and were prepared to buy everything right then, but we had a few questions. The sales person we spoke to was so condescending that we walked out and brought our business elsewhere. We were shocked that we were treated so poorly when it was pretty much a guaranteed sale. We’ll continue supporting the local camera shops, just not this one.

This place is awesome! The staff was super helpful and didn’t pressure me at all. Even suggested that for my uses I didn’t need the most expensive items they had. The sales person we were dealing with seemed more like a teacher when he was telling me the pros and cons of various equipment and even offered some tips on using things I already own. I could had saved a little money by buying online but this is the kind of business to support. Can’t wait until they open their new bigger store!

I felt compelled to write a review for this local camera shop because I’ve had such a pleasant purchasing experience just now (bought a Sony a6000 + some accessories).
The vibe of this place is less like a place for selling products, but much more like a place for hobbyists to find the items that they need to pursue their interests.
I really appreciated the fact that the employees here were not in the business of trying to sell products, but instead tried to find the best cameras that would fit customer’s (my) needs.
In my case, I am going on a trip with some of my friends to Alaska to see the Northern lights. Not having much knowledge about cameras before I walked in, I was unsure about what I needed. Cody addressed my questions with precision and gave me just enough insights (without overwhelming me with a deluge of extraneous information) to help me pick out a camera that would fit my use case.
In spite of my lack of knowledge in photography, I’ve visited a dozen or so camera shops before in an attempt to find a camera to buy. In the vast majority of those cases, the employees tried very hard to sell their newest, shiniest toy at the customer’s expense. This was certainly not the case for Glazer’s Camera.
I’ve come away impressed by not only the depth of Cody’s knowledge, but also the professionalism that he displayed by honestly letting me know what I needed (and what I didn’t need) without the typical tiresome salesman mentality.
Whenever I need to upgrade my camera or buy anything camera related, Glazer’s would without a doubt be my first choice. The laid back sales approach has earned my trust and I will definitely be coming back.

Amazing little camera shop in downtown Seattle a few minutes from the Space Needle. Really knowledgeable staff, incredible selection and just a hint of high-​end camera snobbery. :)
They’re moving across the street sometime this year, but in the mean time their cool red wall is an incredible background for portraits.

Simply put, Glazer’s is the best camera store in Washington state. The employees don’t work on commission and are really there to help you. It’s a low pressure environment filled with an amazing selection of camera and video equipment. The employees will truly go above and beyond to make sure you get what you really want. I honestly don’t think that there is a store I like going to more. They are moving to a larger location across the street which I’m sure will be even better. Yes, the prices aren’t cheap, but the reality is that nothing in the camera world is both cheap and quality, and Glazer’s sells quality. Even if you don’t plan on buying anything, it’s worth just dropping in to get information from the incredibly knowledgeable staff. I can’t recommend this place enough.

I was in Seattle for a few days and wanted to get a nice landscape lens for my Canon Rebel T5i. I found Glazer’s online and was happy to find them still open. The staff was incredibly helpful and got me into a lens that was cheaper than what I thought I wanted and has been outstanding! They even threw in some lens cleaners for free! Highly recommended!!!

We’ve been going to Glazer’s since we moved here in 2010, and they have always taken care of us. Mike, Chad and Devon are always so friendly (as are all of the the staff), knowledgeable and truly go out of their way to help. I recently had an issue with a camera I purchased and their customer service was first class. Thanks guys for being here for us in Seattle. We won’t go anywhere else!

They had a 10% discount for camera bags and when I was about to purchase it, they said the sale was done the day before and quickly removed the sign.

Since July of 2012 I have spent over $ 10 000 at Glazers lighting and camera. Yikes!
I continue buying from them because they are informative, laid back in their sales approach and easy to do business with. Many of my purchases are used gear and the times I have made a return it was easy. When I have technical questions there are always folks who can answer them and proceed to teach me much more than I knew existed. I work at Amazon and realize that I can save a few bucks by ordering online. I choose to buy from Glazers because they are helpful and loyal. Everytime.
One request: I think the book section could be expanded. Maybe I am unique, but I LOVE photography books. Not just «how to’s» but also books showcasing photographer’s of work: Helmut Newton, Stephen Shore, etc. Hopefully you have more space in your new store!

Very helpful and friendly staff. Good stock of film, papers and chemistry. They even have super-​8mm and 110 film in fridge. Great store to have here in Seattle. So glad they’re here.

I like this place. Everyone is very helpful. and they all listen to my big story of how I have two camera’s that are useless and don’t want to buy another camera.
That said: I bought another camera. Thanks Chad

Great staff and good resource. But it’s hard for me to shop with them. I know I’ll flack for it and I do believe in supporting local businesses and local government, but sales tax just kills me. Especially when it’s on thousands of dollars in equipment. It’s not their problem and everyone pays for it but I can shop online at trusted retailers and not pay taxes.
If there was a way to incentivize more locals to shop with them, perhaps a reward system, I think I would do a lot more shopping with them. They have most of the hard to find stuff and mostly everyone trusted sells at MSRP. Their prices are basically the same as everyone else, even the ones in New York that I shop with.
If I could get a 9−10% return per every $x.xx that I spent at Glazer’s (reward system, gift card, whatever) I think I would do the rest of my shopping with them. If it’s not financially feasible to offer 10 cents on the dollar, maybe have some sort of tiered system, where they can cash out sooner for a lower return or save up for a higher return and cap it at 10%. Obviously I’m very passionate about this idea because more and more brick and mortar stores are going out of business — I’m not implying that Glazer’s is struggling, I’m sure they are doing just great because they’re always packed with people. But when I’m changing systems every 2 – 3 years and I’m spending 2 – 5 grand on new gear, saving a few hundred bucks is enough to sway me away and go elsewhere.
These are just my honest thoughts, I think very highly of Glazer’s and I love going to their store. I hope that I can give them more business than the occasional micro fiber clothes and Arca Swiss plates.

I own a video production company in Seattle that specializes in producing live action business videos and I have to say that I’m very lucky to have a place like Glazer’s Camera that sells and rents high-​quality video production equipment in my backyard. Their prices are usually very comparable to the big online equipment stores if not the exact same, and the fact that I can actually go into Glazer’s, play with the items and get my questions answered is exactly why they’re always my first, and usually last, stop for sourcing equipment. In fact, the only reason I wouldn’t buy something I needed from them would be because it was an item or product line that they simply don’t sell.

I attended the Basic Photography Class they offer. I’m not sure what is worse, the fact that I spent $ 50 on the class or the fact that I wasted an hour of my life.
The class did not present the user with anything worth while or something that could not be gleamed from watching a Youtube video for free. One of the slides covered different types of batteries offered for digital cameras or the different types of memory cards. Why pay for such things when I can read the owners manual for free?
Perhaps my expectations were too high. I can’t speak for the retail side of this company but the aforementioned class is waste of time and money.

This is how you operate a camera store. While the old school complain and go out of business while blaming their plight on the Internet, there are those the are connected, plugged-​in and do business right. Glazers.
Great service, lots of knowledgeable staff, workshops, demos, Photofest, selection, etc etc etc. These guys get it.
(Waiting for someone to breathe some life back in to Robis so I don’t have to drive from Tacoma)

I love Glazer’s! Friendly, knowledgeable staff and an awesome selection. By far the best photo store in Seattle I have ever been to.
Extra stars because they actually have parking AND they refrigerate their film! Yay!

It’s nice to be able to actually see a camera before you buy it, but sadly the salesmen are more interested in up-​selling than being well informed on details about their cameras. I wound up going online afterwards to answer my questions. If you name a price, they will start by showing you a camera $ 100 more. Their 14-​day, 15% restocking fee return policy isn’t very good compared with online retailers like

They don’t really back their cameras with onsite repairs, so you wind up waiting for them to send it back to the manufacturer.
Camera rentals are overpriced, considering you are usually paying $ 40-​$ 50/​day to rent a $ 700 camera (which you could just buy after a couple of weeks).

My wife gave me a full video setup for my birthday — just had to pick it out — and pay for it. No problem.
Went to Glazer’s and was given killer advice for my needs. Nice guy, knowledgeable, helpful AND when I wanted to scrimp on a tripod and head, he respectfully told me why his choice was better. I took his advice and I’ve been grateful for that advice over and over again.
Been back many times, love it and I’ve been treated very well.

I come here for film or paper, which they have LOTS of and they’ve never been out of stock of what I’ve wanted. It’s an expensive hobby (or profession) so you have to expect some sort of pricey prices. But still, I would say they are fair compared to the rest of the world.
The people that work here are hip and cool. Some of them quite dreamy that creates cartoon hearts in my eyes that sometimes float away and pop above my head. A lot of the people that come in here are the artsy fartsy people, of course, but that’s where we (yes I am including myself in this bracket) feel confident and cool, right? I mean you wouldn’t want to go to some place with a bunch of old retired folks wanting to play bingo. Ugh. No pleasure could possibly be derived from photo equipment and bingo night.
Photo is a dying artform. Yes, with the influx of digital photography in your device that was designed to make calls, everyone is a freakin photographer these days. Except when it comes to film. This place can rightly still consider itself a photo store because of the huge selection they have available.
They have digital stuff too but. really, the film is where it’s at.

I simply love the crew here. I’ve been living in Seattle since 2007 and Glazer’s quickly became my resource for photography gear, film, and local photo events like their annual Photo Fest. The staff is knowledgeable, friendly and always willing to help me out.
I love being able to walk into the store, put my hands on gear that I’m contemplating purchasing and then having a conversation with individuals who know how that gear works, what it offers and can also provide other options.
Glazer’s also has a wonderful used section, gear rentals and workshops. These kinds of resources aren’t available in every city, so I’m hopeful that the Seattle community continues to support Glazer’s.