Precision Camera & Video

Prices are high. Olympus DSLR lenses and accessories are typically marked up 10% or more over Olympus web site retail prices. Sales people do not serve people in any order . You can spend an afternoon waiting for their attention. Some of them are quite rude too. After giving them four visits I decided shopping at this place is not worth the effort.

Do not pay attention to the high marks many have given Precision. Perhaps they were fortunate and their experience was better than mine or perhaps they are made by the store. At any rate, I did look at the reviews when searching for a local camera retailer and feel that they are misleading. After spending nearly $6,000 on a new HD camera and all the extras, I get home to find out all my products had been opened and some were even missing items. I paid $200 for the camera bag and all I got was the shell. No documentation, no strap, nothing. Not to mention that this was a corporate purchase. I called from my business which is almost an hour away to ask what they needed from me to purchase it. I faxed them all the paperwork as it was being purchased with a co-workers company credit card. When I arrived, almost an hour later, the owner told me as I was trying to check out that he needed the corporate card. I then travel almost 2 hours back and forth to make the purchase. Even after all thi... Read more

I discovered Precision Camera a couple of years ago and have since spent more than $15,000.00 in their store. I find them to be the best and most knowledgeable group of people I have found in any camera store anywhere. This is not a consumer grade low end store with people who sell cameras. This is a quality store with people who are experts in the “art” of photography. Some of their sales staff have degrees in RTF and they are most willing to help. They just won a national award as the PTN (Photo Trade News) Dealer of the Year and that is a major accomplishment. That didn’t just happen. It is because they have assembled a staff that is among the best and brightest in Austin. I would not shop anywhere else! You might get better deals on the Internet but you won’t get the service, help or responsiveness and it isn’t always about price (but most of the time they are very competitive when you compare apples to apples)! I trust them to sell me what I need and not lead me astray.

I have been in PCV several times to buy miscellaneous things or have film developed, as well as over $1,300 of DSLR. When I bought my first DSLR a few years ago, they REFUSED to take my personal check after calling some mysterious number on their phone. It hacked me off considering I have always had perfect credit. I should have walked out then and ordered from Adorama or B&H, but no, I decided I wanted it then and had to give them my credit card instead. On top of that, their salesman (who still works there) sold me the WRONG backup battery for my camera, and pushed an extended warranty on me. (I was a novice at the time and was expecting the 'knowledgeable' pro-supply guy to set me up with the right items for my new camera...) I am still always asked for my driver's license whenever I use a credit card - even for something miniscule like a UV filter. Ridiculous. I recently bought $24 worth of lithium batteries for a photo shoot, popped them in my TTL flash, and found out they were ... Read more

Great store. Sales people are super. BUT their photo processors scratch my negative. It is the machines, they leave scratch line on the negatives. It was not my camera. 35mm film shot with a number of different cameras has the same scratch. I really like the store but I am going nuts fixing the scratches. PLEASE do some tests on the machines that roll the 35 mm negatives. Thank you! Otherwise very happy!

Do not bring your camera here for repair. Send it to an authorized repair center even if you have to mail it off. You will get more info about what is going on with your camera/equipment. I took my Nikon D70 to Precision for a check over before an important shoot. They charged me 50 bucks to tell me my camera was fine. Unfortunately very shortly after the 50 dollar check over my camera manifested a memory problem during a time when I was shooting professionally. It was a problem that had happened intermittently before and I know was going on for a while so they should have caught it. Also when I called them about the problem the person in repair said that they had never heard of the type of problem I was having. The authorized repair place knew right off what the problem might be. Later I sent my cameras to an authorized repair center and they saw the problem immediately and fixed it along with a few other maintenance things that were never mentioned at Precision. When I went back ... Read more

I have been a Precision Camera customer for several years. From sales to supplies, I have had nothing but excellent customer service from the company. Our rep, Jon Leatherwood, is never pushy, but always helpful and bends over backward to provide all of the data and comparisons I need to make an informed decision. Knowing I am not much of a photographer, Jon is very patient and always goes that extra mile to explain things to me. I find their prices to be very competitive...........and Elsa could not be nicer or more helpful when ordering supplies--her suggestions have saved my company a lot of money. Logistically, shopping in the Dallas/Fort Worth area would be much more convenient, but changing suppliers is not even a consideration. I hope those who have had negative experiences will go back and try them again.

UPDATE: I no longer buy from here. There are a few people working here who are kind and knowledgeable but management is rude. They know they are the only game in town and they CAPITALIZE on it. I only visit to check out bags or gear prior to buying online. I know other local shooters do the same. Sad, because I want to buy local. I buy online or when in Houston at Camera exchange. I updated this review after my last encounter there. The little day manager-boy was such a smug little (little guy) man that I realized I wasn't appreciated after the thousands I had spent there. "F" them. Sad that they lost me over a $60 sale/return. I saw a few negative reviews and I wanted to weigh in. Precision is a great place to buy all things photography. Don't go on Saturday afternoon...the customer spike makes it impossible for the staff to fully satisfy you. I will only go early Saturday or late Sunday if I have to go on the weekend. I have lived in Austin off and on since 1989 and I b... Read more

After reading several negative reviews online, we debated even going into Precision. However, we're glad we did. The salesperson who helped us was extremely knowledgable, and he went out of his way to answer all of our questions (we had a lot). We spent well over an hour in the store on our initial vist (we even had our seven-month-old baby with us), and every salesperson we came in contact with was very nice. We ended up going to the store twice that day, and we're headed back this week. The store is well-stocked, and the people were great.

Elsa Gomez, assisted us in the purchase of a digital Olympus SLR camera, and she handled our shopping experience perfectly. I appreciated her service on two levels. Firstly, speaking as a customer, she listened to our needs, and found the product best suited to them. I was impressed with her knowledge of the product. Also, my fiancee, who will be the primary user, was initially very intimidated by the camera and Elsa did a great job of simplifying it so that she understood its features and benefits. Furthermore, we both felt OK, spending several hundred dollars more than we had initially intended, because we saw the value and felt we were being treated well and fairly. On a different level, as a salesperson, I must extend great compliments to Elsa, for qualifying the customer, picking the right product, and giving a great presentation. I was unable to find a good objection that Elsa could not overcome. We bought the camera from her on the spot, on what I can assure you was purely... Read more

While Precision Camera may not have the cut-rate, bargain-basement prices of an online retailer like B&H or Adorama, or their vast warehouse inventory, they make up for it with their fantastic employees, wide selection of photographic services, and "if we don't have it, we'll find it for you" mentality. Whenever I need something right away, they're the first place I turn to. If I have any strange, obscure questions that would take days to find a reliable answer to online, I'm guaranteed to find at least one salesperson at Precision who can rattle on about the subject for hours. Nothing gets past these guys. Whether it's a quick diagnosis of a camera problem, a question about IR photography, or the subtleties between Velvia 100 and Velvia 100F, I've never stopped by Precision and NOT found an answer. The other most telling part of their customer service is that it doesn't end once they get their commission from the sale. Quite the contrary in fact, if anything the service and level of ... Read more

Recently I was looking into purchasing some video equipment for the City of Cedar Park and had to get several quotes from local businesses. I found your company online and decided to email you guys for a quote. Jim Walters received my information and within the hour had called me to discuss what I was looking for. He was a professional from the beginning and throughout the 3 weeks it took to finalize the deal. Every time I had a question or concern Jim was there. I can't say the same for ALL of the other companies I dealt with during this process. It was his customer service that won our business. Other businesses were not as quick, while Jim would have the revised quotes to me within the hour (usually a matter of a few minutes). When we finalized the deal he let me know that he was going to be out that day but I could deal with Chris Paine. Chris too was great to deal with. Very helpful and knowledgeable. It was really refreshing to be on the receiving end of such professionalism ever... Read more

I went to Precision Camera to buy a low end camcorder. I was worried that I would be wasting their time, but if I was, you would never know it. Actually, I was made to feel as though I were the most valuable customer they had! Since having bought my camcorder, I have recommended them to everyone who has stood still long enough to listen. I look forward to buying our next digital camera there, as well!

I went in to this store to just look around. I was approached right away and was shown some cameras. The salesman listened to me, and suggested a few options. Well 30 minutes later, I was walking out with a brand new camera. What a great experience. I highly recommend this store. Jake

Great website cannot make up for terrible customer service. I just left there and purchased more than $2000 worth of equipment elsewhere. A black gentleman and I were waiting for over 10 minutes at the counter. John (?) (from Louisiana) or something like that ,ignored us and went to the next White customer. Unfortunately that customer had just shown up, while we had been waiting. I just turned around and left. I was caught by a woman who worked there and asked for help. Another mistake since she was not at all knowledgeable and very curt. Never again!

After reading reviews by some others, I was sort of afraid to go into Precision Camera. But I know that they had the best selection of cameras and lenses. So I went in anyways. What I encountered was not the same service that the other two got. I do not send in reviews to stores, but after reading the negative ones here, I had to tell my story. I am starting a new photo business and I wanted some advise on cameras. I meet Gregg one of the managers there. He spent the time to listen to what I wanted and showed me some options. He showed me where I could save some money on a system in the short term, but if I had the resources, what I should really get. He never pressured me to buy, and spent about 45 minutes with me. I started to leave without buying anything, then he stopped me. He mentioned to me about a Girls's Night out event their store was having later that week. And invited me to it. So I took him up on the invite. The girl's night was great. Precision had a wine rep... Read more

I've become a big fan of Precision Camera. Their army of service people are attentive and genuinely work to help me-- even though I'm not a big time professional. They're prices have always been good and they have always pointed me in the right direction. Service seems to be a lost art. It's good to see a few places still care enough to treat me like an individual and a valued customer.

I am a professional photographer and have probably spent a good $5,000 at Precision Camera. I've purchased a digital camera, lens, scanner, literally thousands of frames of film in bulk, 8 years worth of photochemistry, had my medium format color negatives developed, my camera repaired, and bought countless accessories such as negative sleeves, bulk film cannisters, etc.. Regardless of this fact, I am *always* treated like garbage whenever I set foot in the place. I assume this is because I'm in my 20's and look more like an artist than a Republican. I am always asked to show my driver's license when making a $10 purchase on my credit card, while I see a middle-aged man buying a $2,000 camera next to me, with no trouble. The younger folks who work there are always fine, but the older men, EVERY ONE of them, treats me like it's really putting them out to have to answer my questions or ring up my sale. I was in there this week and the man who was helping me was literally stomping ... Read more

After being disappointed in point 'n shoot camera quality, I finally picked up a Canon digital SLR camera. I got it at a major chain and at the time wasn't aware of dedicated camera stores. This camera took great pictures, but was capable of much more. After a long time of reading online sites to improve my technical abilities, I decided I wanted a new lens. There are not many choices in Austin, and I was a bit apprehensive about going to Precision Camera due to the reviews. I'm very happy that I went. I walked in, and after finding the correct section (it felt pretty large to a first timer) I walked up to the counter. The salesman asked what I was looking for and I told him the lens model I was interested in. He asked what camera I had and then went to get the lens, the camera and proceeded to set it up for me to try. I left felling good that I was able to confirm what I wanted and purchase it.

Just went in and bought a new camera. The sales staff was helpful and not pushy. I ended up with a great deal. As I bought my new Nikon, the manager came by and told me that they were going on special in a couple of weeks, he gave me the sale deal today. I did not have to wait or come back, great service. Also got a free digital class and some free prints. If you are looking for a new camera, just go to this store. They have everything for you to look and touch, and tell can answer your questions. BM

customer service is the poorest I ever encountered from a store. Their return policy is rediculous with huge restocking fees. I rather shop online for my equipment then. Their sales people try to up sell accessories that you never asked for and don't need. Horrible service.

This store's customer service has been repeatedly condescending, unfriendly, and flat out rude to me. I've heard from friends to avoid this store because of this reason (and their marked up prices), but I thought I'd give em a try since they have a decent selection of equipment. Not one, but TWO of their employees gave me a know-it-all, ugly attitude after barely letting me return a defective memory card I bought from them 2 days earlier. This is NO way to treat a customer who just spent hundreds of dollars at their store. I'm all about supporting local businesses, but honestly I'd rather buy my photo equipment at a big chain store if I'm gonna get a holier-than-thou attitude everytime I go in this store. Shame on you, Precision Camera.

I went to Precision Camera looking at the different options for a new digital camera, and wanted to go somewhere that the sales person may a...

This is a wonderful camera store. With all the big box electronics stores, it is refreshing to find a place where they actually know what th...