181 reviews
I purchased a CANNON Camera from Camera House and one of the fiscal hooks used to lure me into the sale was a "$100 CASH BACK" which I found out was very misleading. When I went to buy something from Camera House using the "$100 CASH BACK", I was told it was only available "online" and I would need to use the "online" store to redeem it. So, I… Read more
went "online" and found the "$100 CASH BACK" has expired 24 hours earlier.
Apparently, according the CS person from Camera House, I was told this but, I don't remember this and I know I wasn't told. I have a good memory of conversations (my job) and I have searched and scanned through my paperwork from the sale and there is absolutely no mention of the "$100 CASH BACK" being redeemable only online and there is is no expiry date either.
As many people have said earlier, they are very happy and eager to take your money immediately but, they don't like handing it back.
I was left unimpressed with the obvious distortion of the facts, the lack of empathy and the general over whelming feeling that I had been conned. The language Camera House CS staff use is "tricky" and "misleading" and is used to manipulate you into a false sense of security; in that you believe you are dealing with a reputable and accountable business, which of course you are not.
Camera House then sent me a survey asking about my experience with Camera House and when I gave my honest opinion of the interaction with Camera House, they sent me an email stating I was incorrect and they did not agree with my opinion. Then, why ask for my opinion?
As stated previously, they are "tricky" and "misleading" in the way they dealt with us and they use wording deliberately intended on manipulating you down a purchasing path that leads to an outcome not intended. Our whole experience with Camera House has been one of disappointment and distrust. I can only say that I am surprised Camera House is still in business with the sales staff and the selling blurb as they currently have being so manipulating and misleading.
No amount of Camera House generated 5 Star reviews is going to change this culture of deceit and disappointment coupled with an unempathetic view of their customers.
As for the CANNON CAMERA, it is a nice camera and appears to be doing the job intended but we will never ever go back to Camera House.
Ordered a lens online that was listed as in stock for immediate delivery. Waited a week and nothing. I contacted them and they eventually admitted that they had no stock. So they take your money and then order the equipment from the supplier. I asked for a refund which they say would take 3 to 5 days. Happy to take your money immediately for things they don't have and then slow to refund.
Stated as shipped on the 29 December but no information on tracking what so ever. I’m not expecting quick delivery but if you state it is sent, give the tracking details like every other business! Have emailed but no response! I’d rather be giving three + star reviews and not one! Show details
Reviews with attachments
Expert Advice in Person – Earlier in the year I bought a new SONY mirrorless Alpha 7C camera on eBay. Its a wonderful camera and I like it very much. I was after a wide angle lens to go with it as I take a lot of scenery and nature photographs. The local Camera House Hobart store salesperson was extremely helpful and recommended a SAMYANG (Korean) lens, which I bought. The… Read more
lens is just what I wanted and have taken some stunning photos in the few days I've been using it. The attached photos were taken at dusk at the Hobart wharf area.
Printing Service With Intelligence – 2023 Canvass Enlargements The Camera House in Midland WA was once a crammed shop within the Midland Gate Shopping Centre, this is where I bought my first digital Pentax D20 camera. I had returned to the shop a few times over the years for the odd printing job when I required reliable quality prints, though on most occasions I used the convenience… Read more
of Kmart. They have since shifted to a larger premises of their own further along the Gt Eastern HWY which is not as convenient because it becomes a purposeful drive to get to it, thankfully the parking is right at the front door. This year I spent quite some money, on firstly enlarging some prints I made from my S10E phone of a beach pan landscape, five in all up to the size of 450mm x 300mm after cropping. I wished after that I had taken my good Pentax, but the S10E does produce some wonderful pics. Believe it or not it came to me later after waking up to seeing them hanging on my bedroom wall that canvasses would look much better than the wooden framed combination! So some four months later I drove back the 160km with my original prints on my phone and spoke to a young female technician with each my plan but also my concern with how my pics were going to work out with the limited canvass sizes available, the technician remembered the prints and after perusing them she assured me that they would work out. The technician invited me to watch her match the pics and asked each time what I thought before moving on to the next. When the technician advised me that I had to wait another two days for their part time picture framer to come in this put me off a little, however I admitted to my impulsiveness and stayed in Perth for that length of time. Now this was well worth the wait because I turned up at the precise moment that same original technician (The part timer called in sick) was just finishing making the frames and had the other four canvasses laid out on the bench for all to see, they were just amazing. Overall the technician did an amazing job of which I shouldnt have been surprized at all as her service was truly professional from the start, along with this I found her counter manners also very pleasant which is not always the case with smart technicians. Stewart.
It's a scam. They are dishonorable and don't care credibility – Placed an online order last month. Click & Collect from Campbelltown Macarthur Square store. Price is $120 higher than another camera store but the website marked with $300 VISA card redemption. I have no idea who would issue the VISA card. I kept asked the female shop keeper (I thought she is the franchise store owner) how to do the redemption… Read more
many times when I was collecting the item from the shop. She can't help but answer (she tried hard to avoid to answer) just told me following instructions showing in the box doing online on Olympus website. I checked the Olympus website it show a list of products eligible to claim the VISA redemption that the camera I just bought was not included. I realise camerahouse.com.au made a mistake I am not able to claim anything through Olympus Australia. I tried to call the female shop keeper many times she’s busy and never called back. I sent email and messages via customer service assistance on website then got a reply after 4 days. It told me same that I just go to Olympus website to make claim it’s senseless. One day, I could talk to the female shopkeeper finally. She gave me a phone number said I have to call their head office. I wondered and asked why she cannot follow up. She said she can't. I went home and make calls accordingly many many times but nobody answered. Then next day I call the shopkeeper again. I told I can step back to give up the rebate because it took me too much time. I just want to get the cash back of price selling different between camerahouse and another merchant ($119). A keeper called me back after 30 minutes that they only offer I can get $100 but in form of voucher not cash. I can't help but accepted that I was really tired and sick of these negotiation. I should have checked the review before I placed this order on this shop!!!! Suggest you don't stick to shop!!!
Positive reviews
I don't know about online, but the Rockhampton store is always 11/10, friendly, and knowledgeable. Some of the guys there used to be proper professional photographers/videographers. They are always willing to compromise on price or cut a deal to make the sale, its only a small store but they have most of the things you'd need Show details
The camera shop in pacific fair, broadbeach...If your wanting ,expertise, quality and exceptional customer service this is the place to go...the guys there are so helpful...Gerard helped me photo shop some poor quality family photos today and I was amazed how he went out of his way to get them just right for me...priceless....this is the best… Read more
camera store on the gold coast in my opinion..and I have shopped there many times now, and they never fail to amaze me....thank you Gerard and Tommy for all your friendly help ...5 stars
Friendly and very helpful staff. I always go to this store to print photos off my phone. Never have had a problem. Done quickly and always come out perfect quality. Show details
Negative reviews
Very disappointing experiences. Get your print enlargements elsewhere, – I attended the Croydon store and requested 4 large prints. I took the frames in they would be going into. These were measured by the store worker at the computer, she appeared to be rushing so she could go on a break or finish for the day and she passed her measurements to the girl operating the printing machine. That girl came to me when done… Read more
with a long roll of the 4 prints altogether and said was it okay to leave them on the roll and have the picture framer cut them. She told me they often get asked by picture framers to leave them uncut for the framer to cut. I had not heard of this before and trusted what she was telling me, so I accepted her word and took them to the framer like that. He told me in his 40yrs of professional picture framing he had never asked for the pictures to be left uncut for him to do, nor had he ever heard of this. He suggested the girl was simply being lazy. But he said he said he would do her job and cut them into the 4 prints, to save me having to go back to the Camera House store. A week or so later he rang to tell me the pictures did not fit the frames, they were TOO SMALL and he said fell through the frame! He told me he would have to try to glue them down and hoped that worked, which it didn't. He said the only other alternative was to use a mat, which in the natural hardwood frames that I already had I did not want. It was either travel a 3hr round trip from where I lived to get the pictures printed again at an additional cost of approx' $80 to me or accept the mat around my pictures. I reluctantly accepted the mat but was deeply disappointed and unimpressed by Camera House for putting me in this position, all because of the 1st girl not measuring the print size correctly and the 2nd for not cutting the 4 individual prints up and adding stress and work to my picture framer. The 4 prints were of my beloved pussycat who had recently deceased and I was incredibly sad and upset the framed prints would not be as beautiful now they had to have the mat around the print. To make matters worse, while I was waiting for the enlarged prints to be done. I wanted several other smaller prints done and was told I had to use their automatic kiosk machine for those. I sat down and found this machine really awful and hard to use, the screen was very dull, so dull it was extremely hard to discern true colours of the prints and guage how they would come out and whether the colours needed adjusting. I also wanted to do some at 8x10" but the kiosk had every size but 8x10". I was told they could do them at that size though, BUT I WOULD BE CHARGED FOR THE 8x12" size. There was a significant jump in price for the 8x12. Why would anyone want to pay for an extra few inches on a half dozen prints that they weren't actually getting??? So I had to choose to downsize those prints to 8x8" instead. So to sum up, I had spent a lot of money previously and on this occasion at this store for print enlargements and found the staff to be rushed, not fully focussed on their job, prone to mistakes and in this case downright lazy, causing my picture framing jobs to be very compromised from what I had wanted. Their small print kiosk is horrendous and not set up with all necessary sizes and prices. I have found somewhere else now to get my printing done and will never return to Camera House Croydon. KMart or Officeworks are far more preferable for small print jobs and other boutique family run print stores for larger enlargements.
Camerahouse/Polygongroup - beware! – Further to my review of camera house, where I purchased an expensive compact camera through (studio 19) Polygon group, within the last two months of payments I have now received documentation extending the payment period, totally out of line with the original documentation. I have the documents in writing, but polygon will not discuss and even… Read more
look at it properly. Have been to the ACCC who have now referred me to CBOS to have it investigated. Seems that camera house, studio 19/polygongroup have a very shonky arrangement, with the Operations manager from polygon simply passing the problem on to the next person (you know what they're like when they do things like this. Pretty p*ssed off after making all those payments.
Sold me dodgy camera – I bought a camera here a few years ago and meant to leave a poor review of the camera (Panasonic Lumix TZ90) but it's no longer in stock so leaving a poor review of the experts that sold it to me instead. All I wanted was a camera that did two things: take nice photos while zoomed and take nice photos at night. But guess what, this camera… Read more
didn't allow for extended shutter times. It's not like it's physically impossible for the shutter to stay open longer. It's that the makers deliberately didn't allow the shutter to stay open longer.
So I'm standing there on a remote island like an idiot with my camera mounted on a tripod (I also bought at camera house) trying to take photos of the milky way at the maximum shutter time and all I can see is black.
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Recent reviews
Never Again – Do not be fooled by Camera House's website. By their own admission, their website is faulty and not accurate. Twice I visited one of their stores to purchase and it was not available. Clerks in both stores say they repeatedly complain to head office, but nothing changes. I'm not going to waste any further time with C.H. There are way too many better and cheaper places to buy. Show details
I'll never come back – I recently visited the physical store at Warringah Mall for the second time, hoping to have a better experience than my first visit where the salesperson didn't acknowledge me. This time, I approached a tall, dark salesman who seemed to be in his 40s. I intended to gather information about a camera and two lenses that I was interested in… Read more
purchasing. Unfortunately, the salesman treated me rudely and refused to match prices from reputable stores such as Ted's and Georges. He even mocked the prices and suggested that I should go to those stores and buy 17 lenses at that price. I was extremely disappointed and decided to go to JB Hifi where I received top-notch service and they matched all the prices I showed them. I will not be returning to that particular store and want them to know that they have lost a valuable customer. I wouldn't buy anything in this store, even if it's given for free.
camera house on ebay – i went to buy a camera from camera house on ebay listed it for $1495 when i went to pay for it it said $1899 almost got me dodgy company for sure contacted them just said they remove item when they run out of them verry strange as its still in my cart but the price has changed it was $1492 when it was put there Show details
Great Service from Penrith Store – I was looking for a particular lens that I had no luck finding and had no response from other camera stores either online or physical. I went in to Camera House in Penrith Westfield and was told it wasn’t in stock but they could order it for me. I declined and decided to keep searching. 5 days later I was back in Penrith and decided to go ahead… Read more
and order it. However to my delight Jackson said not only do they have one (just one left) in stock but it was now also on sale! Winner ! Jackson’s determination to locate said lens was standout and his customer service 10/10. Not sure if the other person I asked the previous visit would have found it had he looked, but I was happy to have bought it on sale. Will be happy to buy from this store again
Specialist Camera Shop that cannot take quite simple passport/visa photos of acceptable standard – My partner visited the Castle Towers Camera House on 15 March 23 to obtain urgently needed visa/passport photos. The photos provided, both the printed and electronic had a yellow background. The published guidelines state these photos must have a background that is white or light grey. My partner highlighted this color issue to the shop… Read more
staff at the time of the images being provided. The staff were quite belligerent stating they do 100's of photos and the photos were of the required standard. WRONG
The provided photos would not upload on the on-line visa application because of this faulty background color. My partner was required to return to the store, taking her laptop showing the message to the store that the provided images were not to the required standard.
She was refused a refund and was not provided with replacement photos.
Instead the pics were again sent to us electronically - 5 times!!
It took 5 different files being sent until one was received of acceptable quality.
We took this issue of staff in a camera shop who could not take a simple passport photo up with the Camera House Head Office and of course promised return phone calls were not received.
Camera House stated we did not return the images for them to review.
NOTE They have the images electronically and could easily review same and my partner was not provided a refund, hence why would she surrender images that she had paid for? In addition, the store must be aware the images are of substandard quality - proof ....they resent these images 5 times!
On eventual receipt of the refund I had no intention or wasting more time or costs in returning the poor images to the store - we had wasted enough time in visiting the store twice and making numerous phone calls as our calls were frequently not returned, particularly from a person who identified themselves as the Customer Service Manager. (An individual who didnt seem able to provided a timely resolution to our extremely poor experience).
It is also noteworthy that the shop illegally advise customers in writing that there are no refunds on these photos - they would be re-taken. This is clearly a deceptive and illegal/immoral practice in Breach of Australian Consumer Law.
In short, a specialist camera shop that cannot take a reasonably simple passport/visa photo, belligerent staff, a shop that does not comply with consumer law and a Head Office that clearly doesnt care.
I do not wonder why this retailer has such a low customer satisfaction rating.
UPDATE
I made several calls to Camera House and eventually received a call from their CEO who apologized for our experience in the Castle Towers Store and provided a refund for the cost of the substandard images taken.
No compensation was provided for the additional transport costs or the 1/2 day my partner was required to take off work to try and resolve what I would have thought was a pretty straight forward 'job.'
We were offered a gift voucher to the store which we declined for reasons I think are pretty obvious.
Appalling service – Purchased camera from the Shepparton store which offered free periodical camera cleans for 3 years. The Shepparton store closed it's doors and apparently the Camera House as a whole isn't obliged to honour this agreement. There's no way to talk to the people who run the franchises. Don't deal with these people, they aren't honourable and they… Read more
don't stand behind the promises of their franchisees when they fail. If I have a warranty issue on the camera now, what do I do? Camera House clearly doesn't care.
Not sure of there pricing being completive – OK, so I am actively looking to purchase the new Lumix S5II or the S5IIX model with the 20-60mm kit lens in Australia. Camera House pricing is $400 more on the X model with the lens over the other retail companies in Australia and $600 more than buying it from the US. Considering it only has a 12 month warranty buying it from the US seems to be… Read more
the smart way to go (B&H). I am into supporting Australian companies but if a company can supply it for hundreds of dollars less then I can put that money towards a new prime lens. I have bought prior from B&H a ND long exposure set of filters and holder kit for my cameras and drones. The stores don't carry that professional gear unless you want cheep crap. B&H are easy to deal with and totally professional with us in Australia.
Beware of buying online from Camera House – I really wish I had read these reviews before I made the mistake of ordering equipment from Camera House. I placed an online order for around $2,000 worth of camera equipment from items on their website which were in-stock and clearly marked as "ships immediately", with delivery estimated to be in 2 to 3 business days. My credit card was billed… Read more
instantly. One week later and my order is still stuck in the "processing" phase. I contacted Camera House online store using their online chat system about the delay and they said they cannot help me and that I need to email any enquiries to the physical store which has been allocated to fulfil my order. I emailed the designated store several days ago and still no response. My only option now to try and get my money back is to dispute my credit card payment with my bank due to non-supply of goods. What a waste of time and so much stress trying to dealing with Camera House. Why run an online store if you don't intend to fill your orders?
Zero stars for cancelled egift card – Purchased a $500 egift card for my son on 23 January 2023. When he opened the link to check the card amount it states the card has been cancelled and no balance available. I have not received any refund to my account and calls to customer service have been an absolute joke. 3 calls, 3 unhelpful staff. 4th call I am told it is to be escalated and could take 72 hrs to resolve. Don't know what sort of bad joke this place is!! Show details
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So sorry I got involved! – Placed an order on 1st July. Got order confirmation same day. Phoned on 20 July to find out when I can expect delivery. Was told by the reception that the person dealing with my request was out for a moment and that I would be phoned back. I was not! Phoned on 21st and was passed on to another person who advised that they my order had not yet left… Read more
the organisation where they ordered it from! I cancelled the order because I was not going to allow this shop to sit with my money in their bank without them being able to deliver what they advertise. This shop is trying to get into the online market by doing everything wrong and putting off clients like me!
Love this store!! – Great customer service and received my photos within an hour. Super easy to navigate around the store and the quality of the photos was excellent. Highly recommend!! Show details
deal with them – I brought +$2000 of stuff from camera house online and they just keep push me on side there customer server, it seem there don't care about there customs so beware and don't buy anything online they won't help you.
customer server – I brought a $2000 worth of item that digital and did not get it send to my email try to call them 7-8 time and they just keep push around to other people not help me out the said they call me less then 10min been around 6hr try to call again same thing push me around other people and not fix me problem.
Unacceptable service and deceitful – At first I found information given on the phone helpful and that is where it ended. I only required a sensor clean for my camera. I left my camera with the store for a few hours. On my return I was immediately shown a few cracks on the corner of the screen. I advised them that this was not there previously and any damage in store was denied. I… Read more
them gently rubbed my finger over the cracks and small shards came off, obviously just happened. When they confirmed that the sensor was clean they only pointed out a white photo on the screen. Obviously dust or dirt spots rarely show on a tiny screen. I had to ask if they had checked it on any software, they then proceeded to do it. I am devastated that my camera equipment is now damaged. I will now have to find someone to repair it. After speaking to other photography friends they stated that usually when equipment is left behind in a store for repairs a check and damage report is done - this wasn't.
Poor service – Today I took a passport size photo @ camerahouse, Darwincity,totally disappointed with the photo (looks dull,they are not professional), felt they don't have any dedication of their service.
The Worst Customer Services Ever So I Advised All Customers To Avoid Camera House Morley At All Cost!!! – I bought a product from Camera House Morley in Dec 2019. The product was faulty and stop working after the first use. Jan 2020, I came to exchange and was advised that the product was out of stock, my details was written down in : the back order book" and the staff told me I would be in contact once it become available. THERE WAS NO PHONE CALL,… Read more
between 2020 - 2021, I followed up over 5 times both in person and phone call. The same answer, there was no stock and the staff would phone me to inform if the product or substitute is available. I called today around 4.30 pm to check for the stock, the staff advised that he can order it in and mail to me. However, After listening to my back order inquiry, he told me: " you call me in regarding to a product purchased 2 years ago, it is impossible as how can I know it was true. There was no record to show that your name is in back order list anymore. If the product is important to you, you wouldn't have waited for 2 years as it only costs $50". It is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable answer. I would share this story to my wider community to make sure that no one within my reach will come to Morley Camera House Morley and have terrible experience like me.
Poor service, unreliable back-up – I bought a defective $900 camera lens online from Camera House pre-lockdown. During lockdown I was unable to get hold of them, had to go to their Facebook page. Post lockdown I was told to go to one of their stores (near Head Office apparently) to return the lens. Of course the store is a franchise, and the manager did not want anything to do… Read more
with it, said it wasn't his problem. Very unhelpful. Mind you, he clearly did not understand camera gear very well. Head Office offered a refund for the lens - but I want a replacement, because the price has gone up. They obviously want me to pay the inflated, increased price for a replacement - so it will cost me more. The lens is still under warranty, only a few months old. They clearly still have the same lens in stock, because they are still selling them online and it shows in stock - now at a higher price compared to pre-lockdown. No, I will not buy online from Camera House again - or from a store for that matter. Might as well have purchased the lens from overseas - service cannot be any worse. Did they send me a defective lens at a discount price to start with, to force me to upgrade to a more expensive "working" version? Update. Weeks later. Still no response from Camera House head office. Not holding my breath.
Useless Sales Rep – messaged the Chermside shop about a Gimbal to fit my Camera,and the result was to "bring it in and well see it it works" got there and the Sales guy just said "no it not going to work..then turned his Back to me while I was asking a question.....C**T wasnt interested and said anything else? basically code for F**k off..was going to spend $300 on… Read more
something else but I'll go up the 'TEDS".. hope this guy works on commission,cause you lost a BIG Payday...maybe $7,000 in future Camera Gear
Impossible to get a response - be very careful buying online with this company – Late July I place an online order for some cables for my canon camera. My credit card was debited immediately but weeks later and the goods have not been received, no emails to confirm shipment,. So I tried to contact them via the on chat. response was they would email a reply. A week later still no reply. Show details
Update. Emailing the company to get an update resulted in an email from them saying someone would… Read more (+2 replies)
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UPDATE: Two and a half weeks later, after ordering a number of items from the Camera House website… Read more