I tried several camera repair businesses in San Antonio and Havel was the most willing to help. The others treated me as if they did not care if I used their services or not. Havel was a great experience. They looked at my camera, gave me a quote,fixed it and had it ready on time. The lady on the phone was excellent at answering my questions and/or directing me to the department that could answer my question. Every time I was there, the techs came out to talk to me and explain anything I had questions about. The owner also was involved and showed great customer service. The culture there was all about customer service. My camera works perfectly, as if it was brand new. Definitely worth fixing mine instead of spending more on a new one. Especially considering the great experience I had.

I came in with a camera that had lost the ability to autofocus. They spent a good half hour working on it with me. Fixed the problem and refused any payment. All were very pleasant and helpful

I have used Havel several times to clean my Canon SLR cameras. Today I went into their shop because I had a Canon 24-70 2.8 lens that would no longer mount onto the camera body. I had visions of having the entire mount needing to be replaced to having to purchase an entire new lens. They took the lens back to examine it and within 10 min they were back out and it was working perfectly. It turns out a screw had come loose and was not allowing the lens to turn in the lock. It was an easy fix and the even bigger bonus was the fact they did not charge me anything to fix it. I know many places could have easily claimed major repairs were needed and I would have paid for the service.I completely recommend Havel for any of your camera servicing needs. They are a great service company and I will be sure to use them again.

Good shop. Knowledge of everything camera. If you want to have any camera equipment repairs this is the place to good. Great service. Two beautiful woman to help.

I have recently resumed 35mm film photography and need my two cameras fully cleaned, the owner of the store pointed out that my 1960 camera was best left on a shelve because parts are rare and expensive and its is best to put the money into my 1970s camera. I did as he suggested but also bought a camera that had been cleaned and left behind as my back up camera. This is a family owned and family operated camera shop; great place to do business with.

I Bought a Camera at Auction and wasnt sure exactly what was going wrong with it and I was refereed to Havel by Camera Express. I walked in with the Camera Showed it to the technician and he ran some tests. He was very kind in his explanation of what went wrong and didnt charge me for his time. Its great in this day and age to see someone who is doing what they love, its even better when They are Trust Worthy. I Highly recommend them

I have considered Havel Camera Service my go-to camera tech center for 9 years. David and his team know how to work on my older technical cameras as well as new ones. I highly recommend them and you will be hard pressed to find anyone else this good in South Texas. They really care about quality service, and my photography business would not be possible in San Antonio without them.

I sent a handwritten note with my equipment to be looked at to Havels on April 19th. I had a lens that was acting up and wrote a pretty detailed description of what was happening. I was told I would be contacted the next day, however I called in around 3pm to get an update. What I got next was the owner telling me he hadnt even looked at it and was way behind because of Fiesta going on and everyone was running around like a chicken with their head cut off. He explained that he was a week out from repairs and that he had no idea when he would even look at my equipment. He tried to school me on being patient and reminded me that the whole time we were talking on the phone, he could be fixing cameras.All I wanted was to be told ahead of time that he was going to have my camera/lens for a certain amount of days, so that I could plan to drop it off when I really wasnt using it. Instead, he made me feel as if I didnt understand how busy he is and that his time was more important than mine. He also told me that he hadnt looked at my lens because I dropped off a whole bag full of gear and that he didnt have time to look at everything. I asked him if he even bothered to read the note that I wrote explaining that the lens was acting up. He admitted he did not even bother to read it, which made the situation even more perplexing.Sad really. Definitely picking up my gear and taking it somewhere else. Do not recommend.

Highly Recommend!!I have used Havel Camera for 7yrs now and have never had a bad experience. I have always been treated with respect. When I have questions they always stop what they are doing to assist me. They are very friendly and my equipment has always been taken care of.JH

Dropped off my Nikon D5100 on Thursday because it fell ~2 out of my camera bag and wasnt working properly. I picked it up today, Friday, and its working great. Plus they have a 3 month warranty on their work, and they even cleaned it for me!Very impressed with their customer service. Will be using them again for any future repairs or service to my cameras.

I just bought a used camera and I wanted to make sure it was working alright. A kind man checked it for me for free. Both employees there seemed very nice. The camera was fine but if anything ever happens to it I know exactly where Im going!

Lacking Customer ServiceOverly PricedOwner/mechanic took forever to get off the phone. Finally when the receptionist took him my lens. She came quickly back and said it would be $190 to fix and that I would have to mail it in to Cannon. He never came out to explain to me what was wrong with the lens. Which I thought was odd. Also, this repair shop is very expensive. They warned me about this in advance at Camera Exchange. But since theyre the only camera repair shop in town. You kind of have no choice but to deal with them or mail in your items to the company.

Wow this place gave me such an AWFUL experience. I dropped my $600 canon camera 1 foot down into cement and brought it to what appears to be the only reputable camera repair shop in SA. I only had the camera a month and was devastated, as I need it for my job. I brought my camera in January 9th and was told it would cost ~$87 to repair, not bad. EIGHT days later, they call and say they can’t fix it. Really?? Do you never deal with cameras being dropped? But whatever, I don’t know much about cameras. So they say they’ll send it to Canon to be fixed and they quoted it would cost less than $200. Fine. A WHOLE MONTH after i brought it in, they tell me Canon can’t even fix it! What the heck! And they will send me a refurbished one. Okay..... I mean I only dropped it 1 foot but okay.... They say it will cost $298!!!!!!! Wow! That’s $98 more than the max you quoted.... BUT WHATEVER, I moved on. I came in today, 41 FREAKING DAYS after I first brought it in, to pick up my *refurbished* camera w/ exact cash that they asked for. AND THEN the front desk lady says it’s actually $322, WOW! Canon got to keep my brand new camera for parts, send me an old refurbished thing, and charge me more than half the original price :D!! I said “okay well I only brought $300 cash, can I put the rest on my card?”. Well of course she couldn’t! Because of course nothing goes right when you come in here. They just had to charge my credit card the whole shebang. Why not just tell me the full price on the phone instead of surprising me with the $30 taxes??? I had no idea $298 was the subtotal, why is that useful to tell customers?! I pray nothing has to happen to my camera ever again. Such a horrible experience 😔

I recently started using Havel Camera Services. They are very good at what they do. They are fast, reasonable, and extremely helpful. I strongly recommend them.

If you want to be lectured, talked down to, or just be treated in a rude manner this is the place to go. While the young gentleman I spoke with on the phone and the young lady who helped write up the ticket and took care of the transaction provided excellent customer service, I can not say the same for the older gentleman (the one that seems to always have a bluetooth in his ear) that dealt with my issue.

The owner and his staff were so helpful! Will definitely be coming to them for my camera’s needs!

Went in to have a dslr viewfinder repaired. Fixed while I waited. Definitely recommend.

I have not been here, but everyone must know that internet reviews work! why bother here if camera exchange as almost a perfect rating...sorry guys, take better care of all your customers, right or wrong

These guys have been cleaning/repairing/maintaining my Canon cameras (Film & digital) for years! I trust no one else. They are super.

The guy who is working on the camera/ lenses may come off as a rude person, but he knows exactly what he is talking about! He checked my lens and fixed it for such a cheap price! He saved me $100 just by coming over here.

Absolutely screwed me over royally -- I had them repair my camera by installing a new shutter. They did not hone in the focus on it, so when they handed it back, I thought the 200 dollar labor charge I was paying actually meant theyd deliver quality service and I wouldnt need to inspect the camera so thoroughly. Not to make matters worse, but I was in a rush as I was only in the country for 5 weeks. Most of my photos in Yellowstone National Park are blurry unless using f/22 and many of the wedding photos I shot at the beginning (thank GOD I had a second camera) came out blurry too. Really pathetic. I hope they refund me or something because Im no longer in the country to go back to their pathetic shop and demand they fix it for free. Ill be complaining with the Better Business Bureau as well.

This place is god awful. I’ve had multiple TERRIBLE experiences. Don’t trust this place. They are as shady as they come. First bad experience still haunts me to this day. I took my sisters old Yashicamat twin lens into this place to have service since the shutter was jammed. I went in just for a quote. They took the entire camera apart without my permission. Quoted me more than it’s selling value. Refused to reassemble it. Talked down to me and ridiculed me. Years pass. I bring a Nikon D300 in because it was acting up. I had a lens attached to it that was in perfect working order when I dropped off the camera. I paid $300 for the camera to be repaired. When I got it back the lenses Aperture no longer worked. I could only shoot wide open. It’s like they cut the spring that attached to the lever that controlled the blades. Also my camera worked but the playback data was all messed up and super wacky. I was no longer able to view camera settings on the pictures I have shot. I went in there to bring the issues to their attention. Again I was ridiculed and they refused to even look at my lens. The lady yelled at me and told me never to come back. I was polite. Another few years pass and I bring my girlfriend into the shop. She had a mint condition canon ae1. We went to see if they sold batteries. The same lady that yelled at me asked to see the camera. She took it to the back and came back 30 seconds later. Told me that didn’t have any batteries, and that the camera had battery corrosion in it. Told me that it would be $189 to repair. I told her forget it, that the camera wasn’t even worth that. I left. Drove to batteries plus and spent $8 on a battery. The camera worked fine. There wasn’t even corrosion inside the battery compartment. What the heck, are you serious? It’s a shame because at one point it was good, but the people who ran it when it was good have passed away. Bring your business elsewhere please. I never write internet reviews. This is the only one ever. I am just so offended by them that I like to share my horror stories about them. If I can save one camera, or someone being ripped off. My job is done.

I took my equipment twice and both the times the service was excellent, precise diagnosis..

Very professional and great service. I take my Nikon cameras for service here.

Fixed my old Canon lens for a good price.

Knowledgeable and courteous, and they have pretty much EVERYTHING in stock!

Great people who really want to help you.

They do great work but unfortunately they are slow and I had miscommunication about when my equipment was done.

Very friendly, professional, knowlegable and give free estimates on video and photography repair.

Business is not open any longer

Best camera repair place in town for Canon.

This is THE place to get your cameras cleanedor repaired.

Best guys, best shop, hands down!

Very helpful good service