Max Photo & Camera

If you are looking for a camera in San Diego this place may just have what you are looking for. Prices aren't super cheap or anything because the manufacturers set the prices so it's really pretty much the same price no matter which store you go to. The reason I go there though is the extra things that they throw in when you buy a camera or discounted bags, memory cards, etc. Also like one other reviewer mentoned they love to teach you something when you come in, like how to work the camera you just bought. This other reviewer "Gateway_rules" is full of crap... They are not and were not racist towards this customer. He is making it up. It's true what the asian worker said that if you want to learn about the ferrari camera then you would probably be researching it online and come in knowing what you were looking for. I can understand a store not wanting to pull every new camera out of the box to let you play with it. That would be a DEMOed camera, not a NEW camera. Demoed cameras must be sold for a discounted price. People want to buy new sealed in the box products. Atleast I know I do... more

First I'd like to respond to "gateway_rules" who posted about racism. Do the ethnicities of the different employees matter? Maybe the man was simply asking if you had internet access? And maybe he was really trying to suggest that the best way to do comparison shopping nowadays is through the web. I'm biased because I'm a regular customer but it seems you are being a little sensitive. -- I've been going to this little camera shop for about 3 years. It has a mom&pop feel to it but with young, diverse employees that are actually eager to help. Its the only reason why I go to the Mission Valley mall. ---- Allow me to relate a true story: I went there once to buy some small wallet prints. For some reason they are about $1 each while regular size 4x6s are about 30 cents. I needed to print 20 different images but only certain parts of the images (the faces of different people) to be the wallet size. The person helping me happened to be the owner and he asked me what I was trying to do. After I told him he replied there's a cheaper way to do it. --- He turned his computer screen around and proceeded to give me a little photoshop tutorial! He showed me how to select the face in a certain way so that the entire image resizes so that the selected rectangle becomes the wallet-sized dimension, no matter what the size/resolution of the original image. So I went home, resized my images, came back to Max Photo and ended up spending $6 instead of $20. I saved $14 plus there is the photoshop knowledge I gained. This is how they won me over as a loyal customer. --- Though I'll admit to using Costco in a pinch because its so easy to upload to Costco's website. I do notice Costco has slightly lower quality prints though. --- So in summary I'll keep going to Max Photo. I feel have to mention that I also have brown skin and black hair (because it doesn't matter). I'm sorry that "gateway_rules" had a bad experience, but I just don't think ethnicity had anything to do with it. Pros: Service, education, quick turnaround time Cons: Accessories are slightly higher priced (vs online), parking more

On Tues. 11/06/07 an older Male Asian store worker came over to see if the Caucasian store worker and I were doing ok. The Asian store worker said he would give me a 10% discount on a memory card if I was ready to purchase a specific camera at that moment. I commented that I wanted to consult with my wife first before making a purchase and was just comparing products before buying. The Asian store worker commented that when people say they have to consult with there wives it usually means they will not come back to the store. I ignored the comment and asked the Caucasian store worker if I could see another camera. The Asian store worker gestured to the Caucasian store worker and said shook his head no. I looked at the Asian store worker in surprise. The Caucasian store worker was equally surprised and stopped and stared at the Asian Store worker waiting for further instructions. The Asian store worker realizing he had made both the Caucasian store worker and myself stop what we were doing decided to make this comment, ?That camera is very expensive and we only have one model in the store. I don?t want you to handle it just in case something happens because it?s the stores only one. Besides you?re just shopping around anyways. Don?t you have internet access? You can just go online and research that camera. If you decide to come back with your wife who will let you purchase things then you can handle the camera.? I looked at the Caucasian store worker in disbelief. I had spent 40 minutes of my time looking at several different camera models in peace. Now I was having the Asian store worker push his prejudices and stereotypes my way. I may have black hair and brown skin but that does not mean I am poor. It has been a while since I was treated in such a disrespectful manor. I thought with age prejudice and stereotyping would go away, unfortunately I have found it alive and well at the Max Photo and Camera store. more

On Tuesday November 6th, 2007 at 12:45 pm I was shopping at Max Photo and Camera located at Westfield Mission Valley Mall, San Diego, CA. A... more

This store had a pretty good selection of digital and film camera equipment, as well as offering both types of photo developing. Located in... more