C.R.I.S. Camera Services

I cannot speak to their repair work. Their est on a $ 1200 lens was $ 500. They suggested I send it to the manufacturer and I did. Amazing that it turned out to be a free, under warranty repair. I could never trust CRIS to provide an honest quote ever again. I’d always feel as though I over paid. Beware.

Just sent my camera without notification and filling out the camera send in form to c.r.i.s. — called them and they found my dataset and camera within seconds. great service, had really fear it gets lost on this way!

My husband was getting spots on the sensor of his Nikon DS7100 that he bought Oct’2014. Nikon had recommended that since C.R.I.S. is an authorized Nikon repair facility and that they were local, to try them before sending into Nikon, which is what we did.
C.R.I.S. assessed that the sensor was dirty and said it would be $ 65 and that was something that the warranty would not cover. So we paid the $ 65 and they cleaned the sensor. They verified it was clean with images taken afterwards, but I never saw those. Took the camera home and within a few pictures, my husband was still seeings spots on his pictures.
Called C.R.I.S. again about this and they said they would clean again for free, which they did. After the 2^nd cleaning, they took a bunch of pictures and though initially right after the 2^nd cleaning, the pictures had no spots, upon taking more pictures still at their shop, they now saw dark spots that were highly noticeable.
So then a 3^rd cleaning was done and a bunch of pics taken afterwards with no spots. We only paid the first time for the cleaning. 2^nd and 3^rd cleanings were on C.R.I.S.
Now, a couple or so weeks after the 3^rd cleaning and some intermittent, but little use of the camera, my husband began seeing spots AGAIN. C.R.I.S. had said that there is a space between the sensor and something else that creased an air pocket. When the aperture is moved (which on a DSLR, you definitely move this to take pics), dust particles that might have been there during manufacturing could be sucked into the sensor area. Really? That’s pretty bad.
Anyway, we called Nikon this time and they said after 3 cleanings and we’re still experiencing this problem, we need to send it in to Nikon.
All my dealings with C.R.I.S. — Angela, Mike and everyone else were super nice to me. They were polite and professional. And right now, I can’t remember the main guy’s name that did the cleaning, but he was very thorough in explaining to me what happened. But, I cannot repeat what he said because it only partially made sense to me.
They worked with me/​us on this issue and they expedited our cleanings. I see some of the negative reviews are from out of town people, so I cannot speak for them. But, seeing these people face to face, dropping off and picking up my camera, talking to them over the phone, I had no issues.
I felt good about the information they gave me, and that they did their best to resolve our problem. Now Nikon has to take over, though.

5 weeks for a lens repair. Paid them in May but they claimed the parts didn’t ship until last week. 7 days to ship from New York to Arizona. They must have used pony express. I had a UPS ground package arrive from the East Coast arrive in 4 days.
Is this length of repair time normal? I hope they do good work because the repair cost me almost 35% the value of the lens… it was a zoom function issue. Nothing wrong with the glass or electronics.

Had a strange problem with one of my lenses. It took a while to figure out that’s what it was. At first I thought it was my meter. Once I figured it out I contacted Nikon and they said to send the lens here. How fortunate I live and work within driving distance! No need to ship it! :-)
So I drop my lens off, describe the problem, get my claim check. About two days later I receive an estimate in my email. It was actually less than I feared! So I call them and authorize the service. Today I got to pick up the lens. It appears to be fine now. I will, of course, be testing it more rigorously. They warranty their work on lenses for 6 months.
I’d go with five stars, but I want to shake-​down the lens first. I reserve the right to come back an increase my rating if I’m still happy a few months from now! But this has just become my go-​to repair place for all things photographic.

Great resource. Felt good about taking my D800 in for repair. Was kept informed every step of the way. Competent, courteous and reasonably priced. It’s my go to place now.

CRIS is probably the most unaccommodating camera repair service in the country. Manfrotto I am sure makes it even worse and does not help to make the repair easier. I am probably going to sell my Manfrotto tripods (and keep my newly repaired head) for the one sized fits all Gitzo. I have tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment so the last thing I need is to buy another $ 300 geared head while I am waiting for my brand new one to be repaired. I was busy for 5 months and could not be without the head. How can Manfrotto not have a repair depot in close proximity New York or LA? Mac camera is nearby NYC.
So, first I have to ship my months old warrantied part to them ($ 20). Then it takes 2 weeks for them to replace EVERY SINGLE PART of the geared head. It would have been cheaper for them to refurb it and send me a new one.
The part was repaired. Probably better than the condition than the one I received new. Shipping was at a medium pace. The one thing I did find very helpful was that I was able to track my repair online.

CRIS has now become my go-​to camera cleaning/​repair shop. I have been to other repair shops in Tempe and was never happy with the lack luster customer service I received there. CRIS staff is friendly and genuinely seem to care about your questions and concerns. I have now had a camera sensor cleaning, a lens repair, and a flash repair done here and each experience the price was reasonable and the turn around time was efficient. I often recommend them to other photographers looking for great service.

I’ve had my tripod sitting at the service facility in Chandler, Arizona for over 7 weeks now. Simply waiting on a sliding part for my tripod. It is covered under warranty and their customer service people can’t do anything to expedite or provide me with any kind of update or resolution except «we’re waiting.»
I never received an email regarding a service number, an update or even to say they received the tripod successfully over 7 weeks ago.
Finally, after sending an email explaining my frustration, my tripod was repaired and sent back to me within 2 days. Funny how that works, I should be receiving it soon.
In the future I will never use these guys again. Super slow turnaround time, little to no communication and a «I don’t really care, not my fault or my problem attitude,» because they are a third party repair service.

Sharing ‘C.R.I.S. Camera Services’ with my friends with Nikon cameras as an alternative to Nikon direct, as their are zero local, REPUTABLE, repair facilities in Colorado for Nikon. C.R.I.S. has provided outstanding customer service (they always pick up the phone and are courteous), used OEM parts to repair my camera and although I get my camera after the holiday weekend (bummer), it still only took them about 13 business days to turn my camera around and that includes getting the parts shipped to them from Nikon. All of this for ¹⁄₃^rd of what Nikon charges as they do flat rates. I’d recommend C.R.I.S. to anyone.

Beware of their «estimate» service. The «free» estimate included lodging a large particle under the focusing screen when I decided not to proceed with the repair work.
Perhaps they were planning to clean things up during the repair process, but it is disappointing they did not take better care of my equipment as part of their estimate process.
They did not reply to my inquiry about this problem, so this might even be SOP for them.

They are very slow to respond and update you with information. It has been two months since I sent in my tripod head and I still have not received it back. When I request updates, they simply tell me to be patient. I think two months is a bit much…

Just got the lens and camera back from the CRIS center… Sigma 50 mm + 5D3
I tried for several days to dial in the camera to the lens… erratic focusing, severe back focusing. I used Lens Align and their Focus Tune software and my results varied from +7 to +18 … it was all over the place.
I don’t know what kind of voodoo they worked at CRIS… but … WOW! The lens hits at F/1.4 …very sharp… usable images. It hits at varying distances as well.
Very happy with the initial results… now I need to find something cool to shoot. :)
So… if you have having issues… with the lens. and it’s still under warranty… or not… send it in with the camera body. They will dial it all in.
One pleased customer!
Hatch

Sent in my 18 – 50 mm sigma for warranty service and it was a week turn around time. The lens came back cleaned and the problem i had with the lens was fixed. Definitely recommended.

My broken Sony digital camera is not expensive, yet the two times I replaced it, I wasn’t happy. I decided to see if the Sony could be repaired. I’m very happy with the service from C.R.I.S. They listened to my explanation, wrote a report/​receipt and promised to call soon with an estimate. The estimate was less than each of the two cameras I purchased, so I went for it. My camera is back now, good as new. A great investment! I’m VERY happy with C.R.I.S.

After living in a humid environment for years, my Canon telephoto lens began growing mildew on an interior lens glass, etching it. I took it to CRIS and got a fair estimate quickly. The lens was repaired in a timely fashion and i was kept up-​to-​date on the progress. i found these people to be professional and capable. I would use CRIS again.

Sent in Manfrotto 485B legs for repair due to a jammed leg that would not retract. Legs were repaired and returned to me, but one leg was defective. After a couple of calls to customer service, they sent me a NEW set of legs. My only complaint is that the repair took longer than expected. I suggest making a call to customer service to get a repair estimate before sending in your repair to verify they have parts on hand. this will reduce your repair time.

C.R.I.S. found and fixed a unique problem 100% with my Nikon D80 that Nikon USA Corporate Repair Center in El Segundo, CA could not find and refused to fix. Their written reply: «your camera is deemed not repairable to Nikon Specifications». Nikon’s total repair process and communications was a long nightmare. Finally, upon its return, I sent it to C.R.I.S. where the wizard of camera repair, Steve, discovered a short on the Digital Graphics card which he re-​soldered, completely solving my camera problem… i.e., SAVING my $ 1400 Nikon camera! All this after Nikon 1 – 800 Tech Support had «trashed» their independent repair centers and strongly encouraged me to send it only to them for repair. Plus, I learned that the Nikon USA Corporate Repair Center has an «F» Better Business Bureau rating… C.R.I.S. has a strongly earned «A+» BBB rating. ‘Nuff Said!

A thank you to Angela Ferguson, C.R.I.S. Camera Services Customer Service Representative! Angela kept me apprised as my front focusing Sigma lens was calibrated to my camera. C.R.I.S. Camera Services completed the service in one day. Total turntime including shipping both ways was 9 calendar days. Great Service!

Sent my Sigma 10 – 22 in for service and it came back as good as new. Could not ask for better — very responsive and kept me updated along the way. You can find ‘em on twitter as well @criscamerasvc