Rockbrook Camera & Video

I bought my DSLR from them a few years ago and it’s been great. But more recently I had dropped my canon sx-​260 point-​and-​shoot and the lens wasn’t closing correctly. More specifically the pieces on the lens were jammed. Both my wife and I tried working on it, watched some videos, etc. — improvement, but still not working totally right. I was walking in 10 minutes before close, which I hate to ever do, but with the expectation of just dropping it off to see if it was worth fixing at all. I was describing the problem to an employee and he said they’d probably have to keep it since their repair tech was gone for the day (which I was totally ok with), but a second employee Mike T happened to overhear what I was saying and asked if he could take a look. While he did so the other gentlemen was happy to show us some of the new gadgets they have. Two minutes later Mike returned, fixed, works perfect. These people know cameras and photography is their passion. Highly recommend. Thanks Mike!

I use my DLSR every day to take photos for my online selling. I set it down on my bed while I was adjusting a dress I was taking photos of, and it rolled off the bed onto the carpeted floor and my camera lense would not zoom or focus. It was six months old and the lense which is around $ 200 new was DEAD!
I was so upset. I called Rockbrook camera and they said it was probably toast beause these new cameras use plastic parts, you bump them even slightly they’re and they’re done. They agree to look at it though if I brought it in. I needed a new lense ASAP, anyway, because I shoot daily so i took it in there.
The guy at the counter managed to massage the lense rolling it inbetween his fingers just so and then put it back on the camera and looked through it and it WORKED. I was elated. They easily could have tried to sell me a new lense and I would have happily bought it. But, they were honest and fixed my lense for free.

The Venue/​Location/​Store: Located at 2717 S 108 St the store is easily found. I’ve only visited a handful of times and it’s always tidy, clean, and well sorted. It’s exactly what you would expect from a well established camera/​video store.
The Service: The service at this location has been good, it doesn’t take long after you enter before one of their sales associates takes the time to ask whether or not you would like some help. Sometimes if they’re very busy it may take a little bit before you can be seen but that’s rare and they always try to get to you as soon as they’re free. The sales staff I spoke with seemed knowledgeable, polite, and always were willing to help out.
The Cost: This is a «brick and mortar» store, I hate that term but understand that it means you’re going to have to pay more when you buy from here. The trade-​off is that though you’re paying more they can actually help you with both making informed decisions, as well as if something goes wrong (more on that later…) and THAT is definitely nice. They both buy AND sell gear here which is a plus. I traded in some camera gear in order to purchase a newer model camera and felt that we were able to come to a pretty agreeable price.
The Bottom Line: On Unilocal,a three star review means that the location is «A-​OK» and that’s what Rockbrook Camera is as far as I’m concerned. Their prices are a little higher than if you were to purchase from the internet, they won’t give you the MOST money for your trade in, but all things considered it’s a fair deal.
I purchased a D600 body from them a bit ago and it had some «dust spots» on the sensor, this is an ~2100.00 camera body and I was pretty bummed. When I brought in the body the associate took a look at it, brought it back, and had the sensor cleaned while I waited. Just like that the camera was ready to rock with no fuss. Alternatively, had I purchased this online I would have had to have it serviced by Nikon (pay shipping to LA or NYC) and then sent back resulting in money spent for shipping and not being able to use the camera for probably a few weeks. This fix took all of ten minutes locally, so for me it was much better to buy from them. It’s something to think about before you just find an item somewhere else for a little cheaper!

I stopped by Rockbrook today to simply ask a question about DSLR sensor cleaning and what could be done about a few stuck pixels. The first guy who helped me was nice enough and called their main location to inquire about my situation. They couldn’t do much about stuck pixels and suggested that I contact the camera manufacturer about repair. Rockbrook Camera did, however, have a guy at their main shop who cleaned sensors. I may still attempt doing this myself, but it’s good to know they can do it too in case I chicken out!
As I wondered about, I noticed the Lensbaby Lenses behind the counter. For several years I’ve known about these lenses from online sources, but I was hesitant to buy, fearing that I wouldn’t like them enough to justify the cost. A second guy named Michael talked to me about the Lensbabies and also let me play with all the different accessories. I was astonished how fun it was to mess around with the ‘Composer’ system! Michael definitely knew what he was talking about and was able to explain everything I wanted to know about them. By the time we had gone through the entire Lensbaby system, I swear he had opened half the boxes and parts were all over the counter!
Since I was already talking lenses with him, I asked about some of the various wide angle lenses available for my camera. Instead of merely talking about what the different lenses were capable of, Michael showed me each lens on a demo camera while explaining the pros and cons of their abilities & features.
I feel bad that I didn’t purchase anything from Michael today considering he spent over an hour talking to me. But he can rest assured I’ll be back once it’s in my budget to do so.

I must admit that on my first trip here I felt «pressured» to buy above what I needed. I went in to buy a 120.00 lens and left with a 499.00 lens. I realized the error of my ways and returned it. I was not hassled at all and I was not even charged the 15% re stock fee that is stated on the receipt.
They did not have cash on hand but my refund check was issued and mail promptly.

Keep in mind that my review is for their online website and not a local store.
Long story short. I heard from a friend that the website had some Sony NEX-​7 in stock. So I quickly rushed home to placed an order. Everything seemed fine and I was ecstatic for all of 15 minutes. Got an email saying that they couldn’t verify my billing (or was it shipping…) address (BS!) and order was canceled.
That was it. No chance to fix the problem. They simply canceled it. And of course, the camera was OOS by the time I received that email.
I’m disgusted with this kind of customer service. Will never order anything from them ever again.

My husband and I are huge fans of Rockbrook Camera & Video. We’ve been in to both locations and have always received helped from their knowledgeable staff. They have a wide variety of top of the line merchandise.

I live in California, but grew up in Omaha. I worked with Michael McBride on 168^th and Center. He was great!
You may be able to get a lower price online, but Michael really helped me identify my needs. I went on an around the world trip with my new camera.
They also give you a free class on getting to know your camera.
I WISH California had a place like this!

This is a good place to go and shop and physically handle an item you want just before you buy your camera on Amazon or somewhere else. Expensive, rude staff (they only take you seriously if you are a professional photog) and want you to buy stuff you don’t need.

Found staff the here to be very helpful and they sure know their product. Their prices were similar to what I’ve seen at other places in town, and I would rather shop local than online anyway. I even got a free photo class with the purchase of my camera! I will definitely be returning to Rockbrook Camera for their expertise!

I recently flew into Omaha for a family reunion, and took pictures at the affair. I suspected bad light and wanted some higher powered and non camera mounted flash. So I checked the web and found Rockbrook rents and had something that might work. Stopping in the store, I found the clerk was helpful, I purchased out right a PocketWizard for the flash and one for my camera. The Novatron kit I rented was unpacked and we tried it with the test button on a Wein hotshoe adapter and all looked good. One PocketWizard to go on the flash, the other on my camera. Off I went an hour plus east into Iowa for the reunion. By the time I set up I discovered the PocketWizard was incompatible with the Wein, and had to shoot available light. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT.
When I got back to the store and hooked things up to demonstrate where it failed, they were very courteous, and got what the problem was right away. And totally refunded the rental.
It may be stretching to give 4 stars considering, but the pro way I was treated was just the way I wanted to be treated, and I feel I need to take some of the blame for not taking the testing a step further before leaving. I will go back to this store again.

I can shop off amazon and get cheaper, priced items then this place, nikon s210 he wanted 139.00 for plus tax and tried to add additional not needed items like a case, card, etc, Got the whole package deal off Amazon new in box for 125 shipped. amazing the markup this place has.

This appears to be a the best photography store in the Omaha area with a few locations that offer a very large selection and wide variety of products. They also sell through their website (of course).
For all I know they have a long history of providing excellent service. I really don’t know — I’ve never been in one of their stores or purchased from them online.
But this I do know: My not so digitally savvy, 73 year old father walked into their flagship Rockbrook Village store looking for _​help_​in purchasing a good, but relatively inexpensive P&S camera for general use, but also to take on a trip overseas.. .
.. .and they tried to fob off a nearly FIVE YEAR OLD fujifilm finepix F450 for about $ 120 (!) ($ 80 for camera plus about $ 40 for a cheap little carrying case & an over-​priced xD card (b/​c, you know, that’s the only format for a fuji this old).
Now I know it’s tough for brick and mortar stores to thrive in this day and age and they can not offer prices that match what’s avail online. I understand. But the irony is that my father was willing to pay more to support a good local store and, you know, get personal service and help. I don’t consider being taken advantage of help.
After talking to me, he spent just a few dollars more to get a recently released, highly rated Panasonic Lumix DMC-​LZ8 & 4gb SD card online.*
And he doesn’t feel compelled to support this local store anymore.
*too much to say about the multiple ways this is a better camera than a 5 yr old fujifilm finepix, but, if you don’t know, believe me…
UPDATE 3÷06÷09: Rockbrook Photo contacted me about this review and believed that somebody probably showed my dad a Fuji F480, not a five yr old F450. Before writing the above Unilocal review, I sent my dad links to dpreivew write-​ups (with product photos) of several older Fuji’s with similar model numbers (F450, F460, E550, etc) to be sure he got the model number right, and he assured me it was the F450. Plus, Rockbrook noted that their close-​out price on a F480 was $ 98, and my dad said the in-​store price on the F450 was $ 79. If my dad was mistaken and it was a 480, I wouldn’t have a problem. But, again, my dad seems convinced it was a 450.