University Camera

Great shop. I get all my digital and film prints done here. Top notch!
5 7 years ago (27-12-2017)

An okay experience that may well be the best option in the eastern Iowa area as a professional lab service. Their website is horribly out of date and most of the information is incorrect now at this point. This needs to be fixed. An option to have scans uploaded to a cloud service (Dropbox, Google Drive) for traveling and working professionals is a much needed addition to their film service. Most proper labs offer this, please consider adding it.
3 8 years ago (26-02-2017)

I have lived and worked most of my life in a city north of here, but I visit University Camera more often now that I work in Iowa City. This is a hard store to judge. I get the feeling they were a little caught off guard by the storm that was digital imaging. A few years back I used to love going there for used gear. They had tons of it on the walls and shelves and in the glass display cases up front. Alas, my experience with purchases has been mixed. Nearly every item had some hidden flaw that wasn't immediately apparent in the store. They do offer a 30 day warranty but I didn't get down there often enough or in time to use it, usually. They also had a prominent darkroom section up front, with chemicals and paper, but now that's been moved to the back and you have to ask for it. Their used gear selection has dropped off in recent months, to near zero. They do have a few items still in the case but few camera bodies now. I have only recently tried them for film processing. I am disappointed in what I bought but it's probably more related to the film and equipment I was using. More results will be coming. I am very concerned about negative mishandling. One of the rolls I brought in was badly scratched up. Again, I do not know for sure if it was processing or camera, but my gut feeling on this one is processing. The shop is modernizing. They are expanding their digital offerings and now carry several brands of cameras. Film is still available and in large quantity and variety. A good bit of it is short dated so be careful what you buy. One of the great things about this store is their selection of accessories, bags, and tripods. I like the store and will continue to support it with my money. I will update this review on film processing when I get a chance to try them again.
4 11 years ago (15-05-2014)

I brought in my film camera from the 70's for a cleaning and a general how-to. The guy who worked with me, I believe his name is Steven, was Very knowledgeable and helpful. He gave my whole camera a cleaning, inside and out, for free. He then answered every question I had on the subject of film and was able to show me a wide variety of lenses, equipment, and film. Overall it was awesome and I will definitely be going back in the future.
5 10 years ago (12-03-2015)

I have been a customer of University Camera for well over 10 years, working mostly with the owner Roger. He is very knowledgeable and helpful. Their in store stock of brands is somewhat limited but, they can get you just about anything you might need. I haven't bought all of my photography gear from U Cam but I do whenever I can. As a working professional, I know that if something came up, Roger would take care of me. I have also seen Roger and other staff provide a great deal on education to customers, even when that customer was just browsing.
4 10 years ago (04-12-2015)