District Camera & Imaging - Arlington

I always get a great deal when I shop here! I don't always have exactly what I want in mind, but the staff always seems to find something in the used inventory that does the job at a bargain. They are great a making deals with their used gear. I highly recommend them!

I made my first purchase here yesterday, and had a great experience. We brought some old cameras in hopes of trading them in. Although our camera were not worth trading in, the person helping us was so nice, and gave is no negativity about bringing old equipment. He also went out of his way to help me with decisions about future purchases. I plan to shop here again.

As a newer photographer I'd advise anyone to come here for all camera needs. Great consistent service and why wait for Amazon when you can get it same day same price or better.

Made a purchase in store with the anticipation of beginning a relationship in our new photography hobby. I tried to return the unopened item and was refused even store credit. Well you lost my current and future business, all others be warned…

I came from far about 1h and 30 minutes and Henry was very gracious to even stay past the closing time which was 7pm as we left around 5:30pm with traffic and He fixed the issue I had with the screw adapter for the tripod and I am very thankful.

The employees are not helpful to non-professionals. I hoped to buy a camera here based on their recommendations. However, they were completely disinterested in helping me determine what camera and lens would be best for me. I left after a few minutes after being made to feel completely inferior. So I guess this place is good if you are a professional. If not, go somewhere else.

I would caution professional film photographers from getting your film developed and scanned here. I really wanted to enjoy my experience, especially since film labs are becoming increasingly rare and I always try to support family-run local businesses. I’m normally based in another state, but was visiting family in Virginia and dropped off several rolls at District Camera after reading great reviews. Unfortunately, the scans I received back were extremely dark, with crushed shadows, muddy color, and low resolution. I shoot film professionally and could immediately tell something was off. I sent the negatives to my usual lab to be rescanned and the difference was night and day. I’ve included side-by-side comparisons in this review to show how much shadow detail, tone, and clarity were lost in the District Camera scans. To District’s credit, the staff was responsive when I reached out. They explained that they had automatically applied a high contrast filter to the scans and had forgotten to turn it off. In my experience, professional labs usually have a quality assurance step in place to catch things like this, and I’ve shared that feedback with their management in hopes they might consider adding that to their process. I’m grateful that their team was responsive and offered remediation, so I’m leaving a 3-star review instead of something lower. For professional work, I personally wouldn’t return, but I hope my experience encourages District Camera to make improvements and keep film photography a thriving art form.