Multcam camera repair shop in CBD: A little gem of a decent, well-priced professional service

Recently, my 24mm-70mm Canon f2.8 lens suffered a communication error again (the dreaded Canon Error 1 message) came up on the body.

Being relatively new to Joburg, I phoned around to see the best price and service I felt I could get in a reasonable time.

On a previous work trip to Joburg I had used a well-known camera repair shop in Randburg, but they no longer serviced any Canon equipment and directed me to Canon SA itself.

As anyone who has has had to repair a bit of Canon equipment knows, it takes forever at Canon and is a good few times more than the price of a solid repair service done elsewhere.

In the end, after a few call-rounds I found Emmanuel's business, Multcam, down in Joburg CBD in Marshalltown.

Within a few minutes of discussing the issue on the phone (coupled with over two decades of experience in breaking and having to service camera equipment), I instinctively knew Emmanuel not only had deep knowledge to do the repair but sounded honest and upfront.

I overcame the normal intrepidation many of us surbuban types in Joburg have of travelling into CBD and went to the shop in Kruis Street. The shop itself is a wonderful, cozy and well-equipped ode to camera equipment of past glory, displaying bodies and lenses from a few decades ago even.

Emmanuel was professional throughout. I got wapp messages informing me of progress all the way, and when I went to pick up the lens - after a good solid test - it was ready to go again.

There is a 5-day-turnaround for camera repair jobs (that ended up being 6 but only because of delays in supplies reaching the camera shop) that Emmanuel strudily adheres even after inquiring. This might irk some pros on a quick turnaround time base, but to be honest, I appreciated the straight up information. Emmanuel doesn't seem one to promise and then not deliver.

And Emmanuel required 75% upfront, but given the fact it was half the price I had to pay doing exactly the same job on the same lens 4 years ago in Cape Town, I understood that most of that has to go on supplies given the smaller margins. In fact, if a repair job doesn't require parts, it is the normal 50% deposit as Emmanuel informed me.

And to be honest, for me, looking at the bigger picture and in the long run, I seem to have had an excellent job done, at a very fair price.

In fact, given I had the same problem fixed on the same lens from a reputable repair company in Cape Town, I would say well worth the wait and trip into cbd.

Emmanuel was even able to identify why the lens had needed to be repaired again after only 4 years with the same problem. To get technical: The rail on the lens ribbon, not having been set back properly last time and had slowly eaten away at the ribbon over the last 4 years (Cape Town... looks good but twice the price and half the quality:).

Anyways - Multicam have found a loyal customer in me. Glad I found my go-to shop for all camera repairs inJoburg (and trust me, the way I treat my equipment, I'm sure Emmanuel will be seeing me again very soon:).