Apertureuk Reviews 

Kind man fixed my digicam lens for free. Much love 🫶

There are two aperture stores.

The first is a store that specialises in selling second hand Leicas. They charge more than what you'll find on ebay, but you get a guaranteed warranty with them and can inspect in person. So the insurance part is priced in. The staff are very knowledgable about the brand. If you want to buy a Leica in London, this is the spot to do it.

The other store is the film lab (Aperture Printing), which I use regularly. They sell film, and offer a develop service. This is the best lab in London. It is not the cheapest (21 Studio Labs), you can get faster results at SnappySnaps (results are worse), But I think the results you get at Aperture at better. They're more midrange in cost, with Bayeux at the most premium.

Their staff are very welcoming. If you ask for Richard at the lab, he's an institution when it comes to shooting film. If things go wrong, if you are unsure about what you're doing and need advice, he's always ready to help.

The film they sell is the cheapest retail price that I've found in London. You can get it cheaper online (but we're talking £1-2 margins) which get wiped by delivery costs.

My only complaint is they can take time to process stuff and get it back to you. Its not a speedy service, but the results are always worth it. They also changed their online transfer system from WeTransfer to Smash because they wanted to protect customers from WeTransfer after they changed their terms of service.

Called in to try a used Voigtlander lens. Excellent service. Friendly and professional staff.

DON'T TAKE YOUR GEAR TO APPERTURE!
DON"T TAKE YOUR FILMS TO BE DEVELOPED AT THE LAB EITHER!

Horrible service, super unpolite and aggressive staff.

I called for a consultation about a camera repair, and they mentioned it would cost £300 pounds, without looking at the camera.

I politely asked it the price would still be £300 if the problem wasn't too complex and they responded: "You should then open YouTube and do it yourself".

Just as a reminder: The Apperture Lab spoiled a roll of film for pure AMATEUR service, letting chemicals burn my film rolls.

Crossed it from my list.

You couldn't ask for a more friendly and helpful group of people. I ordered some film recently; it was dispatched very promptly, was securely packed and, best of all, the packaging was completely recycleable card and paper, with no bubble wrap or polystyrene in sight!

This is a lovely shop, you can find some real treats.

Consistently rude, arrogant and patronising on each of the three occasions I have dared enter this shop and today was no different. Avoid.

Time wasters at best, bait and switch at worst.
I've known Aperture for 20 years since they were just on Museum Street with a focus on an (overpriced) cafe and medium/large format and Nikons. So this review comes with decades of experience and interactions.
This time I emailed them in advanced about a Rolleiflex and Nikkor lens. The price they said they'd pay in the email was 25% less in person once I got there. I appreciate it might be more or less, but not 25% difference. And this is a camera they know and repaired for me in the past but have the gall to tell me ... Mind you, this is a 3 hour commute for me costing 30 GBP for the journey. Also the reception I got was ambivalence. They didn't even look at the two Rolleinars I had in pristine cases. My backpack I had to open from the floor rather than a counter. They couldn't be asked to clear space for me. This fits with the attitude I've seen over the years. They are too engrossed with their eBay bidding to be bothered with customers at the same time. I felt like a red headed step child. My Rolleiflex was priced like a Holga.
At any rate, needless to say, I took my much larger and much more valuable Leica collection to a better cross town competitor the same day with a wonderful personalised experience and spot-on pricing for over 20 individual items.
My advise: avoid Apeture unless they have a specific item you really want or perhaps need their repair guy who is decent. Avoid the management and the sales staff. Stay transactional.
Needless to say, after 20 years, I've usually looked for more caring London camera shops but today was the nail in the coffin for Aperture.
If the repair guy shows up at another firm, I'd patronise him though...

Bought a Leitz Super-Angulon 21mm f3.4 from them. Advertised as Exc++. It is an old lens of course. However, using it, the contrast was low so I sent it to an old established well known repair shop for them to look at. The technician told me that there was substantial fogging and that at some point the lens must have been taken apart and reassembled in such a way that the elements were not seated properly in the barrel. One expensive repair later and the lens functions properly. I thought that Aperture was more than a mere box shifter and that they checked the kit they were grading. It seems I was wrong. My advice is to be very cautious and suspend your trust when buying s/h equipment from them

I've sent a Pentax 67ii one month ago for repair. It took nearly 3 weeks of chasing to find out the camera was beyond repair. I managed to get a hold of technician to ask what the problem was. Which I was told it was the 'electric parts' with no more info than that. Since them I have given to a friend to check it (he's not a technician) and he fixed in 30 min!

It happened to be a small piece of magnet stuck in the lever mechanism. I'm disappointed with the shop for how they conducted the job and the advice given about the camera no longer being fixable.

Professional shop in all aspects. Great attention, and totally happy with the secondhand equipment acquired.

If you check their website often enough, you may be able to find yourself some amazing deals on cameras that just came out (pre-owned obviously)

they were the first ones to have a7iii for £1650, just over a month after it's been released, which is amazing!

Dreadful - paid off final amount on 5th July 2018 after waiting months to find out what it was - it was almost DOUBLE the initial debt amount with added fees .....! Didn't even receive an acknowledgement that I had paid a penny until 3 months later - disgusting! Can't get hold of them by phone or email ...

Government regulated LOAN SHARKS!!!!

Offers expertise, excellent range of used Leica, Nikon, Sony, Canon lenses and cameras.

Quick and very well presented photo developing.
Incredible in depth knowledge.
Really nice decent folk who work there who have all ways been funny and helpful.
Good prices and stock ( generally )
Good central london location.
One of the few places I actually trust to deal second hand goods with.

I've sold a bunch of second hand camera kit with these guys in the past and bought a few second hand items too. They are very knowledgeable about most camera models and brands. I've never been able to out wit or contradict them. They always spot it if something is a amiss with my gear and usually repair it properly in house before they sell it on to their customers. They are reliable and always forward the payments from my equipment when it's finally sold. Sure the shop is a bit messy and chaotic, but they know what they are talking about -this is what matters.

Great for Manual Focus Nikkor lenses, and great service.