EssentialPhoto & Video Reviews 

1,050
•
TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

4.6

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Looking at 105 reviews, reviewers overwhelmingly had a great experience with this company. Customers consistently praise the excellent quality of the products, noting that items arrive quickly, are accurately described, and are securely packaged. People frequently highlight the helpful and knowledgeable staff who provide great recommendations, valuable advice, and ensure smooth transactions. Some reviewers were not happy with customer support, mentioning slow communication, unhelpful responses, and difficulties when trying to resolve problems. Consumers also noted occasional delays with shipping estimates and experienced frustrating challenges regarding product returns or defective items. A few individuals pointed out specific issues like missing components or unexpected faults after brief usage.

What people talk about most

Product

Users describe positive interactions with product, noting that items arrive well packed and in mint... See more

Delivery service

Customers had positive experiences with delivery service, frequently highlighting fast shipping and items... See more

Service

Customers consistently note positive experiences with service, highlighting efficient and fast delivery along... See more

Staff

Consumers find staff to be exceptionally helpful, professional, and knowledgeable during every interaction.... See more

Customer service

Reviewers mention ambiguous feedback about customer service, with several customers praising the quick... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Essential Photo&Video are my first choice go to place for all my studio kit - great prices, great promotions, fast delivery, excellent service. A big thing is that the quality of the kit is always go... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Godox swivel mounting arm for overhead lighting rail. Object received quickly and well boxed. Product photo was a prototype but is what you received. Product was sturdy well made and right type.... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Overall, a very good experience. I’ll order from them again - mostly because they describe their products accurately and are honest about delivery dates. That’s way more than I can say about other sel... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great prices, excellent products and quik delivery. What's not to like?! The only niggle is that they didn't tell me the product wasn't in stock before I ordered - I didn't realise it was brand new... See more

Company replied


Company details

  1. Photo Shop
  2. Audio Visual Equipment Rental Service

Written by the company

A British company based in Birmingham, EssentialPhoto & Video specialises in studio lighting equipment and accessories for photography and videography industries. Our range includes studio flash, continuous/LED lighting, light modifiers, stands, backgrounds and much more. An Official Partner with Godox, we also stock a huge range of Godox lighting and accessories, including the brand new KNOWLED range of professional TV and Film video lighting. We offer first class service on amazing products, but if you have had a negative experience with your order, please don't hesitate to get in touch with our Customer Support team at info@essentialphoto.co.uk and we will do our best to make your experience 5-star!


Contact info

4.6

Excellent

TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

1K reviews

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Asks customers to review

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Replied to 100% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 1 week

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4.6

All reviews

(1,050)

114 reviews in the last 12 months

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Companies on Trustpilot aren't allowed to offer incentives or pay to hide reviews. Reviews are the opinions of individual users and not of Trustpilot. Read more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

So guys today I saw I sent your photos…

So guys today I saw I sent your photos and meet the guys face-to-face. Usually everything is done remotely fixing my cameras to lenses but it was nice meeting the team face-to-face.

March 14, 2026
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi Abdullah, thank you for your review! We are very glad to hear that our team were able to help when you visited. We hope to see you again soon.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

The team were very knowledgeable and…

The team were very knowledgeable and helped me put the light and accessories I needed together into a package

March 14, 2026
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi Rachael, thank you for visiting us at the Photography Show! We're very pleased to hear that our team were helpful and assisted with your order. We hope you love your new equipment!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great experience with the team at the…

Great experience with the team at the NEC Photo Show. Loved the demos which have given me lots of greats ideas for my AD200 Pro II / AD400 Pro II - can’t wait to try them out in the studio !

March 14, 2026
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi Eric, thank you for your kind review! We are very happy to hear that you enjoyed visiting us at the Photography Show this year and that our live workshops helped to spark some new ideas for your photography! Thanks so much for coming by and we hope to see you again next year.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great staff

March 14, 2026
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi there, thank you for your review and feedback! We are very happy to hear you had a positive shopping experience with us and we hope to see you again soon.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great set up at the photo show

March 14, 2026
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi Suzy, thanks so much for visiting us at The Photography Show! We are very happy to hear you enjoyed your visit and that you enjoyed our stand. We hope to see you again next year!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Highly recommend essential photo and video

We use Essential Photo & Video regularly and honestly couldn’t recommend them enough. The service is always fantastic, orders arrive quickly, and everything is packaged really well.

As a photography business we rely on our equipment, so it’s great to have a company we can trust for quality products and reliable delivery. We’ve ordered from them many times and have always had a great experience.

Highly recommend to anyone in the photography industry and the team at the photography are very knowledgeable and kind

March 14, 2026
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi there, thank you so much for your kind review! We are so very happy to hear that you've had these positive experiences with us, and that you feel confident you can rely on us for your equipment. We always aim to provide 5-star service so we're very pleased that we've hit the mark. Thanks for shopping with us and we hope to see you again soon.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic service

Fantastic service, quick delivery and great prices!

March 9, 2026
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi there, thank you for your review and feedback! We are very happy to hear you had a positive shopping experience with us and we hope to see you again soon.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Easy

Easy, fast experience and great products !

March 14, 2026
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi Anthony, thank you for your review and feedback! We are very happy to hear you had a positive shopping experience with us and we hope to see you again soon.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

C stand provided with not protective caps

I have recently purchased a C-Stand which is good quality - however, it is annoying that the boom arm is supplied with no protective caps for both ends - it may just be a little detail but it is annoying if you work in a small environment and risk injury . It will not cost much to PIXAPRO to add two protective caps when competitors like Neweer supplied their C stand, both large and small, with two protective caps for both end of the arm. Their stands are equally as good and less expensive and supplied with protective caps . Just a little detail on competitors products that make the difference! Luciana Rizzi Photography

October 15, 2025
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi Luciana, thank you for your feedback. We will be sure to pass this to our team.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Terrible refund process

Terrible refund process

Refuses to refund within suggested timeframe

January 28, 2026
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi Danielle, thank you for your review. I have taken a look into your case now and can see that our team did advise that your refund could take up to 14 working days to be processed. When this was chased up by yourself on day 13, our team were able to confirm on the same day that it had been processed, within the timeframe provided by us. Please be assured that at no point did we refuse to process your refund.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Appalling customer service

I hate giving a negative review, but wanted to warn other customers of my experiences with EssesntialPhoto.
I sent an speedlite to EssentialPhoto for repair. They returned it to the wrong address causing me a lot of inconvenience to retrieve it. While I will always accept that mistakes can happen, when I brought the matter to their attention, rather than apologise and refund the courier costs, they persisted in blaming me for not spotting THEIR error on the invoice.
This happened despite them requesting my address twice on two separate forms prior to them receiving the item.
Additionally, once they received the item I heard nothing from them for weeks, they didn't acknowledge they'd received it or give any updates or time estimates on it's progress. I had to prompt them to find out why it was taking so long. By this time, the item had been repaired, without them sending a quote or requesting authorisation.
The responses I've received from their customer services department are unsatisfactory and haven't addressed my complaint at all. They don't seem to care about what they did.

December 9, 2025
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi Tim, thank you for your review, and we're sorry to hear you've not been happy with your experience.

To address your feedback, we can confirm that our team did respond as to why the original address was used for the dispatch of the repaired item - the returns and repair form address would not be used as the shipping address for the repair unless specifically requested. Please be assured that we did request, upon sending the quote, for you to review and confirm all details before payment was processed.

While we have apologised for the inconvenience caused as a result of this occurrence, we unfortunately would not be able to refund the postage cost in this instance as the quote was viewed and approved by yourself upon payment.

Regarding authorisation for the repair, this has also been addressed. When you approached us for the warranty and repair quote, our team informed you of repair procedure, and also provided a written quote for the price of repair plus postage before you proceeded to send the unit to us. Upon confirming that you had sent these to us, and your providing the tracking details, our team responded that "Once we receive your item back into our warehouse, your case will be worked through by our repairs team.". Your proceeding was taken as clear authorisation to move forward with this.

We hope this helps to clarify the details surrounding your case and our position on this.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Awful service very poorly trained and rude staff

Abysmal levels of service from this company. Would advise anyone considering using them to avoid like the plague. Ordered an item and they sent the wrong one. From then on it was once mess of poor service after another. Staff both ruse and unhelpful, told outright the lies by two of them. Will never consider using them again. From what I have been told by other photographers this is normal levels of service for this business. They do a great job of trying to hide reviews, be very careful if you have no option but to deal with them. i will never buy anything from them again.

Edit - In regards to the reply below, yet more lies from this company and some of what they have said here I consider to be slanderous and a besmirchment against my good character. As a matter of principal, I shall be discussing with my solicitor and seeking legal recourse.

As well as the lies you told like for example pretending an employee was a manager when he wasn’t. Instead of the item I was supposed to receive you sent a bulb worth about £3. Yet insisted on not resolving the issue of my missing item before getting your £3 bulb back. if you are that stuck for cash I would have given you £3 to resolve my problem as I needed the item urgently as you are aware. I was initially told you would send return paperwork for me to leave it at the post office. I was then told you can’t do that and would arrange a courier to pick it up. The email also went on to say that if I was not available you would charge me an additional fee to pick up your bulb and that there was a one hour time slot. They did arrive to pick it up but were over 30 minutes late and it was only luck that there was someone there to give it to them.

For those reading I can’t express how poor dealing with this company has been. On average I spend around 18k a year on photography equipment and have dealt with pretty much every supplier of camera and lighting equipment in the U.K at one time or another. This has been far and away the worst experience I have ever had. Rude and aggressive staff, lies galore and a very poor standard of communication throughout. Policies that defy belief, like sending a courier to pick up a £3 bulb from Northern Ireland to deliver back to England seems like a poor waste of resources. In an age where we are trying to protect the environment Companies are supposed to be taking those responsibilities seriously, then you have these guys. I don’t mind when a business gets something wrong, it happens. However, the sign of a good company is how they resolve issues, this is not a good company. AVOID! AVOID! AVOID!

Still no resolution to my issue either even though there £3 bulb is on the way back to them. They also have not replied to recent emails I have sent them.

December 1, 2025
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi Thomas, thank you for your feedback, and we're sorry to hear you've had a negative experience when shopping with us. I have taken a look at your case and can see that you did receive an incorrect item in your most recent order at the weekend; we understand how frustrating this must be and we apologise sincerely for the inconvenience this has caused.

We can see that our team have organised a courier collection for this incorrect product at our cost, so that we can get this resolved for you as quickly as possible and the correct item dispatched out. Please be assured that we are looking to get this sorted for you with urgency, and if there are any problems with this collection please let us know and we will look into this promptly.

Please be aware, however, that we do NOT tolerate swearing or abuse to our staff in any capacity. Our team are working hard to resolve the issue you've experienced, and speaking to our team in this manner will not provide a faster resolution.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

They went downhill. Beware of service dept!

Their rebadged godox ad400 pro unit came at a great price. They do that part well at times. Unfortunately the unit proved problematic in more than one way. The battery has a defect with "reset" button placement so it can't be woken up after a short period of inactivity. They conned me out of another £25 to "fix it" - when in reality it only needed opening (2 simple screws), and pressing the little button that is just out of its intended place! They never told me about this and blamed me all the way.
They had a nice showroom before, but now they are in a nasty derelict warehouse which you can't even visit if you try.
Sometimes they really go out of their way to lose a loyal customer - and have definitely succeeded!

December 6, 2024
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi there, thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately as you were unable to provide more information on your order on request, we're not able to provide more context as to our decisions regarding your light repair.
If this battery was out of warranty, then unfortunately we do have to charge for the reset as part of our repairs services. We advise customers to not open their battery units themselves for health and safety purposes, as our team are trained to handle and repair these items.

As for your feedback on our Showroom and Office location, we're sorry to hear that you find it to be "nasty" and "derelict". If you visited us before Spring 2025, please be aware that as we were still moving in, we did not have the showroom prepared, however we were happy to unveil our new Showroom and customer lobby space in April. If you're ever back for a visit, we'd love to show you the new space.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great prices

Great prices, excellent products and quik delivery. What's not to like?!
The only niggle is that they didn't tell me the product wasn't in stock before I ordered - I didn't realise it was brand new to market and wasn;t in shops yet. This resulted in a couple of moved deadlines but I managed to talk to somone on the phone which was reassuring.

October 10, 2025
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi Sarah, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re so glad to hear you had a great experience shopping with us! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we’re looking forward to serving you again soon!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

All round excellence!

Great range of products, easy to use website and slick ordering process and ultra fast delivery; Essential Photo & Video are my number one choice for all my photographic lighting requirements.

October 25, 2025
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi David, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re glad to hear how easy shopping with us felt. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Really great service from Essential…

Really great service from Essential Photo as always. Prices are very competitive and the deliveries are always fast and efficient. I've bought quite a few things from them over the last few years and they remain one of my favourite companies to deal with

October 1, 2025
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi there, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re thrilled to hear you’re happy with your experience shopping with us! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Genuine, Durable Products

Genuine, durable products, I've been a valued customer since 2014. Never been let down!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾💯

October 3, 2025
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi there, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re so glad to hear you’ve had a great all-round experience with us once again, and we’re so thankful you’ve been with us for so long! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Not only Essential but Efficient too

I have purchased from Essential Photo and Video in the past and have always found them to be very efficient.

October 3, 2025
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi there, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re pleased to hear you’ve had such a great experience shopping with us! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Ordered one day - Delivered Next

Ordered one day - delivered the next - Item in stock and great service

July 28, 2025
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi there, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re thrilled you’ve had a great experience with us, and we are happy to assist you with any new equipment you’re looking for in the future! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent service once again...

Excellent speedy service once again from ordering to delivery.

October 7, 2025
Unprompted review
EssentialPhoto & Video logo

Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video

Hi Peter, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re glad to hear you had such a positive experience with your purchase from start to finish! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!

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