I’ve placed two separate orders with this store. One through their eBay shop and another directly from their website (order number #47916). Both experiences were excellent. Each order arrived the... See more
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Review summary
Created with AI, based on recent reviews
What people talk about most
Reviews shaping this summary
Some of the kit I was ordering was not in stock, therefore had to pre order. The lead time was 7 - 10 days. However I was notified after a bout 5 that the kit had arrived and was delivered 2... See more
Company replied
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
Easy to make purchase, great delivery and an awesome product. Managed to overcome the install of my Insta360x4 to the boom on my Supernova racing/sailing dinghy when I couldn’t find anything else to... See more
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Company details
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
EssentialPhoto & Video, 48 Brick Kiln Street, DY5 1JG, Brierley Hill, United Kingdom
- 01215523113
- info@essentialphoto.co.uk
- essentialphoto.co.uk
4.5
Excellent
1K reviews
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This company invites their customers to review, whether positive or negative
Replied to 93% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 1 week
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Great products from a great store
Range of products and price point were excellent. Not everything was in stock (which was made clear at point of order), but deliveries were fast when the products were there to ship and communications were excellent throughout.
August 19, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Andy, 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!
Excellent price for amazing gear
Excellent price for an amazing bit of kit. Process was super easy. Thanks for using DPD to deliver!
August 13, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
31/10/25 - Hello Rhi! We're very happy to let you know that you've been drawn as the winner of our review random prize draw! This means you've won £250 in rewards points to be added to your website account. Congrats! Please email us at info@essentialphoto.co.uk before 14th November to redeem this. If we receive no reply by 14th, please be aware that we may pick another winner.
Hi Rhi thank you so much for your positive review! We’re thrilled to hear you’re happy with your experience shopping with us and you’re happy with our courier delivery! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!
Excellent service and fast delivery.
September 5, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Mr Baker, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re thrilled to hear you’re happy with the service we’re providing! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!
Stress free easy transaction.
August 28, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Brian, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re thrilled to hear you’re happy with the service we’re providing! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Mark, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re happy to hear about your great experience shopping with us! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!
Good pricing
Good pricing, prompt delivery! Great for specific items. Will use again!
August 1, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Dan, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re thrilled to hear you’re happy with our products and our delivery! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!
Great store, competitive pricing and amazing service
I’ve placed two separate orders with this store. One through their eBay shop and another directly from their website (order number #47916).
Both experiences were excellent. Each order arrived the very next day, which was very handy. The items were very well packaged, showing they take care to ensure everything arrives safely. On top of that, their prices are very reasonable compared to other sellers.
Overall, fast shipping, great packaging, and fair pricing. I’ll definitely be ordering again when it comes time to upgrade my lighting setup!
August 25, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi there, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re thrilled to hear you’re happy with the service we’re providing and how prompt we’ve been with your orders! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!
The Godox iT30pro is a fabulous flash…
The Godox iT30pro is a fabulous flash with many features and works on or off the camera with other flashes like the iM30F flash. I am currently waiting for the Godox riser which is taking some time as these products are in high demand. It is very portable and with the internal battery you can get a few hundred shots with one charge.
September 5, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Dave, thank you for your review. We're glad to hear you're happy with your iT30Pro flash. The Godox hotshoe riser is a brand new product which is why we're still awaiting stock of this, but please be assured that this will be dispatched out as soon as we receive the first shipment.
However we're very sorry to hear that your experience has been negative. If you could provide some more information on the issue you've experienced we'd be happy to pass this feedback to the team?
The ordering process was…
The ordering process was straightforward. The items was despatched on the date advised.
September 1, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Adedapo, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re thrilled to hear you’re happy with how easy placing an order has been with us! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!
Quality & Delivery
One of the reasons I use Essential Photo & Video is that the quality of there products are fantastic & never had an issue of the multiple products that I've bought. The delivery is always on time & well packaged which is really important when you are buying expensive products
June 18, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Mervyn, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re thrilled to hear you’re happy with the service we’re providing! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!
100% Recommendation
I recently purchased a set of softboxes from Essential Photo Video and had a really positive experience. During checkout, I realised my delivery address was still my previous one, but the staff were very helpful and quickly arranged the change for me without any hassle. Communication throughout was clear, friendly, and professional, which made the whole process stress-free. The products arrived in excellent condition and are exactly what I needed for my work. I’m very happy with both the service and the quality of the items, and I would definitely recommend Essential Photo Video to anyone looking for reliable photography equipment.
September 5, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Travel, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re thrilled to hear how prompt and efficient our team were with resolving your issue! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!
Perfect service
Perfect service, very fast delivery and quality product as always
August 26, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Kosta, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re thrilled to hear how prompt and efficient our service was! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!
Order not yet delivered and no response to the call and email
My order (#47279) for a 3.2mx3m Heavy-Duty Adjustable Background Support System, placed on August 9, 2025, has still not been delivered. I've attempted to contact the company multiple times via both phone and email to inquire about the status of my shipment, but I've received no response. The complete lack of communication is unacceptable. I am very disappointed with the service and the fact that I have no information about my order.
August 12, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Adarsh, thanks for your review. We can see that this item was on a pre-order at the time of purchase, which would have been advertised both on the product and in your basket before payment was made. We can also see that our team emailed you on 11th August to state that your order was out of stock, and they also provided a stock arrival estimate for when you would receive this.
To address your concerns about the emails, I can see that you sent one email to us on Saturday 23rd August. As we are not open on weekends or Bank Holidays, your email was received this morning and I can now see that our team have replied with your pre-order information. If there is anything further we can assist with, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Great service and fast shipping.
June 13, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Rihards, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re so glad to hear how smooth your experience was with us! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we’re looking forward to serving you again soon!
Consistently Impressed
I am consistently impressed with Essential Photo & Video; the website is clear, easy to use and up to date. Ordering is very straightforward and deliveries are very prompt. They have quickly become my ‘go to’ preferred company for all my photographic lighting and equipment needs. Highly recommended.
August 6, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi David, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re so happy to hear how easy your purchases have been with us, and we thank you for making those purchases! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!
Good quality equipment
July 10, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Vince, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re glad to hear you’re enjoying your new equipment! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Dale, thank you so much for your positive review! We’re thrilled to hear our after sales assistance has been helpful to you! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're looking forward to serving you again soon!
Great Support and customer service.
Great Support and customer service.
Very helpful.
July 28, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Raymond, 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!
Flimsy product + tricky return process…
The camera stands I bought online were flimsy and wobbly so I returned them.
Unfortunately I didn't have the packaging I had bought them in so I returned them well packaged but without their cardboard boxes (which were plain brown boxes so would have been easy to replace).
I was subsequently advised I would only receive a portion of a full refund as there were marks on the stands. I asked for photos (which they sent) but still couldn't see any marks. They were in perfect condition when I sent them.
I explained I was returning them in the first place as they were faulty and not fit for purpose and that legally they were bound to refund me anyway for being as such.
At this point the customer services person suggested I wasn't using them for the purpose for which they were fit and that the product details apparently say they only carry weight of 1-1.5kg. I had not exceeded this weight.
In the end I just gave up as they were hellbent on not giving me a full refund and I have better things to do with my time.
Avoid these time wasters unless you want to risk getting into an email wrangle and losing your money if you return a product for a refund.
July 31, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Laura, thank you for your review and feedback. We understand your frustration, but we would like to clarify our position on your case. If these products were returned to us in the same condition they were received, please be assured that we would have been able to provide the full refund, regardless of reason for return. As mentioned by our team in email correspondence, we have had to deduct from your refund for two reasons:
1. Because you discarded the product packaging, which we state must be present when returning products.
2. As a result, the returned stands were taped together by yourself, and insufficiently protected/packed during transit. This caused damage in the form of scratches and dents, meaning they were no longer in a saleable condition when they reached us.
Please note that this is stated in our Returns Policy (https://www.essentialphoto.co.uk/pages/returns-and-refunds, Section 3: "Please be aware any missing original packaging, or damage to the item(s) returned may result in the amount due to be refunded being affected."), and this was also stated in our email to yourself when this returns case was opened (and before you dispatched the return), as it is the customer's responsibility to return the item and supplied packaging, and to pack the returned items appropriately. If the stands had been returned with, and safely in their original packaging, we would have been able to provide a full refund as requested.
We hope this helps to clarify our position on your case.
You want a refund? We'll make it as difficult as possible.
They have your money and they will do their best to prevent you getting it back even though they sent you a faulty product.
Appalling customer service and such a confused and complex policy to return an item and claim a refund.
Pixapro/Essential: "Send videos of the fault.... now send an explanation of the fault...follow our tech dept's advice. Okay the fault is still there, but our tech experts say you should now try this....send more evidence of you doing this.....Okay, still faulty so do what we told you to do in our first email...oh, sorry, we sent you a template email without reading your email....Okay, send it back for our tech divas to test it and we'll let you know how we get on...."
Me: "If you don't offer a refund I will make a claim in a small claims court."
Pixapro/Essential: (Aggressive phone call): "Ignore our last email, it shouldn't have been sent. Send the product back and we'll give you a refund. No hard feelings, ay?"
July 28, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from EssentialPhoto & Video
Hi Rahil, thank you for your feedback. We understand your frustration and apologise sincerely for any confusion caused during your case.
Regarding our returns process, the reasoning for this was outlined to you when you reached out via Social Media, and our team explained that the process for requesting information and videos of the problem you're experiencing is in place as this allows us to suggest any possible solutions so that you can try to get your unit working at home. We understand this may feel tedious, however we find that we can often resolve faults like these without the customer having to send items back and forth, therefore making it easier and faster for you where possible. Unfortunately in your case, these suggestions were already attempted or did not work, which is why we have now proceeded with the next steps for your case and provided the returns label for you to send this back.
Please be aware that AT NO POINT did we refuse to proceed with the process of a refund or replacement or allude to you not getting a refund, before or after your threats to go to small claims and post your experience online. You were already within the process to refund or replace this, and the steps outlined above are part of this process, and are followed with every customer who experiences a fault with their item. The refund/replacement is the last step in this process and was going to be actioned regardless, when it became clear there was no at-home solution to your problem.
In regards to the email template received, we do apologise for any confusion caused as a result of this. While the template did include some relevant information for your return, and the pre-paid returns label was supplied for you also, the irrelevant information from this should have been removed or clarified by our team.
We understand that you're looking for the fastest possible resolution for your case, so we would now advise to return the item with the supplied returns label, include your order number and information in the parcel so this can be identified, and our team can get this processed swiftly when received.
Thank you for your time and patience.
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