Camera brand Hasselblad has closed all of its East Coast USA operations and customer services. According to an email posted on a photography forum, the company has relocated its headquarters and service work to Burbank, California, where it shares a center with DJI.

The company apparently first alerted customers in late November of the change. Now it will ship any items needing service or repair directly to California.

Hasselblad previously had a service location in New Jersey, which was very useful for East Coast and New York photographers. The email was posted by a Hasselblad customer on the Hasselblad Digital forum after they had enquired about repairs to an XCD lens. The reply reads:

“I wanted to inform you that the Hasselblad service office in New Jersey is closing. The office will relocate to California. Your equipment will be shipped to the California location for repair. Please be aware that the new office will open at the end of the month, so there will be a delay with your repair. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

Several people commenting seemed dismayed at the development, saying that they had had “excellent customer service and repairs” previously from the New Jersey service center.

The move makes some sense, however, as in 2017, Chinese brand DJI acquired a majority stake in Hasselblad. In order to streamline costs and be more efficient, it’s understandable.

According to Petapixel, no employees highly specialized in repairing Hasselblad cameras were relocated to California, and after reaching out to enquire further, received no replies. This would indeed be a disappointing turn of events if it’s correct. You don’t really want to trust your $13,000 camera body with just anybody.