FAQ

Augenblicke-eingefangen? Who are we?

Augenblicke eingefangen is an online shop specializing in photo accessories. We carry products from the manufacturers Really Right Stuff, Kirk, LensCoat, Wimberley, Acratech, PromediaGear, Flexshooter and from other manufacturers.

It is important to us that the products are of high quality, have a long lifespan, and fulfill their purpose optimally during use, thus bringing joy to photography. Many of the products are usually tested by Christian beforehand, so we only carry products that make sense and have proven themselves in practice.

In our shop, you will find specific camera plates and L-brackets that are built only for your camera and fit like a glove. You will also find accessories for lenses in our shop, as well as tripods, tripod heads, everything for camouflage, weather and rain protection, screws, tools, and much more.

We also have suitable items in our portfolio for special applications such as macro photography, panoramic photography, telephotography, photography from the car or low-angle shots.

We run our online shop in Rostock, right by the Warnow. Sometimes the kingfisher calls – then Christian gets all fidgety – but that's another topic ;-).

Since 2007, we have been shipping the products we select within Germany, Europe, and sometimes beyond. Most of our customers are satisfied, order again, and tell other photo friends about us.

In our shop, we offer various payment methods: advance payment, PayPal Plus, purchase on account via PayPal Plus, and credit card payment. These payment methods are secure - so you take no risk when you shop with us and make a payment (even in advance).

For more transparency, we have been with Shopauskunft, an independent online shop review portal, since the end of 2019. Our customers' experiences are intended to give new website visitors more confidence that we are trustworthy and that they can shop with us without hesitation. Moreover, customer feedback also reinforces what we do – from product selection to honest, individual expert advice, which is probably our greatest strength.

Our Online Shop

What do we offer?

Above, we briefly introduced what you can find in our shop. For general orientation among our 3000 products, we recommend getting an overview through the categories.

Alternatively, you can use the shop's internal search.

If you don't find what you're looking for or are not sure you have found the right thing, call us, use the live chat, or write us an email. We know that "what fits where and for what?" can be confusing, we deal with it daily and are happy to help you.

The products we offer in the shop are mostly developed and manufactured in the USA. We primarily distribute handcrafted items, not mass-produced goods. So, it can sometimes happen that products are not in stock with us and even with the manufacturer, and we also have to wait for them. Fortunately, your wait and patience pay off, as you receive a high-quality item that not everyone has. Of course, you may reveal your source:-)

How do I find the special accessories for my camera?

Please choose the path through the category → Camera Accessories.

Here you will either immediately discover your camera model or click on Camera L-Brackets or Camera Plates, depending on what you need. If you are in the L-Bracket category, choose the camera manufacturer, e.g., Nikon, Sony, Canon, Olympus, and then from the appearing selection your camera model (please note whether it is the camera model with or without a battery grip).

If you cannot find your camera model, there is no special accessory for it. This sometimes happens, especially with older camera models, nothing is produced for them anymore. Alternatively, there is certainly a universal plate or an L-bracket for it.

If you are unsure which one you need – we are here for you! Please contact us – via +49 (0) 381 2038 9994, live chat, or email.

How do I find the special accessories for my lens?

Please choose the path through the category → Lens Accessories.

Here you will either immediately discover your lens model or click on Lens Plates or Lens Replacement Feet, Lens Collars or Lens Protection, depending on what you need. If you are in the Lens Plates category, choose the lens manufacturer, e.g., Nikon, Sony, Canon, Olympus, and then from the appearing selection your lens model.

If you cannot find your lens model, there will be no special accessories for it – but there are certainly alternatives.

If you are unsure which equipment you need – we are here for you. Please contact us – via +49 (0) 381 2038 9994, live chat, or email.

Register as a customer or shop as a guest?

We have been using the Shopware shop system (Made in Germany) since 2019. Here, it is possible to order as a guest (without an account) or as a registered customer.

Having your own customer account brings you the following advantages:

• Faster shopping
• Track the status of the current order
• Manage customer data yourself - view previous order history
• Store different addresses (shipping to friends or relatives is also possible)
• Create a wishlist/memo

I already have a customer account and can't log in!

Rarely, it happens that you cannot log in as usual. In such a case, please have a new password sent to you and try again. You can change the password again at any time afterward. If the login does not work, contact us by email, chat, or phone.

Technology is fascinating, and the devil is sometimes in the details!

The Order Process

How do I shop with you?

It's very simple! Add the desired item(s) to the shopping cart and proceed to checkout. Now you must either log into your account or register. Once you have entered your address(es) correctly and made all the necessary details, and you are back at the shopping cart and at our "checkout," you can choose your preferred payment and shipping method.

Finally, review the order:

• Are the items and quantity correct?
• Are the billing and delivery addresses correct?

If everything is okay, please check the box for terms and conditions and the right of withdrawal and then click on order with obligation to pay. Now, depending on the payment method, you will be redirected to the corresponding page of the payment service provider. After completing the order, you should immediately receive an order confirmation email. Please also check your SPAM folder, as sometimes our emails end up there.

If you have not received an order confirmation email, please contact us. Sometimes there is a typo in the email address during the order. It is rare, but it happens.

The Shipping

I've ordered in the shop, and now?

If your order and payment are received by us by 1 p.m. and all items are in stock, we will ship on the same day (Monday to Friday, excluding holidays) via DHL. Our DHL pickup takes place Monday-Friday at 1:50 p.m.

If you didn't make it by 1 p.m., don't panic! You have until 3 p.m. (Monday-Friday) to place an order with the option of DHL-EXPRESS shipping (within Germany). The prerequisite for express shipping is, of course, the timely receipt of payment and the availability of the item.

Once we have shipped, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with the tracking number so you can track your order.

After a few days, you will receive an email from Shop-Auskunft asking you to rate your purchase with us. You gave your consent for this at the end of the order. These reviews on an independent portal are helpful for customers who don't know us well yet, and we also appreciate every feedback.

Not all items in my order are immediately available

In principle, we ship the order completely in one delivery, i.e., when all items are in stock.

If you urgently need an item from the order, please contact us.

Can I have something reserved?

No. To reserve an item, you must place an order. If you want to view the item with us on-site, please leave a comment in your order. We will then hold your order and not ship it.

I'm currently near you – can I visit you?

Sure! You are welcome to visit us during business hours (Mon-Thu 8-16.30, Friday 8:00 -14:30) and you will also get a coffee or tea. A call +49 (0) 381 2038 9994 beforehand is enough!

Items that are not in stock – how long do I have to wait?

As mentioned above, we do not sell mass-produced goods. The items we offer are special. Therefore, it can happen that we do not have your desired product in stock and cannot ship it immediately.

The manufacturers Really Right Stuff, Wimberley, Acratech, Kirk, LensCoat, and ProMediaGear are based in the USA and also produce there. Since these items are fine handcrafted products and are not manufactured in large quantities, it can take a few weeks in exceptional cases before we can ship your desired item.

We order from the above-mentioned manufacturers regularly, at least once a month.

Photo equipment from Really Right Stuff is very popular with us, so we order from this manufacturer at shorter intervals.

For LensCoat items, it can take up to 24 days in the worst case for your ordered product to be available. For the current lens models, we usually have the covers in the camouflage patterns preferred by our customers in stock. Preferred camouflage patterns are Realtree Max4, Forest Green Camo, and for some time also Realtree Max5. For older lens models or accessories in other camouflage colors – Digital Camo, Snow, or Black – the items are partially made to order in the USA. We generally receive a LensCoat delivery twice a month.

We also order regularly from the manufacturers Wimberley, Kirk, Acratech, and ProMediaGear, so you rarely have to wait longer than 14 days for your item.

We are always dependent on the manufacturers and their availability.

Photo accessories for newly released cameras and lenses have a longer delivery time. Here, the models are measured by the manufacturer to then produce the specially adapted equipment. This takes time, and sometimes the manufacturers have to come up with something new for the optimal fit. Patience is required here. On average, manufacturers need about 12-16 weeks to develop new accessories after the camera or lens is released. By the way, you can be notified for each item that is not in stock as soon as it is available with us again.

If my DHL shipment takes longer than usual – what should I do?

DHL is our shipping service provider. Saturday delivery and delivery to a pack station are included and possible with DHL. DHL is reliable. Within Germany, delivery takes place within 1-3 working days. Usually. If there are problems or delivery issues, please let us know immediately! We do not have all packages in view. After your call for help, we will promptly contact DHL and try to get your shipment back on the right track as quickly as possible.

Refund of German VAT

In advance: Dealers are not obliged to refund VAT.

If you reside abroad (non-EU) and wish to export goods ordered from us yourself, we will refund the German VAT if the following conditions are met:

1. The billing address must match the residence*.
   Please check this at the end of the order – a subsequent change is not possible!
2. The total value of the delivery, including VAT, exceeds 50 euros
3. For the refund, the legal deadline must be met. The export must be proven before the end of the third calendar month following the month of delivery
4. The original invoice must be stamped by customs and returned by post to:

   Augenblicke eingefangen GbR
   Schonenfahrerstr. 7
   18057 Rostock
   Germany
   

   For the refund of the German VAT, we use the same payment method that you used for the original transaction.

   For the refund of VAT, we charge a processing fee of 3.50 €, which is deducted from the refund of the German VAT.

   *The place entered in the passport or other border crossing documents is considered the residence in this sense.

Determining the shipping costs

You can easily determine the shipping costs for your order before completing the order:

1. Add the desired items to the shopping cart.
2. Click on "View Cart"
3. Under "Shipping Details" in the dropdown menu, select the desired country under "Delivery Country"
4. The shipping costs and VAT (depending on the delivery country) will be updated and displayed on the right side.

Delivery to Other Countries

We ship to the following countries:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Islands (ES), Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

Refund of German VAT

Ahead of time: Traders are not obliged to refund VAT.

If you are resident abroad (non-EU) and wish to export goods ordered from us yourself, we will refund the German VAT if the following conditions are met:

1. Invoice address must be the same as the place of residence^*.
   Please check this when completing your order - a subsequent change is not possible!
2. The total value of the delivery including VAT exceeds 50 €.
3. The legal deadline must be observed for the refund. The export must be proven to have taken place before the end of the third calendar month following the month of the delivery
4. The original invoice must be stamped with the customs stamp and sent by post to:

   Augenblicke eingefangen GbR
   Schonenfahrerstr. 7
   18057 Rostock
   Germany
   to be returned.

   For the refund of German VAT, we use the same means of payment that you used for the original transaction.

   For the refund of VAT, we charge a processing fee of 3.50 €, which is deducted from the refund of German VAT.

   ^*The place of residence in this sense is the place entered in the passport or other border crossing papers.

Service for Customers from Switzerland – MeinEinkauf.ch

Of course, we also deliver directly to Switzerland – with DHL and without VAT. VAT and any applicable duties are borne by you.

Alternatively, you can also make your purchase through MeinEinkauf.ch. This is supposed to be very convenient and is used by many of our customers.

More about processing via MeinEinkauf.ch can be found here:

https://meineinkauf.ch/

I want to return something ...

This is straightforward and legally regulated with us. You can find information about this here:

Right of Withdrawal

How returns are handled with us can be found here:

Returns

The item doesn't fit – can I exchange it?

Exchanging is unfortunately not possible, the return is handled according to the legally regulated right of withdrawal. You can reorder the desired item. Orders are treated separately – offsetting payments only confuses our accounting.

Returns / Exchanges Outside the Withdrawal Period

Please understand that we cannot accept or exchange items outside the withdrawal period.

We recommend selling used camera or lens accessories best with the camera or lens or offering them in various forums:

• https://www.dslr-forum.de
• https://www.fotoforum.de/community/forum/marktplatz/verkaufe
• https://www.systemkamera-forum.de/
• https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/

I saw a great product – but unfortunately not in your shop

We are open to new products – so feel free to send us your recommendations! The easiest way is to write us an email with a link to the interesting product.

Brands in Our Portfolio

Yeah, since 2011, we have been an OFFICIAL REALLY RIGHT STUFF DEALER and are allowed to call ourselves that! We know Joe and Joan Johnson (owners of RRS) personally, they even visited us in Rostock. So we have a direct line to RRS. RRS is a manufacturer based in Utah that makes fine things for cameras and lenses. RRS is also known for its high-quality tripods, which are very lightweight compared to other tripods. And of course, RRS makes the classic: the BH-55! Our range also includes the popular lever clamps.

With our other manufacturers in the USA like Kirk, Acratech, and Wimberley, we have a similarly long-standing, trusting relationship - some even since 2007.

We have often helped the founder of LensCoat -Scott Elowitz- as German-speaking support at Photokina and thus know him personally as well.

ProMediaGear – The three owners (three brothers) from Illinois are engineers and partly photographers themselves. They also think outside the box and have developed innovative flash equipment (like the Boomerang) and stable carbon tripods. They gave the classic gimbal a fresh look and called it Katana.

We also have a good personal connection to Csaba Karai, the owner of FlexShooter. He is the developer of the FlexShooter, a unique cross-lever clamp, and also offers some other accessories. We are always very excited about what he will come up with in his Hungarian idea workshop!

Long no longer a secret tip: Tragopan, with its camouflage tent portfolio, and Camshield, manufacturer of a new lens protection (not made of neoprene!) and other useful photo accessories. The owner is the Frenchman Jonathan Martinez, whom we also know personally. Jonathan is a photographer (and ornithologist) and knows what is important when sitting in a camouflage tent. His tents are uniquely equipped accordingly. Jonathan has developed a new type of lens camouflage with the Camoshield Cover – soon to be available for selected Canon and Sony lenses.

Mr.JanGear - Manufacturer of the floating hide, bean bags, backpacks, and other useful accessories. Mr. Jan develops his products in the Czech Republic and has them manufactured in Slovakia. Of course, we also know Mr. Jan personally.

The best for last: with Berlebach / Novoflex / Eckla / König Photobags -all MADE IN GERMANY- we have maintained close business relationships for many years and meet regularly at various photo festivals and photo markets. You see, our business policy includes not only a good relationship with our customers but also with our manufacturers. The products are mostly manufactured in the USA and here in Europe.

Products from Leofoto are manufactured in China, but they have convinced us with their equally high quality, price-performance ratio, and innovative products.