If you’re in the market for photographic or optical equipment, you may be wondering what companies are out there that manufacture these products in the United States. Fortunately, there are quite a few to choose from, ranging from large corporations to small, niche businesses. Below is a list of some of the most prominent photographic and optical equipment manufacturing companies in the USA:
Photographic Equipment Manufacturers
- Canon USA: One of the largest manufacturers of cameras and lenses in the world, Canon USA has a wide range of products for both amateur and professional photographers.
- Nikon USA: Another major player in the camera and lens market, Nikon USA offers high-quality products for both still photography and videography.
- GoPro: Best known for their action cameras, GoPro also offers a range of accessories and other products for outdoor enthusiasts.
- Sony Electronics: While Sony offers a wide range of electronics, they also have a strong presence in the photography market with their line of mirrorless cameras and lenses.
- Fujifilm North America: Fujifilm is known for their high-quality film products, but they also offer a range of digital cameras and lenses for both consumer and professional use.
Optical Equipment Manufacturers
- Carl Zeiss: A German company with a US subsidiary, Carl Zeiss is known for their high-quality optical products, including lenses for photography and microscopes for scientific use.
- Leica Camera USA: Leica is a luxury brand that offers high-end cameras, lenses, and binoculars for professional photographers and enthusiasts.
- Vortex Optics: Vortex specializes in sports optics, including binoculars, spotting scopes, and riflescopes.
- Meade Instruments: Meade is a well-known brand in the astronomy community, offering telescopes and other accessories for stargazers.
- Bausch + Lomb: While Bausch + Lomb is primarily known for their contact lenses and eye care products, they also have a line of surgical microscopes and other optical devices.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but it should give you a good starting point if you’re looking for photographic or optical equipment made in the USA. Whether you’re a professional photographer, an outdoor enthusiast, or a science buff, there’s bound to be a company on this list that offers the products you need.
List of Photographic & Optical Equipment Manufacturing Companies in the USA
| S. No. | Name | Founders | Founded Year | ||
| 1 | Canon USA | Takeshi Mitarai, Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida, Takeo Maeda | 1937 | ||
| 2 | Nikon USA | Koyata Iwasaki | 1917 | ||
| 3 | GoPro | Nick Woodman | 2002 | ||
| 4 | Sony Electronics | Masaru Ibuka, Akio Morita | 1946 | ||
| 5 | Fujifilm North America | Shigetaka Komori | 1934 | ||
| 6 | Carl Zeiss | Carl Zeiss | 1846 | ||
| 7 | Leica Camera USA | Ernst Leitz | 1914 | ||
| 8 | Vortex Optics | Dan and Margie Hamilton | 1986 | ||
| 9 | Meade Instruments | John Diebel | 1972 | ||
| 10 | Bausch + Lomb | John Jacob Bausch, Henry Lomb | 1853 | ||
| 11 | Pelican Products | Dave Parker | 1976 | ||
| 12 | Tiffen | Nat Tiffen | 1938 | ||
| 13 | RED Digital Cinema | Jim Jannard | 2005 | ||
| 14 | Arri Inc. | August Arnold, Robert Richter | 1917 | ||
| 15 | Hasselblad USA | Victor Hasselblad | 1941 | ||
| 16 | Profoto USA | Conny Dufgran, Eckhard Heine | 1968 | ||
| 17 | Sachtler Corporation | Wendelin Sachtler | 1958 | ||
| 18 | Manfrotto Distribution US, Inc. | Lino Manfrotto | 1972 | ||
| 19 | Schneider Optics | Joseph Schneider | 1913 | ||
| 20 | Cinevate LLC | Dennis Wood | 2005 | ||
| 21 | Matthews Studio Equipment, Inc. | Roy Isaia | 1969 | ||
| 22 | Lowel-Light Manufacturing, Inc. | John Lowel | 1959 | ||
| 23 | Chimera Lighting | Garrett Brown | 1980 | ||
| 24 | AbelCine | Pete Abel | 1989 | ||
| 25 | Glidecam Industries, Inc. | David Wexler | 1992 | ||
| 26 | Kessler Crane, Inc. | Eric Kessler | 2003 | ||
| 27 | Matthews Effects, Inc. | Andrew Matthews | 2012 | ||
| 28 | Wooden Camera, LLC | Ryan Kavanaugh, Andrew Carballeira | 2011 | ||
| 29 | ZEAL Optics | John Sanchez | 1997 | ||
| 30 | Veydra, LLC | Ryan Avery | 2014 | ||
| 31 | Lensbaby | Craig Strong | 2004 | ||
| 32 | LensCoat LLC | Scott Elowitz | 2005 | ||
| 33 | Paul C. Buff, Inc. | Paul C. Buff | 1982 | ||
| 34 | Photogenic Inc. | Conrad Kacsik | 1903 | ||
| 35 | Savage Universal Corporation | Jack Savage | 1937 | ||
| 36 | Sekonic Corporation | Kenjiro Sekonic | 1951 | ||
| 37 | Sigma Corporation of America | Michihiro Yamaki | 1961 | ||
| 38 | Smith-Victor Corporation | Victor Smith | 1920 | ||
| 39 | Tamron USA, Inc. | Uhyoue Tamura | 1950 | ||
| 40 | Tenba | Lynn Drumm | 1977 | ||
| 41 | Think Tank Photo | Doug Murdoch, Deanne Fitzmaurice | 2005 | ||
| 42 | Topcon Medical Systems, Inc. | James N. Robinson | 1932 | ||
| 43 | True Color | Jordan Herschel | 2010 | ||
| 44 | Westcott | Glenn W. Johnson | 1899 | ||
| 45 | X-Rite | Dr. Edwin Land | 1958 | ||
| 46 | ZEISS Industrial Metrology LLC | Carl Zeiss | 1846 | ||
| 47 | 3 Legged Thing | Danny Lenihan | 2011 | ||
| 48 | 9.Solutions | Jan-Erik Svennson | 2014 | ||
| 49 | Acratech Inc. | Ted Low | 1998 | ||
| 50 | Aurora Aperture Inc. | Jeff Chen | 2013 | ||
| 51 | Aurox | Mike Sander | 2004 | ||
| 52 | Blackmagic Design | Grant Petty | 2001 | ||
| 53 | Cambo Fotografische Industrie BV | Piet Kramer | 1946 | ||
| 54 | Cognysis | John R. Everhart | 1992 | ||
| 55 | Cooke Optics | William Cooke | 1893 | ||
| 56 | Cotton Carrier | Andy Cotton | 2009 | ||
| 57 | Custom SLR | Ivan Wong | 2010 | ||
| 58 | Datacolor | Lawrence A. Hoak | 1970 | ||
| 59 | Delkin Devices | Martin Wood | 1986 | ||
| 60 | Digital Bolex | Elle Schneider, Joe Rubinstein | 2012 | ||
| 61 | DxO Labs | Jerome Meniere, Luc Marin, Cyrille de La Chesnais | 2003 | ||
| 62 | Edelkrone | Kadir Koymen | 2009 | ||
| 63 | Fotodiox Inc. | Bohuš Blahut | 2004 | ||
| 64 | Fujifilm North America Corporation | Shigetaka Komori | 1934 | ||
| 65 | Gitzo | Arsène Gitzhoven | 1917 | ||
| 66 | GoPro Inc. | Nick Woodman | 2002 | ||
| 67 | Hasselblad | Victor Hasselblad | 1941 | ||
| 68 | Hoya Corporation USA | Shoichi Yamauchi | 1941 | ||
| 69 | ikan Corporation | Kan Yeung | 2005 | ||
| 70 | Joby Inc. | JoeBen Bevirt | 2006 | ||
| 71 | Kenko Tokina USA Inc. | Kenko Tokina Co., Ltd. | 1957 | ||
| 72 | Kodak Alaris | George Eastman | 2013 | ||
| 73 | Kupo Grip | Andrew Jiang | 2000 | ||
| 74 | LaCie USA | Philippe Spruch | 1987 | ||
| 75 | Leica Camera Inc. | Ernst Leitz | 1914 | ||
| 76 | Manfrotto | Lino Manfrotto | 1972 | ||
| 77 | MindShift Gear | Jerry Dodrill | 2013 | ||
| 78 | Olympus Corporation of the Americas | Takeshi Yamashita | 1919 | ||
| 79 | Peak Design | Peter Dering | 2010 | ||
| 80 | Pelican Products, Inc. | Dave Parker | 1976 | ||
| 81 | Profoto USA | Conny Dufgran | 1968 | ||
| 82 | RED Digital Cinema | Jim Jannard | 2005 | ||
| 83 | Rode Microphones | Henry Freedman | 1967 | ||
| 84 | Schneider Optics | Joseph Schneider | 1913 | ||
| 85 | Sekonic Corporation | Kenjiro Sekonic | 1951 | ||
| 86 | Shure Inc. | Sidney N. Shure | 1925 | ||
| 87 | Skylum Software | Alex Tsepko | 2008 | ||
| 88 | SmallHD | Wes Phillips, Dale Backus | 2009 | ||
| 89 | Sony Electronics, Inc. | Masaru Ibuka | 1946 | ||
| 90 | Swarovski Optik North America | Wilhelm Swarovski | 1949 | ||
| 91 | Tamron USA Inc. | Takeyuki Arai | 1950 | ||
| 92 | Tenba | Jim Jennewein, Lynn Jennewein | 1977 | ||
| 93 | Tiffen | Nat Tiffen, Julius Tiffen | 1938 | ||
| 94 | Tokina USA Inc. | Kenko Tokina Co., Ltd. | 1950 | ||
| 95 | Vitec Group | Martin Green | 1910 | ||
| 96 | Westcott | Jerry Westcott, Gary Regester | 1985 | ||
| 97 | Woodman Labs Inc. (GoPro) | Nick Woodman | 2002 | ||
| 98 | X-Rite Inc. | Dr. Richard Hunter | 1958 | ||
| 99 | ZEISS Group | Carl Zeiss | 1846 | ||
| 100 | Zhiyun-Tech | Leo Wong, Robin Chen | 2014 | ||
| 101 | ALEXA | Arnold & Richter Cine Technik GmbH & Co Betriebs KG | 1917 | ||
| 102 | Aluratek, Inc. | John Wolikow | 2006 | ||
| 103 | Amimon | Zvi Reznec, Meir Feder | 2004 | ||
| 104 | Atomos Limited | Jeromy Young | 2010 | ||
| 105 | Avigilon Corporation | Alexander Fernandes | 2004 | ||
| 106 | Blackmagic Design | Grant Petty | 2001 | ||
| 107 | Bright Tangerine Ltd. | Chuck Fawcett | 2012 | ||
| 108 | Cineo Lighting | Rich Pierceall, Chuck Edwards | 2012 | ||
| 109 | Core SWX | Jose Flores | 2009 | ||
| 110 | Delkin Devices Inc. | Martin Wood | 1986 | ||
| 111 | DJI Innovations | Frank Wang | 2006 | ||
| 112 | Flanders Scientific, Inc. | Bram Desmet | 2008 | ||
| 113 | Flir Systems, Inc. | Earl Lewis, David Cupps | 1978 | ||
| 114 | Fotasy | Jack Wang | 2012 | ||
| 115 | G-Technology | Roger Mabon | 2004 | ||
| 116 | Hensel | Friderike Hensel, Horst Hensel | 1963 | ||
| 117 | Inovativ LLC | Pat Blewett, Spencer Blewett | 2009 | ||
| 118 | Kessler Crane, Inc. | Eric Kessler | 2003 | ||
| 119 | Light & Motion | Daniel Emerson | 1989 | ||
| 120 | Limelite Lighting | Ross Mcnair | 2007 | ||
| 121 | Matthews Studio Equipment | Roy Isaia, Ed Phillips | 1968 | ||
| 122 | Metabones | Illya Friedman | 2010 | ||
| 123 | Miller Camera Support, LLC | Ron Miller | 1954 | ||
| 124 | Motion Impossible Ltd | Rob Drewett | 2015 | ||
| 125 | Nauticam USA | Edward Lai | 2009 | ||
| 126 | Nimar Water Sports | Nicola Menin | 2009 | ||
| 127 | Novoflex | Hugo Weißhaar | 1948 | ||
| 128 | OConnor Engineering Laboratories, Inc. | Chadwell O’Connor | 1949 | ||
| 129 | Paralinx | Dan Kanes, Greg Smokler | 2012 | ||
| 130 | Peak Design | Peter Dering | 2010 | ||
| 131 | PhotoCraft, Inc. | Bob Strawn | 1978 | ||
| 132 | Photogenic | Morris Koppelman, Walter Zahn | 1903 | ||
| 133 | ProAm USA | Paul Moore | 2003 | ||
| 134 | ProMediaGear | Ireneusz Luterek | 2009 | ||
| 135 | Rode Microphones | Henry Gomez, Peter Freedman | 1967 | ||
| 136 | Seitz Phototechnik AG | Paul Seitz | 1950 | ||
| 137 | SmallHD | Wes Phillips | 2009 | ||
| 138 | Smith-Victor Corporation | Victor Smith | 1920 | ||
| 139 | Spider Holster | Shai Eynav, Ron Henry | 2009 | ||
| 140 | Teradek | Nicol Verheem | 2008 | ||
| 141 | Think Tank Photo | Doug Murdoch, Mike Sturm | 2005 | ||
| 142 | Tovatec | David Heenan | 2006 | ||
| 143 | Vello | Scott Diussa | 2008 | ||
| 144 | Video Devices | Paul Isaacs | 1985 | ||
| 145 | Wooden Camera | Ryan Kavanaugh | 2011 | ||
| 146 | ZEROTECH | Meng Qiu Wang | 2007 | ||
| 147 | ZOOM Corporation | Masahiro Iijima | 1983 | ||
| 148 | 3Pod | Gene Peterson | 2011 | ||
| 149 | 9.Solutions | Anders Berglund | 2014 | ||
| 150 | 16×9 Inc. | Karl Kozak, Sean Moe | 2000 | ||
| 151 | ACME Camera Company | Philipp Mittelstaedt, Christina Young | 2016 | ||
| 152 | Amimon | Zvi Reznec, Eric Seigel | 2004 | ||
| 153 | Atomos | Jeromy Young | 2010 | ||
| 154 | Avedon Engineering Inc. | Larry Avedon | 1965 | ||
| 155 | BirdDog | Eamon Drew, Dan Miall | 2016 | ||
| 156 | Blackmagic Design | Grant Petty | 2001 | ||
| 157 | Bodelin Technologies | John Bodelin | 1989 | ||
| 158 | Bright Tangerine | Pierre Chemaly | 2014 | ||
| 159 | Cavision Enterprises Ltd. | Eric Yan | 2005 | ||
| 160 | CineBags | Wes Van Heest | 2010 | ||
| 161 | Cineroid | Seung-Tae Lee | 2006 | ||
| 162 | Cinevate Inc. | Dennis Wood | 2005 | ||
| 163 | Dedolight | Dedo Weigert, Volker Bahnemann | 1965 | ||
| 164 | DP Slider | Derek Housman | 2012 | ||
| 165 | Edelkrone | Kadir Koymen | 2009 | ||
| 166 | F&V Lighting | Steven Fang | 2007 | ||
| 167 | Fotodiox Inc. | Ken Dai | 2004 | ||
| 168 | Glidecam Industries Inc. | Peter N. Reis | 1992 | ||
| 169 | Go Professional Cases | Terry Welsh | 2011 | ||
| 170 | Hondo Garage | Greg Koenig | 2008 | ||
| 171 | ikan Corporation | Kan Yeung | 2005 | ||
| 172 | K-Tek Corp | Manfred Klemme | 1981 | ||
| 173 | LEE Filters | John Lee | 1967 | ||
| 174 | Limelite by Bowens | David Morley | 2008 | ||
| 175 | Litepanels | Ken Fisher | 2001 | ||
| 176 | Litra | Scott Gantzer | 2016 | ||
| 177 | LockCircle | Dante Cecchin | 2011 | ||
| 178 | Lumixyl | Dr. David J. Goldberg | 2008 | ||
| 179 | Manfrotto | Lino Manfrotto | 1974 | ||
| 180 | Mettle | Nancy Eperjesy, Chris Bobotis | 1992 | ||
| 181 | Miller Camera Support, LLC | John Miller | 1954 | ||
| 182 | Movcam | David Lam | 2009 | ||
| 183 | Nisi Filters | Robin Wong | 2005 | ||
| 184 | Nodal Ninja | Fanotec | 2004 | ||
| 185 | Novoflex | Walter Schrapp, Josef Wiese | 1948 | ||
| 186 | Omnilight | Ron Ries | 1978 | ||
| 187 | Ortery Technologies Inc. | Sam Shearer | 2001 | ||
| 188 | OWLE Bubo | Craig Strong | 2010 | ||
| 189 | Pelican Products, Inc. | Dave Parker | 1976 | ||
| 190 | Photek Inc. | Irwin H. Laber, Ph.D. | 1960 | ||
| 191 | Photogenic | James Patton | 1903 | ||
| 192 | Plustek | Robert Fuchs | 1986 | ||
| 193 | PocketWizard | Bart Didden, Tim Neiley | 1997 | ||
| 194 | Polaroid Corporation | Edwin H. Land | 1937 | ||
| 195 | Proaim | Tarun Khanna | 2001 | ||
| 196 | Quasar Science | Steve Strong, Matthew Beckett | 2012 | ||
| 197 | Redrock Microsystems LLC | James Hurd, Brian Valente | 2004 | ||
| 198 | Rhino Camera Gear | Kyle Hart | 2010 | ||
| 199 | Rotolight | Rod Gammons | 2006 | ||
| 200 | Sachtler | Wendelin Sachtler | 1958 | ||
| 201 | Savage Universal | Sam Savage | 1937 | ||
| 202 | Sekonic Corporation | Joichi Ohno | 1951 | ||
| 203 | Sigma Corporation of America | Michihiro Yamaki | 1961 | ||
| 204 | Smith-Victor Corporation | Victor Smith | 1920 | ||
| 205 | Spider Camera Holster | Shai Eynav | 2009 | ||
| 206 | Sunpak | John Swedberg | 1963 | ||
| 207 | Tiffen Company LLC | Nat Tiffen | 1938 | ||
| 208 | Tokina | Takeyuki Arai | 1950 | ||
| 209 | Westcott | Jerry Westcott, Thomas Waltz | 1985 | ||
| 210 | Wooden Camera | Ryan Avery, Andrew Reid | 2011 |
Conclusion
In the USA, there are numerous companies that manufacture photographic and optical equipment. From large corporations to small, niche businesses, there is a wide range of products available to suit the needs of both amateurs and professionals. The above list includes some of the most prominent companies in this industry.
