About Porter's
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What We Sell
We carry thousands of photo and video products in stock, illustrated and fully described in our catalog and web store. We've developed a network of over 200 manufacturers, distributors and other vendors, so we can offer a wide selection of unusual and hard-to-find products, as well as popular favorites. Here's just a few of the product categories and famous brands you'll find at Porter’s.
Digital Cameras
Digital Accessories
Lenses
Flash
Film Cameras
Film
Tripods
Camera Filters
Studio Lighting and Backgrounds
Darkroom Equipment and Supplies
Binoculars
Video Accessories
Changing With the Times Since 1914
Porter's Camera Store had its start back in 1914 when Frank Porter bought a portrait studio on College Hill in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He gradually converted the studio into a B&W photo finishing operation and his son Darrel later took over the business and began selling cameras and other photo merchandise. In the 1960s David Montz joined the firm and later became a partner.
Porter's mail order business started in the late 1960s when customers would call and ask for merchandise to be shipped to them. The expanding business required more space, so a new Porter's Mail Order Division office and warehouse building was built at in a Cedar Falls industrial park. In 1984, the retail store moved from College Hill to a new building adjacent to the office and warehouse facility at 323 Viking Road.
In September 1999, David Montz and Darrel Porter sold the business to SDSHS Inc. Partners in this firm include Jeff Schmitt, Joe and Geri Schmitt, and Joe and Diane Dodds, owners of Rapids Wholesale Equipment of Marion, Iowa.
Porter’s purchased Linn Photo, another photo specialty store in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 2005. This store is located near Lindale Mall in Cedar Rapids at 224 Collins Road NE.
Reaching Customers Throughout the Country
Orders are shipped throughout the country, primarily to hobbyists, professionals, semi-pros, newspapers, schools and universities in the United States and Canada. By providing customers with fast, reliable service and competitively priced, quality merchandise, Porter's Camera Store has grown from a small local camera store to a name known by photo enthusiasts throughout the country.
Porter's Mission Statement
Our mission is to earn the loyalty of our customers through our highly trained and motivated employees, partnered with suppliers to provide products, services, and solutions that exceed our customers' expectations. We will earn referrals and repeat business by providing outstanding service to our customers. Our success is dependent upon our customers' satisfaction.
