About Us
Cardinal Camera Center was founded by George H. Seelig, a photographic pioneer of the 1920's. His first job consisted of using homemade and crude equipment to photograph immigrants from Europe to send to their families. In 1937, at the age of 35, Mr. Seelig moved from Massachusetts to West Point, Pennsylvania, to open one of the earliest Kodak storefronts. The business began as a photographic studio taking pictures of families and doing weddings. By the 1940's and 1950's, it evolved into a family-owned & operated camera store with a large volume of overnight black and white processing including pickup and delivery service among the area drug stores and photo outlets. The photographic studio remained an important part of the operation which was now located in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, and was originally named the 'Seelig Camera Shop'.
Mr. George K. Seelig acquired the business in 1969 when the store name was then changed to Cardinal Camera Center. Black and white processing and the studio were discontinued due to obsolete equipment. Mr. Seelig had a degree in Organic Chemistry from Philadelphia University and up to this time was pursuing a career in research at Wyomissing Corporation in Reading, Pa.
Moving forward, the business evolved into a high volume seller of conventional photography equipment and video cameras, lens and other related products. Cardinal Camera always strived to be the first to stock any new product on the market and aggressively promote the items at a competitive price. The store was moved twice, each time into a newer, larger building until it was located at its current location owned by the Seelig family at 810 West Second Street in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.
After years many years of working for the family business, Kurt Seelig became the manager (now owner) and driving force behind the expansion of the business in the 1990's as digital cameras and related products took over the market. Additionally, the store became, "Cardinal Camera and Video Center" and as a result, modern in-home processing was once again added. Further growth of Cardinal Camera was accelerated following a complete renovation and expansion of the store main store in 1994 and 2001.
Currently, Cardinal Camera has a 6000 sq. ft. location and is one of the largest volume camera stores in the United States, and is still family owned & operated with three Pennsylvania locations in Lansdale, Ephrata, King of Prussia, and a large flagship store in Charlotte, North Carolina. Cardinal Camera features the most modern on-site processing of prints, enlargements, E-6, and digital products, and offers brands including FujiFilm, Canon, Sony, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, and many others.
In 2016, Tyler Seelig, the great grandson of founder George George H. Seelig, expanded the family business once again opening 'Cardinal Camera Used'. This 2000 square foot facility is solely dedicated to pre-owned photography equipment. As a result, we have one of the largest used photography departments on the East Coast.
Today, we continue to expand the pre-owned equipment business offering high quality photographic equipment including 35mm cameras & lenses, 120 format cameras & lenses, large format, point & shoot film cameras, rare Leica cameras & lenses, and more. In addition to our large inventory of film-related photography equipment, we also stock pre-owned digital cameras from popular brands such as Sony, FujiFilm, Canon, and all others. Other equipment offered includes darkroom supplies, expired film, watches & collectibles, and much more!
Cardinal Camera has been in business since 1937 and continues to grow and expand with a foundation built on family, community, and premier quality products & customer service.