LabCCUK film lab · Developing · Scanning · Prints
Camera Centre UK has been part of Cardiff since the 1980s. Shop windows have changed, the stock has changed, the staff have grown up behind that counter. This is our box of photos, tipped out onto the table.
Pinned to the board
Camera Centre UK has always been more than just a camera shop. It is a family business built on a love of photography, plenty of hard work and the incredible support of our customers and community.
Our family's connection with photography began with Doug's father, who was a professional photographer and ran his own studio.
Doug followed his own path into the industry, starting work in a local camera shop before taking over the business himself at a young age.
The business began life as Camera Centre Cardiff, and just like photography itself, it has changed quite a bit over the years. We later became Photo Vision, followed by Photo Market, then Camera Centre Cardiff & Newport, before eventually becoming the name we are known by today: Camera Centre UK.
There may have been a few different names above the door, but behind the counter it has always been the same family, the same passion for photography and the same commitment to looking after our customers.
Doug helped transform the business into a dedicated photographic retailer, and over the years Camera Centre grew to include outlets across the UK. During that time, hundreds of thousands of cameras, lenses, rolls of film and accessories passed through our hands, and we have probably spent just as many hours talking about them.
As the way people shopped began to change, we embraced online retail and invested heavily in our website and online operation.
Around 2009, we also opened a store in Newport, giving us another home in South Wales and allowing us to serve even more customers. This chapter was reflected in the name Camera Centre Cardiff & Newport, before our growing online presence and wider customer base led us to become Camera Centre UK.
Today, Doug's sons, Nick and Terry, run the business, continuing the family values and personal approach that it was built on. The fourth generation is now involved too, with Nick's son Mason working alongside the team in our Cardiff store.
Our flagship store can now be found in Cardiff's historic Morgan Arcade, supported by our online website and distribution operation. From Cardiff, we send cameras, lenses and photographic equipment to customers across the UK and around the world.
No two days are ever quite the same. One moment, we may be helping someone choose their very first camera or load their first roll of film. The next, we could be sourcing specialist equipment for a professional photographer, school, hospital, university, charity, the Ministry of Defence or another public sector organisation.
We are proud to work with individuals, businesses and organisations of all sizes. Whether someone is buying a small camera accessory or placing a large specialist equipment order, we aim to give them the same friendly, knowledgeable and personal service.
Camera Centre UK now employs more than 20 members of staff, all from the local area. Many of our team have been with us for years, and their knowledge, enthusiasm and personalities have become just as important to the business as the family behind it.
We are incredibly proud to remain family owned and independent at a time when so many retailers are part of large corporate groups. Being independent means the people making the decisions are the same people working in the shop, speaking to customers, answering the phones and dealing with orders every day.
We have seen customers return year after year, with some now bringing in their children and even their grandchildren. Whether you have bought a camera, ordered a lens, developed a roll of film, visited us for advice or simply recommended us to a friend, you have played a part in our story.
Thank you for supporting an independent family business.
Pages from the album
1980s
Camera Centre UK sets up inside Cardiff's Grade II listed Morgan Arcade, selling cameras, film and darkroom supplies to a city full of photographers.
1990s
Kodak and Advantix signs over the counter, passport photos on demand and rolls going through the machine from open to close.
2000s
The window fills with DSLRs, but the film cabinet never gets emptied. We keep stocking, selling and advising on film the whole way through.
2010s
A new generation walks in with their parents' cameras. Second hand bodies fly out of the cabinet and instax becomes a shop favourite.
Today
Developing, scanning, printing and video transfer, with your scans delivered to an online gallery. Same counter, same people, better turnaround.
Browser history
From flashing neon text and a fax number, all the way to here. Pick a year and have a look at what we used to look like online.
Late 1990s
Our very first site: black background, rainbow headings and a fax number for enquiries. Morgan Arcade, CF10 2AF.
We are not a warehouse and we are not an app. You will be served by someone who shoots film, who has probably owned the camera you are asking about, and who will tell you honestly if a repair is not worth it.
Bring your rolls in, bring your grandad's camera in, bring the shoebox of tapes. We like the stories that come with them.
