Gary Camera Digital Information

Gary Camera was founded in 1940 in the steel regional center of Gary, Indiana. The original founder and owner was Joe Janowski. In 1973, Ray Blane, who had been working there since 1949, took over ownership of Gary Camera from Joe. Shortly thereafter, a devastating fire in 1974 forced Ray Blane to move Gary Camera to its current location south on Broadway to Merrillville, Indiana. In 1976, Gary Camera began to evolve with the introduction of the Canon AE-1, the first auto-exposure SLR camera. Additionally that year, our store opened up the first complete camera repair shop in the Midwest, which is still in operation today to serve digital, 35mm film, and video equipment. In 1983, portable video camcorders were introduced on the market, which quickly overtook the home movie film business. Consequently, Gary Camera changed its name to Gary Camera and Video to keep up with the changing times. In 1986, the next big thing in the photo industry was the revealing of the Minolta Maxxum, the first auto focus SLR camera. With the auto focus SLR market expanding, Gary Camera launched its Noritsu Kodak One-Hour lab. Finally in 1991, Gary Camera and Video introduced the first Kodak Digital Copy Print Station in the Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland area.