20 Years of CameraStuff: Lighting South Africa's Creatives Since 2006
This year, CameraStuff turns 20. Two decades ago we started as a small online shop run from home, stocking the everyday things photographers need. Today we are a Johannesburg-based photography and video lighting specialist with a full showroom, top international brands on the shelves, and more than 70,000 clients across South Africa. That is a milestone worth celebrating, so thank you to everyone who has been part of the story.
Twenty years of lighting, and still learning. Here is a look back at where we started, how we got here, and the one thing that has not changed since day one.
Shop Online Visit Our StoreTwenty Years in Numbers
It Started at Home
In 2006, founder Brett Lewis started CameraStuff from home as an online shop, stocking mostly the small, essential things, like remotes, reflectors, and filters. There was no showroom and no shelves of strobes, just a simple idea: sell photographers the gear they need, and give them honest help choosing it. From that modest beginning, it grew faster than anyone expected.
What began as a one-person operation in a spare room has become a specialist retailer serving creatives across the country. But the values it was built on, genuine gear and advice you can trust, are exactly the same today as they were at the kitchen table in 2006.
Our Story: From a Home Office to a Full Showroom
The road from Brett's home to our showroom on Jan Smuts Avenue has had a few important chapters. Here is how it unfolded.
It starts at home
Brett starts CameraStuff from home as an online shop, stocking mostly remotes, reflectors, and filters.
Our first walk-in shop
We move into the CODP College of Digital Photography premises. One room, but customers can finally walk in.
A shop of our own
We open our first dedicated walk-in shop at 373 Jan Smuts Avenue.
10,000 clients helped
Nine years in, and word of mouth is doing its thing.
Up the road to our showroom
We move a little way up Jan Smuts Avenue to our current home at 473: full premises, with a proper showroom.
Authorised Godox distributor
CameraStuff becomes an authorised Godox distributor in South Africa, backed by local warranty and support.
20,000 clients helped
Double in three years, with our new showroom open for business.
25,000 clients helped
Another 5,000 creators in just one year.
50,000 clients helped
A tough few years for everyone, but creators kept creating, and we kept them lit.
20 years and 70,000+ clients
Two decades on, we are still lighting South Africa's creatives, from the same stretch of Jan Smuts Avenue we have called home since 2011.
Testing new lighting outside our first shop at 373 Jan Smuts Avenue
Renovations underway at our 473 Jan Smuts showroom
Angie painting the logo on the new 473 shop
New stock arriving at 473
Keeping Up, Without Losing the Plot
A lot has changed in photography since 2006. Flashes went wireless, LEDs took over video, mirrorless replaced the DSLR, and content creation grew from a hobby into a real career. We have kept up with all of it, adding the brands, the formats, and the know-how our customers need as the industry moved.
What has not changed is how we work. Honest advice over the hard sell. Genuine gear, with real warranties. And support that sticks around long after you have paid, because the sale is the start of the relationship, not the end of it. That is the thread running through all twenty years, and it is the reason so many of our clients keep coming back.
Sharing what we know: Conrad teaching a lighting session
Our first Photo and Film Expo
Back again at another Photo and Film Expo
A Word From Our Founder
"I started CameraStuff from home as a small online shop, selling the everyday things photographers need, like remotes and filters. From there, it grew faster than I ever expected. Today we have got a walk-in showroom, international brands on the shelves, and thousands of happy clients. Thank you for being part of it."
Brett Lewis, Founder of CameraStuff
Come Celebrate With Us
Reaching 20 years is really about the people who got us here: the photographers, videographers, studios, and content teams who trusted us with their lighting, and the team who have shown up every day to help them. We would not be here without any of you.
Good vibes behind the counter
Sanele celebrating a successful Black Friday month
Fun vibes outside the shop
If you are nearby, come and see us in Blairgowrie, Randburg, on Jan Smuts Avenue, where we have been since 2011. Browse the showroom, say hello, and get hands-on with the gear. If you are anywhere else in the country, we are only ever a click away, with delivery nationwide. Here is to the next 20 years of lighting South Africa's creatives.
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Conrad Knuist
Head of Marketing and Photography Specialist
Conrad Knuist is Head of Marketing and Photography Specialist at CameraStuff, South Africa's specialist camera and lighting retailer. With over 18 years of hands-on experience across portrait, event, and commercial photography, Conrad helps South African creatives find the right gear for their work, and is proud to be part of a team that has supported the local photography community for two decades.
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