PhotoFair is one of the largest camera shows in the West. Click here for upcoming shows. This twice annual event features a 6000 square foot event hall filled with table after table of great photo gear. Dealers and buyers from all over the world attend this show. Guests are invited to bring their gear in to sell or come to peruse the thousands of deals on cameras, lenses, vintage, modern, film, digital, darkroom, professional lighting and so much more. Famous maker products both new and vintage from names like, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Zeiss, Leica, Rollei, Voightlander, Kodak, Ilford, Besseler, Minolta, Pentax, Olympus, Panasonic, and so many others. This is a cornucopia of photography and cameras.
In 2016 a new show was added in Portland! Click here for info about the Rose City PhotoFair. The Rose City event in Portland has become out largest event. The show is in the 10,000 square foot Jackson Armory and typically has north of 70 tables.
In 2021 the newest and first outdoor event debuted in the Seawood Photo parking lot in San Rafael, CA. This show was a success and we intend to continue it annually. It is a smaller event with roughly 30 tables and admission is free. Early bird entry is available for a fee.
Need Cash? Sell your unwanted gear for top dollar at PhotoFair!
Before you buy online, come to PhotoFair and enjoy the tangible benefits of a more tactile experience whereby you actually hold and operate the item before you decide to buy. Many people find that buying at the show is actually a better value than buying online. Prices are often lower than comparable items on such sites as EBAY and there is not shipping charges or perhaps worse shipping delays. See it, touch it, want it, buy it, walk out with it immediately. This is a much better experience in my opinion.
PhotoFair is a place to exchange gear, ideas and even learn about equipment. Many of the dealers that come to the show are virtual fountains of information and experience.
Click on the “Upcoming Shows” tab to find the scheduled shows for the next year. Follow our news feed for information, special dealer profiles and photography related articles.
History
Photo Fair began in 1975 with the first show in January of that year. Founder Dave Cox built the show up to four large events every year, peaking in the 1990s with giant shows in both San Jose, CA and San Mateo, CA. Graham and I attended those monster shows as exhibitors in the heyday of the camera craze.
The show experienced a decline in the early 2000s and was acquired in 2004 by a wonderful couple; Ken Morton and Petra Kellers. They built the show back up to become one of the largest on the West Coast. The shows were in San Jose and later at the current location in Newark.
Ken and Petra decided to retire from the show promotion business and long time dealer exhibitors, Graham Law and Rod Sager negotiated to acquire the business and become the new owner/promoters of the Photo Fair in November of 2014. Graham and Rod see a new wave of camera craze with all the modern technology being able to interface with vintage gear. We have an exciting new generation of people discovering the “art” of photography and PhotoFair is right in the middle of the merger between the vintage and classic gear and all the modern new gear. We have it all under one roof, three times a year.
In March of 2016 is was officially announced that PhotoFair would expand to include a show in Portland, OR. The inaugural Rose City PhotoFair was a success on August 13th, 2016 at the Jackson Armory in Portland Oregon. After a year of preparation PhotoFair finally made it to Rip City! The Portland show has become out largest event in just a few years.
In 2020 a show was planned as the first outdoor PhotoFair but COVID-19 tabled it until 2021. The show held in the parking lot at Seawood Photo in San Rafael, CA on June 26th, 2021 was a success. It is our smallest event, but the always well stocked Seawood was a giant anchor tenant and the show was well received. PhotoFair@Seawood will return in 2022.
Owners
Rod Sager and Graham Law have been friends and business associates since 1983. The two met while both were employed at Old Town Photo in Novato, CA. Rod went on to a wholesale photo distribution business as a multi-line factory rep while Graham went on to manage and later own Seawood Photo in San Anselmo, CA. Both Rod and Graham attended various camera shows around the Bay Area including PhotoFair dating back to the 1980s.
The two re-connected as business associates in 1993 when Graham become the owner of Seawood. He hired Rod to manage the store and as a team they worked hard to build Seawood into one of the biggest used camera dealers in Northern California. The two began exhibiting at PhotoFair in both San Jose and San Mateo back in the 350 table days with as many as eight tables for Seawood.
Rod went back into distribution in 1997 but continued to manage Seawood’s web site until 2008. He has exhibited at every Photo Fair with Graham ever since. Rod is a Past President of the Marin Photo Club (1995). He was awarded status as a Certified Photographic Counselor by the Photo Marketing Association in 1984. He is now a multi-million dollar producing Realtor® in Vancouver, WA; he is a published author (Don’t Panic, 2010 Publish America) and contributes to more than a dozen blogs.
Graham resides in Penngrove, CA and is the President of Seawood, Inc. Seawood continues to be a successful camera store in an era where “real” camera stores are becoming scarce. Graham has extensive experience as a working professional photographer and is a genuine photo enthusiast with a soft spot for vintage gear. His retail store in San Rafael, CA (formerly in San Anselmo, CA) has been continuously serving Marin County’s avid photographers since 1947. Graham also writes interesting articles on the company website about sometimes obscure and always very cool equipment.
PhotoFair Camera Shows 