Promaster

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Promaster is a brand name used by Photographic Research Organization,[1] earlier styled P•R•O or P.R.O. This is a American photographic accessory distributor known for lenses, filters, tripods, bags, memory cards, and lighting equipment. P•R•O products are sold through independent local stores, giving them access to a wide breadth of products and joint buying power.

The organization was founded in 1958 with six US east coast retailers joining forces.[2] Products branded P.R.O. in the 1960s[3] were most visibly advertised by Ritz Camera (in its days as a regional chain of just dozens of stores). However Promaster remained active after Ritz developed its own exclusive private-label brands, and later when the Ritz national chain entered bankruptcy. Promaster still exists as of 2023.

Cameras

Compact

  • Promaster AF-1
  • Fuji Promaster DL-160

SLR

Notes

  1. "Promatic" and "Promaster" trademark search result, 1965, at United States Patent and Trademark Office.
  2. These are named in a 50-year retrospective press release from 2008, at the S.I.R. Marketing P.R. agency website.
  3. See a 1966 review of a P-R-O electronic flash (Popular Photography, Vol. 59, No. 6; pages 58, 60).

Links