camera heritage museum

We were very impressed with the collection and David Schwartz's knowledge. We've been collecting cameras for years. ZThis museum is outstanding

Camera Heritage Museum is not a "stuffy old museum". Photography has changed and developed rapidly through the years. David Schwartz, owner of the museum, has a passion about photography and photographic equipment. He can share stories about each piece in his collection, as well as the history of Staunton at the same time. And will be glad to answer any questions that you may have. Truly a unique experience.

If you have every owned a camera, they probably have a model here. This place is an amazing treasure-trove of photographic history. Everything from the mundane (how many Brownies are there anyway?) to the obscure, this museum has it all.Did you know that this is the ONLY camera museum open to the public for no charge?Did you know they operate totally on donations?This is a great way to spend an hour, or two, or three when you're in Staunton, so go visit and drop some dollars in the jar to preserve the history.

I really loved this place..im a photographer and they are so nice and informed..go! My husband took me there all the way from Pennsylvania..well worth the trip

Enjoyed the variety and sheer quantity of camera equipment. David was quite nice and took the time to give us a wonderful "tour" of the cameras and some fun personal stories, too.

I have an interest in history and a love of all things mechanical. If you share those traits and find yourself in downtown Staunton; you owe it to yourself to check out the Camera Heritage Museum. The initial impression is that the museum is more of a large camera collection on display rather than a museum but just under the surface is an amazing amount of history. Soviet spy cameras, including one used in two James Bond movies, a camera from a WWII B17, a camera used by O. Winston Link and many other historical touchstones. They have a camera that was used by the Japanese to photograph the attack on Pearl Harbor! The widespread use of digital photography has changed the world of cameras forever. Despite the enormous contribution to the recording of history, film cameras have all but become history themselves. Like mechanical watches or steam locomotives, film cameras were once both the cutting edge of mechanical engineering and everyday objects. This museum is not for everyone and many folks will consider it to be just a odd collection of old photographic equipment. For those with a interest in history of the tools around us, it is an outstanding way to spend some time. The museum is free but donations are accepted. Probably not the place for small children.

David Schwartz has a huge passion project with over 4000 cameras in this small museum and counting. A lover of Brownie Cameras myself with 35 Vintage Brownies ~ this collection beats mine by a mile ~ 704 Brownies. Who knew there were that many different models? There were actually 707. Dave is hoping to find the remaining 3 soon. This place houses so many camera's of historical significance. Civil War camera's, O. Winston Link's camera, vintage everything. Just downtown Staunton, Virginia, it's perfectly located to stop by and view to your hearts content. Dave will most likely regale you with the most interesting stories of these camera's and photography in general.

I was just blown away with this complete collection of historic cameras and photographic memorabilia, especially to be found in the middle of Virginia. The curator that runs the museum brought the history to life with stories and much more. This is a must see for anyone that has ever taken a picture or owned a camera.

This is not an organized museum but a personal collection on display in a working camera shop. It's more like stumbling upon a fantastic attic full of old cameras, lenses, developers, and prints. If you're a shutterbug with a taste for history and the antique, you'll enjoy this.

Pretty much what the last review said. There was no signage or information about any of the cameras nor a brochure. Was just told that they accept donations and that is how much of a greeting we got.Ideally, they would have some signs or informative brochure with suggested donation per person. I wanted to go in to learn something and I basically looked at some cool cameras but learned nothing. Nice to drop in still but wasn't worth the couple bucks I put in the donation jar. They have the stock just not the information.

Perhaps others have had a good experience, but we did not. The idea of museum would imply some signage to explain information about the cameras, whether it be the year or other details. It looked like a guy who has a camera fetish collecting an abundance of cameras opened a shop and to get free funding calls his shop a "museum". We were in the shop/museum for five minutes when the guy behind the counter, who was talking on the phone, finally acknowledged us and welcomed us. The extent of his welcome was to thank us for visiting and pointed to a donation box, "we are a museum and accept donations". When my sweetheart approached him to ask about some equipment he turned away and continued talking on the phone. There was some equipment we wanted to buy.They lost our business because of this rude behavior. Either be on the phone or talk to your customers. This was a major turn off.

This highly personal establishment contains thousands (?) of different film cameras from the early days of wooden boxes to the tail end of 35mm film cameras with their auto-focus and auto-exposure modes. This is not set up like a standard museum, with written placards. It is a collector's showroom, very well sorted by type and manufacturer, but you need a guide (proprietor Dave himself, or an aide as I had), or you need to know the brands and types of technology already.Particularly interesting were the Minox miniatures that Dave said used 9.5 mm film. There is one tall case with dozens of Leica bodies with lenses that must be worth $millions as a set. Lots of Rolleiflex dual lens cams. Everything looks in great shape for its age and I would not be surprised if much of it is in working order. I was able to find almost every film camera I ever used from the 1960's to 1990's (Canon, Minolta, Kodak Brownie, Olympus).I went looking for something like this at the George Eastman museum in Rochester NY. One would think that a museum honoring the founder of film pioneer Eastman-Kodak would have a lot of film camera technology content -- not really. Dave's modest shop in modest Staunton VA has several times as many cameras on display.While I got the quick tour from a young apprentice (?), Dave was there at a workbench always willing to chat.Definitely visitors should make a $$ donation to offset this labor of Dave's love.

This is a free museum with a box for donations. It is obviously a labor of love for those who are keeping it open, so give generously. I cannot think of a camera that isn't there. Very rare and old items, nicely displayed.

Last year we missed this gem so wanted to make it a priority this year. We were greeted by David Schwartz. This gentleman knows cameras and the history of all the companies. The museum was packed with so many interesting cameras. Total of 4700 on display and in storage! Mr. Schwartz was a White House Photographer under the first Bush. He told us about mercury pictures before the Civil War and how they affected the photographers, tin plate pictures, original pictures of Walt Disney, General Robert E. Lee and pictures of today. It was very interesting about the history of companies and how they changed over the years. He had one of the three cameras that was salvaged from the Japanese that attacked Pearl Harbor, Civil War cameras, all but two of the Brownie camera, cameras that would fit in the palm of your hand and more. There was many cameras from all over the world. I found the whole experience WELL worth the stop! In fact, we went to lunch and came back for more. There was so much to see and so much information for all whether you are camera buffs or not. We plan to go again on this visit to Staunton and see more and hear more about the history of cameras and this museum. A major must see in Staunton! All for a small donation.

This little noticed store front in the middle of town hides the single best collection of cameras I have seen anywhere, from the mid 1800s on. The proprietor is happy to give anyone a tour of his treasures that include the Japanese aerial camera used to photograph the attack on Pearl Harbor, sophisticated spy cameras, the John Wilkes Booth family album and many hundreds of cameras from all over the world; some being one of a kind. Highly recommended.