Our History

THE EARLY YEARS

Carson Optical was founded in 1990 by Richard Cameron. A former banker, disheartened with Wall Street, Cameron started in his mother's Long Island basement importing and exporting a wide array of product between the US and Japan. The company's first experience with optics came in 1991 when Cameron stumbled upon a unique Electronic Binocular that was manufactured by the now-defunct Copitar Japan. Cameron named his company "Copitar USA" and began cold-calling buyers at national retail chains and writers working for major media publications. Cameron quickly gained placement in mail order catalogs that included The Sharper Image and Orvis. His public-relations efforts gained the company much-needed exposure in media outlets that included the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Popular Science.

Renamed as "Carson Optical", the company grew out of its basement home and leased warehouse space in Huntington, New York. As business flourished, Carson expanded its Binocular offerings and also branched out into related optical categories such as Magnifiers and Microscopes. Cameron realized early on that Carson needed to focus on innovation in order to compete effectively with much larger industry competitors. This overall philosophy is still what drives Carson today.

CARSON IN 2011 AND BEYOND

Today, Carson operates out of a newly renovated company-owned facility in Hauppauge, New York. The company is in the early planning stages to build additional warehouse space on an adjacent tract of undeveloped land. Carson's emphasis on innovation has never wavered. However, today the Company's focus has shifted entirely to product development and design. Carson no longer relies on Asian "sourcing" as a method to build its product portfolio.

Carson has grown to be a leading supplier of Binoculars, and the largest manufacturer of Magnifiers in the USA. The product line has also grown vertically to encompass a broad range of optical products and accessories. Today, Carson products are sold through a diverse retail network in tens of thousands of locations in the USA and abroad.