Vivitar was founded in 1938 by two German immigrants, Max Ponder and John Best as a distributor of photography equipment in Hollywood, California. The company was originally known as Ponder & Best, until the change to Vivitar in 1979. Today, it is a well established company in the photography field for quality products, they lay claim to more than 85 electronic flash and optics patents, and many companies license its products. However, it does not solely focus on optics and flash, the company also makes tripods and cameras. Vivitar is headquartered in Newbury Park, California.