Edixa

Edixa was a camera brand associated with Wirgin Kamerawerk, a manufacturer based in Wiesbaden, West Germany. Its products occupied two principal formats: conventional 35mm cameras and compact 16mm subminiature cameras. The brand is especially associated with the Edixa 16 family, a small-format system designed by Heinz Waaske and produced during the period from the 1950s to the 1970s. The 35mm range included several camera types spanning reflex, exposure-control, stereo, electronic, and motorized designs. Named examples include the Edixa Reflex, Edixa-MAT Reflex, Edixa REX TTL, Universal Edixamat CD, Edixa Stereo, Edixa Electronica, and Edixa Motoric. These products show the brand's breadth within the West German camera market: Edixa was not limited to a single mechanical configuration, but used the name across multiple camera concepts and generations. The Edixa 16 line represented a different approach. Rather than using standard 35mm film, these cameras used unperforated 16mm film loaded into Rollei 16-type RADA cartridges. The format produced a 14-by-21-millimetre frame and approximately 20 exposures per cartridge. The cameras had aluminium bodies with plastic trim and used a compact front-of-lens, four-leaf shutter with settings of bulb, 1/30, 1/60, and 1/150 second. Focusing was achieved by moving the lens unit, with a stated range from 40 millimetres to infinity. Several Edixa 16 variants were offered. The Edixa 16 used an Isco Travegar 25mm f/2.8 lens, while the Edixa 16M and black-finished Edixa 16MB used a Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 25mm f/2.8 lens. The Xenar was a four-element, three-group Tessar-type design, while other models used either the Travegar Tessar-type lens or a Trinar Cooke-triplet design. The Edixa 16U, as well as cameras sold under the Franka 16 and alka 16 names, belonged to the same broader subminiature-camera family described in reference material. Edixa's subminiature system was supported by accessories including a chain, leather case, lens hood, colour-filter set, close-up attachments, an AG1 flash, a selenium exposure meter coupled to the shutter, a developing tank, and a slide projector. These accessories indicate that the products were presented as a usable photographic system rather than merely as novelty miniature cameras. The available reference material documents Edixa as a historical brand connected to Wirgin Kamerawerk and does not establish a current operating company, continuing production, ownership, or official website. Its documented significance lies in the variety of its West German 35mm cameras and in the technically distinctive Edixa 16 subminiature line developed during the mid-20th-century transition toward increasingly compact photographic equipment.

Edixa was the camera brand of Wirgin Kamerawerk, which was based in Wiesbaden, West Germany. The brand's documented product history covers conventional 35mm cameras as well as a specialized family of 16mm subminiature cameras. Because the available reference material does not provide a precise founding date, corporate chronology, production totals, or a confirmed end date, Edixa's history is best described through its products and formats rather than through a detailed corporate timeline. The 35mm portfolio included a number of distinct camera designs. The Edixa Reflex and Edixa-MAT Reflex represented the brand's reflex-camera offering, while the Edixa REX TTL incorporated through-the-lens metering as indicated by its name. Other documented models included the Universal Edixamat CD, Edixa Stereo, Edixa Electronica, and Edixa Motoric. Together, these names show that Wirgin used Edixa across mechanical, metering, stereo, electronic, and motorized camera concepts. The source material identifies lenses associated with some 35mm examples, including Steinheil Quinon and Isco Travegar lenses, but does not provide a complete specification history for every model. A particularly distinctive part of the brand was the Edixa 16 series. These cameras were designed by Heinz Waaske and belonged to the subminiature-camera category. They used unperforated 16mm film in Rollei 16-type RADA cartridges rather than standard 35mm cassettes. Their 14-by-21-millimetre frame and approximately 20 exposures per cartridge allowed a substantially smaller camera format. The documented production period for the Edixa 16 family extends from the 1950s to the 1970s. The Edixa 16, Edixa 16M, Edixa 16MB, and Edixa 16U formed the core of the named range. The 16MB was a black version of the 16M. The 16M and 16MB were equipped with Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 25mm f/2.8 lenses, while the Edixa 16 used an Isco Travegar 25mm f/2.8 lens. The source material distinguishes these from other variants using Trinar lenses based on the Cooke triplet design. The cameras used aluminium bodies with plastic trim, a four-leaf shutter positioned in front of the lens, and shutter settings of bulb, 1/30, 1/60, and 1/150 second. Their lens units moved for focusing from 40 millimetres to infinity. The wider 16mm family also included products sold as Franka 16 and alka 16. This suggests that the compact camera design or platform appeared under more than one market name, although the available material does not establish the precise commercial relationship among those names. Accessories documented for the system included carrying and handling items, optical attachments, filters, flash equipment, a coupled selenium meter, a developing tank, and a slide projector. Edixa's documented story therefore combines mainstream camera production with experimentation in small-format photography. The brand's 35mm models addressed several established camera categories, while the Edixa 16 line pursued compactness through a different film gauge and cartridge system. No reliable source in the supplied material confirms the brand's current status, successor ownership, or exact date of discontinuation.

1. 1950Edixa 16 subminiature-camera period

   The Heinz Waaske-designed Edixa 16 family was produced during the documented period from the 1950s to the 1970s.

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2. Edixa 35mm camera range

   Wirgin Kamerawerk marketed a range of Edixa 35mm cameras, including reflex, TTL-metered, stereo, electronic, and motorized models.

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A West German photographic brand offering a broad range of 35mm cameras and compact 16mm subminiature cameras, with the Edixa 16 family emphasizing portability and specialized miniature-film photography.

• Edixa Reflex35mm reflex camera

  A documented Edixa 35mm reflex camera. Reference examples include versions fitted with Steinheil Quinon 55mm f/1.9 and Isco Travegar 50mm f/2.8 lenses.

• Edixa-MAT Reflex35mm reflex camera

  A reflex-camera model in the Edixa 35mm range. The supplied reference identifies the model but does not provide a full specification or precise production date.

• Edixa REX TTL35mm TTL camera

  A 35mm Edixa model whose name identifies through-the-lens metering. The available material does not provide further technical or commercial details.

• Edixa 1616mm subminiature camera

  A compact subminiature camera using unperforated 16mm film in a Rollei 16-type RADA cartridge. It used an Isco Travegar 25mm f/2.8 lens, a four-leaf front shutter, and a 14-by-21mm image format with about 20 exposures per cartridge.

• Edixa 16M16mm subminiature camera

  An Edixa 16 variant fitted with a Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 25mm f/2.8 lens. The lens is described as a four-element, three-group Tessar-type design.

• Edixa 16MB16mm subminiature camera

  A black-bodied version of the Edixa 16M, retaining the documented Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 25mm f/2.8 lens configuration.

• Edixa 16U16mm subminiature camera

  A further model in the Edixa 16 subminiature-camera family. The supplied reference lists the model but does not specify its distinguishing features.

1. Edixa