This is another Edixa 35 mm SLR camera, the Edixa Reflex D, which is very similar in appearance to the other Edixa models in my collection. One thing that is a bit different from those cameras however is the method by which I acquired it. Normally I buy my vintage cameras from eBay, but this one was bought from another second-hand site called preloved.co.uk.
I found it by doing a search on the site for Edixa and this camera came up. I offered the owner £15, which was accepted, and it was delivered a few days later.
The camera came in its original box with an additional waist level finder in a leather case as well as the eye level finder fitted to the camera body. Also in the box were user manuals, the original guarantee(!) and a focal guide book for Edixa camera. Another thing supplied which has puzzled me was a square of black perspex with a hole cut in it - I have no idea what this is for. Unfortunately it was body only, so for the purpose of the pictures below I added the lens from my Edixa-flex.
Because of the similarity between this and the other Edixa models, this review only covers differences - please refer to my review of the Edixa flex and Edixa-mat Reflex Mod B.
My Edixa Reflex D camera
Apart from a layer of dust and dirt, the camera is in pretty reasonable cosmetic condition. The cloth is peeling a bit (which seems to plague most Edixas) but that is easy enough to re-stick and the bright metalwork seems to be in nice condition with very few scratches.
Mechanically however is a different story.
When I first received the camera, I tried advancing the film and firing the shutter and found that the shutter button was difficult to press and felt 'gritty'. The shutter itself is very slow to operate, with the second curtain stuck on its roller rather than moving. Sometimes the whole shutter mechanism gets locked up and only frees up with some jiggling of the shutter speed and rewind button or, in extreme cases, physically pulling the shutter curtain.
It could be that it is simply a matter of adding some lubrication to the shutter release and cocking mechanism and using the camera - that is a common issue with vintage cameras.
Pictures of the Edixa Reflex D
Edixa Reflex D description
I said above that this camera looks very similar to the other Edixa models I own, and it is also very similar in operation. It's particularly similar to the Edixa flex because it has a non-return mirror, so the viewfinder goes blank once a picture is taken. The action of cocking the shutter also lowers the mirror back to the angle required to reflect the light from the lens into the viewfinder.
The one big difference with this model and my other Edixa models is the range of slow shutter speeds offered. These cover 1 sec to 9 sec in 1 sec steps and with the flick of a lever, the same control can also be used to set a self-timer with the same range. It's quite a complex arrangement to select the shutter speed, however, with no less than 3 different dials used to select one of the slower speeds.
I suspect that this increase in the slow speed range was introduced as a challenge to Exakta who had a similar arrangement on their Varex models.
The faster shutter speeds are selected on the top shutter speed dial and are engraved 1/25 to 1/1000. To set a 'normal' slow speed, the top dial is set to the position marked 0 and then the lever under the shutter dial can be used to set from 1/10 to 1 sec.
For even slower speeds, the normal slow shutter lever is set to 0 and an additional dial under the film rewind crank is set to between 2 and 9 sec. There is then a lever next to this second dial which selects either shutter, self-timer or can be used to run the setting backwards if the photographer had changed their mind (or got fed up with the whole process!)
I now have a total of 3 Edixa models, and I get the impression that the company that made them (Wirgin) made the most of the design they had and basically introduced new models which had very few differences from other models in their range.
Edixa Reflex Handbook
I've scanned the handbook to include in the camera manuals section of this site, so I've included it here as well.
Edixa Reflex D specification
- Wirgin Edixa Reflex-D 35 mm SLR
- Shutter 9 sec to 1/1000 + B set with three dials
- Non-return mirror
- Aperture stop down lever (for auto lenses)
- Front mounted shutter release with lock
- Frame counter set manually on film load
- X & M flash sync socket
- Film type indicator
- Removable / Replaceable viewfinder with eye-level and waist level finders
- Removable / Replaceable focusing screens
- Table stand built into tripod mount
- Serial No:220652
