Trixar

Trixar is a lens name associated with AFIOM, the Italian company that produced Wega 35mm cameras in Pordenone during the 1950s. It is not documented as a separately founded optical manufacturer. The Trixar Anastigmat 50mm f/3.5 was supplied as a collapsible standard lens on Wega cameras and is relevant to Leica collectors because documented examples use the Leica M39 screw mount.

History

Founding / Early Years

No independent Trixar company foundation, founder, or factory has been established. The name enters the surviving record through lenses fitted to AFIOM Wega cameras. AFIOM was one of several small Italian producers that developed Leica-inspired 35mm cameras during the postwar recovery of the domestic photography-equipment industry.

Market Entry

The Trixar Anastigmat 5cm f/3.5 appeared on Wega Standard, Wega IIa, and Wega IIIa cameras in the early to mid-1950s. Its collapsible mechanical form followed the practical pattern established by the Leitz Elmar, allowing the lens to retract for transport. The Anastigmat name describes general correction for astigmatism, but reliable sources do not provide enough evidence to assign a precise element and group formula to every Trixar version.

Expansion / Modern Period

Trixar did not develop into a broad independent product line. AFIOM's camera production remained small, and specialist histories report that its machinery or assets passed to Domenico Chinaglia in the mid-1950s. The Trixar name then disappeared from new photography equipment. It survives through Wega cameras, loose lenses, and auction records.

Product Lines

LTM Standard Lenses

The principal documented model is the Trixar Anastigmat 50mm f/3.5 Collapsible for Wega 35mm cameras.

Wega Camera Supply

Trixar lenses were standard equipment rather than the basis of a separately documented camera or lens system.

Technical Characteristics

Feature	Description
Brand status	Lens name associated with AFIOM, not a confirmed independent company
Country of association	Italy
Reference lens	Trixar Anastigmat 50mm f/3.5 Collapsible
Lens mount	Leica M39 screw mount on documented Wega examples
Focusing	Coupled use is documented on appropriate Wega rangefinder models
M-mount use	Adaptable with an LTM-to-M adapter

Market Reception

Trixar lenses appeal mainly to collectors of Italian Leica copies and small-production postwar rangefinder cameras. They are less common than Leitz, Canon, or Nikkor LTM lenses and have a market shaped strongly by condition, originality, and association with a matching Wega body. Their historical value lies in documenting regional Italian camera production, not in a long-running independent Trixar company history.

Sources

Lenses (0)

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