Franka
The Franka-Kamerawerk in Bayreuth was the biggest camera factory in the Bavarian region Oberfranken. It was bought by Wirgin in 1961. From 1909 to 1966 it had built inexpensive cameras. The most characteristic cameras of Franka are the 16mm cameras with built-in meter which where developed together with Wirgin, and the two-format cameras with two viewfinders.
Contents
history
company name
In 1909 Franz Vyskocil and his wife Leoni Vyskocil had a little factory and shop for cameras and photographic supply in Stuttgart. In the same year they moved to Bayreuth where they reopened their business as Vysko-Fabrik Franz Vyskocil, St. Georgen und Bayreuth. In newspapers they announced their new mass fabrication of folding cameras. In 1910 their sponsor Weigand from Berneck entered the company, then named Weigand & Vyskocil . In 1912 the company was refounded as Frankonia-Kamerawerk. In 1913 the same procedure: The company was refounded with Weigand as only owner and camera salesman A.W. Schulze from Dresden as partner. In 1914 the company was named Hogaschwerk. Five months later it got its final name Franka-Kamerawerk.
camera production, H. and W. Hirschmann
Until then the company has been successfully producing plate cameras, one for a smaller format. In WWI that camera had been sold with slogans like "Mit Franka in den Krieg" (with Franka to war). The era of the Franka plate cameras lasted until 1930. The most early cameras of Franka were made of metal. Two thirds of the camera production was made for export.
In 1915 Wolfgang Hirschmann entered the company as bookkeeper. In 1917 he replaced A.W. Schulze in the management. During the war and in the early 1920ies the company had some nonphotographic products in it portfolio. In 1919 it moved from Bayreuth St. Georgen into an old liqeur factory bulding in Bayreuth. The the company stayed. The building had to be heightened in 1955. In 1941 Hirschmann brother Hans and the longterm employee Hans Zettner became the managers. In 1959 Hans and Wolgang Hirschmann together were owners of the company.
In 1930 the rollfilm era finally reached Franka. Many Franka rollfilm cameras were delivered with a separate frame which could be used optionally in the camera for shooting a smaller exposure format. In 1939 Franka constructed its first 35mm camera, but began its production slowly after the war. In 1955 the next 35mm model was offered, the Kleinbildkamera. It was the time when the rollfilm camera production switched from 6x9 to 6x6 format cameras. The last own development was very successful, the Frankamatic Lux, with a selenium meter coupled to the speed selector and an underenlightment indicator in the viewfinder. A camera concepted by Wirgin was the 16mm camera. Its further development and production was given to the Franka-Kamerawerk.
In 1958 the company had reached its peak with 154 employees and production of 650000 cameras.
Wirgin
In November 1962 the company was bought by Henry Wirgin. Hans Hirschmann and Georg Zettner lost procurement but stayed in the company. A highlight of the last years of Franka were the cameras for the 13x16 exposure format, sold as Franka 16 and Edixa 16. In 1966 the factory's production was stopped. In 1967 the machines were moved to Wiesbaden where they weren't used.
own camera brands
16mm
- 16
35mm viewfinder
- Kleinbildkamera
- Franka-matic
- Frankarette
- Super-Frankarette
- Francolor
- Champion IV
- Frankamatic Lux
6x6 viewfinder
- Solida Junior (folding)
- Solida-Record TS
- Solida Record (folding)
- Solida (folding)
- Solida I (folding)
6x6 rangefinder
- Solida II (folding)
- Solida III (folding)
6x6/4x4two-format viewfinder
- Solida-Record B (folding)
- Solida-Record T
- Solida Record (sold as OGA Solida Record I by Obergassner)
- Solida jr. (folding)
4x6.5
- Bubi
6x9 folding
- Rolf
- Rolfra
- Rolfix
- Rolfix II
- Bonafix
- Präzifix
6.5x11
- Idafix
plate camera 4.5x6
- Westentaschen-Bubi (=vest pocket boy)
- Achro Bubi
plate camera 9x12
- Klappkamera
- No. 150
plate camera 10x15
other
The Franka-Kamerawerk made cameras for camera traders like Porst, and since 1961 for its transferee Wirgin. In the mid-1960ies the factory took over a part of the production of Agfa's cameras Silette, Rapid, Isoflash Rapid and Iso-Rapid I.
