Manufactured or assembled in France from 1949 to 1955.
Index of rarity in France: Infrequent (among non-specialized garage sales)
Inventory number: 11629

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Chronology of cameras Olbia 

Olbia was first called Omega, which was not to the liking of the watchmaker of the same name, especially since the advertisements announcing the launch of the brand in 1947 fueled the confusion.

The brand only manufactured or distributed two modest models available in several variants.

The first model, the Omega Eikon, was presented at the 19th Salon de la Photo et du Cinéma d'Amateur (1948). It's a pseudo TLR since the sight lens is not focussing. It is made of plastic and is very reminiscent of the Voigtlander Brillant, which the advertisements do not forget to mention. On the sunshade of the viewfinder there is the Greek letter Omega, as in the logo of the watch brand. We can assume that the name Eikon is intended to evoke Zeiss Ikon.
The shooting lens is a Roussel Trylor 4.5/75 mm. The Gitzo shutter is limited to 1/150 sec. and allows one-time and two-time exposures. There are copies with blue lens.


After complaints from Omega, the brand changed its name in 1949 to become Olbia. The cameras undergo the same change and their new name is simply Olbia. A nameplate is riveted over the old Omega logo. Some catalogs from 1949, like that of Photo-Hall, are confused, mixing Olbia and Eikon.

		Year	Lens	Shutter	Price (French francs)
Omega Eikon		1948-49	Roussel Trylor 4.5/75 mm	1/25 à 1/150, B, T	7615 (1949)
Omega Eikon		1948-49	Roussel Trylor 4.5/75 mm Coated	1/25 à 1/150, B, T	8225 (1949)
Olbia		1949-55	Roussel Trylor 4.5/75 mm	1/25 à 1/200, B, T	8405 (1949)
Olbia		1949-55	Roussel Trylor 4.5/75 mm Coated	1/25 à 1/200, B, T	9015 (1949)

A second camera model was marketed from 1950. It was also a 6 x 6 in plastic, but of a very different shape. In front of a transverse body, a cube serves as a darkroom; some catalog calls it box. The viewfinder is at eye level.
There are black copies and others of brown colour.
The model marked BX is the most common. The meaning of this BX is not known. They are all fixfocus, with a meniscus lens. They have a unique speed and time exposure. If most models (variants) offer only two diaphragm apertures, one, without BX marking, offers three. There is also a model marked X9, without known explanation about this strange name.

A camera similar to the second model was sold under the name Clartex.

		Year	Lens	Shutter	Price (French francs)
6 x 6		1950-52	Three apertures	P, I
BX		1950-52	Two apertures	P, I	1220 (1950)

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