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With survival of the small company
assured by solid sales of the Omega B, the Simmon Bros. were able to
quickly expand the line, with the 35mm format Omega A following the B
a few months later, thereby offering an even lower price point.
The
Omega A was very similar to the B with vertical steel column,
clear lamp and opal diffusion disc, lever focusing, and double
condenser system. In the Omega A, however, the lamp was a low-voltage type,
with power supplied from a transformer located at the base of the
column. Because of the transformer, the standard Omega A was AC
only, but later an AC/DC option using a 50W 120V lamp was also
offered. The negative carrier was not designed to be easily
interchanged, so versions specifically for Bantam and Robot formats
were available as well.
As the low price leader in the Omega
line, the A
continued in production for some time after the war. Because quite a
few of
the original transformers have failed due to age, and the difficulty
in obtaining replacement lamps, many Omega A enlargers found today
have been modified to use a PH111A lamp.
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