Balda Baldessa 1a (~1958)

Balda Baldessa 1a (~1958)

#458

Gentilmente oferecida pelo Daniel. Muito obrigado!

This photo is from the copy I own

History and technical features 

The Baldessa is a range of modestly priced 35mm viewfinder and rangefinder cameras produced by Balda in Germany from c.1957 to the late 1960s.

Baldessas have an unusual folding film advance key in the base - requiring a 180° turn, along with a spring-out rewind crank. On the simpler models, this along with the front-mounted shutter release and the frame counter to the left of the viewfinder ocular leaves the top plate empty except for the accessory shoe. Early models have a removable back; later examples are hinged.

Source: Camera-wiki.org

The Balda Baldessa Ia (or Balda Baldessa 1a) is a 35mm rangefinder camera introduced by Balda Kamera-Werk in 1958, about ten years after founder Max Baldeweg fled Socialist Dresden to reestablish his company in the soon-to-be West German city of B ünde. The Baldessa Ia and its sister model the Ib are basically identical to the original Baldessa I with the addition of a coupled rangefinder. The Baldessa Ib then went a step further by also including a built-in light meter.

Source: vintagecameralab.com



Specifications

he Baldessa 1a was introduced in 1958, and adds a coupled rangefinder to the Baldessa I design. It was available with a Color-Westanar or Baldanar 45/2.8 lens in a Prontor-SVS shutter.

Source: Camera-wiki.org

I love unusual cameras and am happy to say that the Baldessa Ia boasts a number of peculiar design choices. First off, the Baldessa Ia’s top plate is completely barren apart from the cold shoe. Instead, the shutter button (which has a threaded socket for a cable release on its underside) is adjacent to the Baldanar 45mm f/2.8 lens on the front of the camera. Both shutter speed and aperture control rings are on the lens barrel as expected but a black tab has to be pushed in for either of them to move. Most cameras are focused via a ring on the lens barrel but the Baldessa Ia’s designers decided to use a wheel embedded into the body above the shutter button instead. Also on the front are a flash sync socket just off the lens barrel at five o’clock and an accompanying flash mode selector on the lens barrel at nine.

As we move to the camera’s bottom plate, we encounter more eccentricities. The tiny “kickstand” which allows the camera to balance on a flat surface can also be shifted to the “R” position to release the comma-shaped film rewinding lever. Opposite the rewind mechanism is a winding key which, when unfolded, reveals an automatic film counter while advancing the frame with every half turn. In the middle of it all is a tripod socket which also houses a film speed indicator. Last but not least on the list of oddities are the two silver buttons on the user’s right-hand side which can be simultaneously depressed to open the back of the camera.

Source: vintagecameralab.com


Model

Serial number 097513


Reference sites

Camera-wiki.org

vintagecameralab.com


Manual

Balda Baldessa Manual in english

Film

35mm film

Pictures taken with this machine


Videos

Balda Baldix (1950-1955)

Balda Baldix (1950-1955)

#442

This photo is from the copy I own

History and technical features 

Balda's Baldix cameras were a series of self-erecting folding cameras derived from the Baldax series. The cameras made 6x6cm exposures on type No. 120 film rolls.
The Baldix was like the postwar Baldax without the frame counter. The Mess-Baldix had the additional mechanical frame counter, and an uncoupled rangefinder. The Baldi 29 was a later, cheaper model based on the same body, with a more rounded top housing and a f:2.9 lens, hence the name. The range of cameras available at the 1956 Photokina included the Baldi 29, Baldix and Super Baldax, all models that were still available in 1959–60.

Source: Camerapedia

Sweet little folder that takes 6×6 pictures on 120 rollfilm, made by the famous Balda Kamera Werk in West Germany. Balda-Werk was located in Dresden from 1908 up until the end of WWII when it became part of VEB Pentacon group and was re-established in Bunde, (West) Germany. They made cameras up until 1985 when the camera production portion of Balda was sold to a Chinese joint venture. Balda AG is now manufacturing components for mobile communications, satellites and the medical industry. (Come to think of it, isn’t that more or less what Zeiss is up to these days?) Balda Werk made other similar folders such as the excellent (pre-VEB) Baldax and Baldalux and the (post-VEB) 35mm Baldinette. Shutters used in these cameras range from Vario to Compur-Rapid, lenses included Balda-Werk and Enna-Werk, Hugo Meyer and Schneider Kreuznach. They also made Baldax models sold as Lisette under the name Porst. This camera is imprinted Baldix, West Germany, Balda, Bunde, on the leather.

There are a lot of features packed into this comact but heavy pocket-sized folder. Double-exposure lock, PC sync and accessory shoe, self-timer (not working too well on this example), coated lens, positive spring-loaded extension. It’s extremely well-designed. Wind knob is ratcheting (cool idea) as part of the interesting (see below) double-exposure prevention. The Enna-Werk Ennagon lens is a real beauty. You can tell at a glance that it’s a high-quality German lens, with the same coated crispness I can see looking at my Meyer Oreston. Enna-Werk made the interchangeable lenses for the prized American rangefinder Argus C fourty-four, which is in fact the main reason that camera is valuable. The lens frontispiece has a red C that I assume stands for Color, which would mean that it was a color-corrected coated lens. (Color is part of the options on the film selection indicator, so I think it’s a safe assumption.)

Controls are simple – the top has ratcheting wind knob on the left, with the bellows release button next to it, the accesssory shoe in the center, the shutter release, and a knob that has a dial film indicator but doesn’t really do anything, it’s just supposed to remind you if you have Din 7 Ortho-Panchromatic film or if you’re using the ASA 100 Color film today. Only goes up to ASA 200 so it’s only marginally useful…. The other controls are all on top (side? depends on how you’re holding the camera) of the lens-mounted shutter. The shutter cocking lever cocks easily to one side with a finger. VXM self-timer/flash sync switch is color-coded Green Red Yellow, fairly standard. PC terminal is right there too, sticking out a little presumptuously. Focus is smooth and I assume the scale is in meters even though it doesn’t say.

One of the nicest things about this little beauty is the perfect placement of the shutter release button. Shooting with it feels like shooting a solid 35mm rangefinder while the result is a whopping 6x6cm instead of 24x36mm. It’s about the same size and weight as the Contaflex, and it is just a pleasure to shoot. Make sure you depress the shutter release all the way in one smooth movement, otherwise it goes click-click as the linkage engages and then the shutter releases, and you may miss your shot. Be firm, not timid.

Source: mattsclassiccameras.com


Specifications

Produced 1950-55 (1952?) Balda Kamera Werk, Bunde, Germany
Film type 120 rollfilm
Picture size 6cm x 6cm
Weight 18.2oz (516g)
Lens Enna Werk Ennagon C 75mm, f3.5 (stops to f22)
Filter size use Series VI with the 1 1/4″ (31.5mm) slip-on adapter
Focal Range 1m to infinity
Shutter Prontor SVS (has V, X, M settings)
Shutter speeds B, 1-300
Viewfinder in-body viewfinder
Exposure meter none
PC sync and accessory shoe
Film counter, double-exposure prevention
Close cousins HAPO (eg HAns POrst)

Source: mattsclassiccameras.com


Model


Reference sites

35mmc.com

baldabaldix/

Camerapedia

mattsclassiccameras.com



Manual

English manual


Film


Pictures taken with this camera


Videos

Balda Baldixette (~1950)

Balda Baldixette (~1950)

#196

Esta fotografia é do exemplar que possuo

Características

A simple 6x6 camera, very similar to Goldeck 6x6 and Dacora Digna cameras. They all have a similar concept, all metal construction, the collapsible lens tube and a poor viewfinder. Baldixette has two shutter speeds: 1/60 and B (Is it a speed?), for timed exposures. It has also a PC flash terminal for bulbs.
As a young boy I owned a Dacora Digna camera which is like a copy of this Baldixette. (Or perhaps vice versa)
The appearance promises more that the features really are.
The truth is that Balda Baldixette is a plain box camera with the exception that the box cameras usually gives you 6x9cmm negatives instead of 6x6 as Baldixette.

Fonte: thecamerasite.net

The Baldixette is a simple camera taking 6x6cm images on 120 film. It has a collapsible lens tube, which springs out when a release button on the top plate is pressed. It was introduced in 1956[1] by Balda Bünde in West Germany. There is one instantaneous shutter speed + B, and the 72mm (7.2cm) Baldar lens has two apertures, f9 & f16 set by a switch beside the lens.

Fonte: camerapedia

Built some time in the 1950's by Balda Werk, in West Germany (BRD), it is a typical 1950's 6x6 camera, pretty much the point-and-shoot variety. In many ways, it is similar to the old Diana or the contemporary Holga. However, the optics are considerably better than the Holga, although that's not much of a comparison. The build quality is much higher than the Diana or Holga: it is nearly all metal with a minimum of plastic used, and there are no light leaks nor vignetting whatsoever. In addition, it has a pressure plate inside to keep the film flat.

The Baldixette has two aperture settings, f9 and f16. The two-element Baldar lens is a little soft overall, especially at f9, but stopped down to f16, it produces acceptable pictures for the type of camera that it is, with minimal distortion. It has two shutter speeds: 1/60 (designated as "M" on the camera), and B, for timed exposures.

The oddest feature of the camera is the retractable lens plate, which pops out to the ready position by touching the button on top of the camera next to the film advance knob. The extending apparatus is a cylindrical and spring loaded chrome housing, and it retracts by simply pushing it back towards the camera. This "folding" action adds to the Baldixette's portability, as it loses more than an inch in profile when retracted.

Simple "modifications" that I have made on the Baldixette include using a lid from a pill bottle as a lens cap and adhering a laminated exposure chart to some Velcro (which, in turn, covers the red window on the back of the camera). I also affixed an updated film speed reminder to the top of the camera, using paper and tape.

Overall, it is a decent camera for the price. If you want a sub-$20 camera and had considered the Holga or Diana, I would suggest that the Baldixette is at the top of the class for these types of shooters. Disassembly of most of the camera for cleaning is quite intuitive for even the novice.

Fonte: jane.dallaway.com


Especificações

Film type 120 rolfilm
Picture size 6x6cm
Weight 420g
Lens Balda-Bunde Baldar 1:7,2 /~75mm
Shutter Click Clack ?
Shutter speed B ~1/30sec
Viewfinder Simple Galilean

Fonte: thecamerasite.net

There were two models; the Baldixette II added double-exposure prevention and a film counter.

Fonte: camerapedia

Baldixette 6x6 Specifications
Maker	Balda-Werk, W. Germany
Year	1950's
Film	120 film, 6x6cm/12 Exp.
Viewfinder	Basic viewfinder, shows subject at about half size
Lens	Baldar f7.2 (2-Elements in 1-Group), f9 & f16
Focus	5 ft to infinity, by turning the lens
Apertures	f9, f16
Shutter	Spring-loaded lever & rotating metal disk, 1/60 Sec, B.
Shutter release	Threaded button, cable release capable
Film advance	Manual knob/Red Window
Film speed "reminder"	Uncoupled knob, ASA 12-200
Flash	PC terminal on lens plate
Dimensions (WxHxD)	5" x 3 1/2" x 2 1/8" retracted (3 1/4" extended)
Cost	$15 in 2002 from a popular online auction site

Fonte: jane.dallaway.com


Modelo


Sítios de referência

thecamerasite.net


Manual

Manual em inglês


Filme


Fotografias tiradas com esta máquina


Vídeos