Briefly, the Balda Baldessa 1a

<p>It's an unusual to find this little rangefinder camera in my part of the world, and it's innovative and quirky and one I really enjoy using. The camera is shown with the Bewi Automat meter that I used, mounted in the accessory shoe.</p><div></div>

<p>Some time ago I posted some information on the slightly more advanced Baldessa 1b, essentially the same as this camera but with the addition of a selenium-powered uncoupled light meter. Here's the link, for those who are interested:</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00cRuJ</p>

<p>I won't re-post all the facts and figures I accumulated for that post. In brief, the Baldessas first saw the light of day at the Balda Camera Werk in the West German town of Bunde, in the late 1950's. The Balda cameras were tidy and nicely-finished, but occupied a place in the middle echelons of the German camera hierarchy, well below the Leica and Voigtlander cameras, for instance. While their construction is lighter, the design makes up for this to a great degree by the innovative approach taken by Kari-Heinze Lange, Balda's chief designer. The camera features a rangefinder coupled to the focusing mechanism which moves the whole lens and shutter assembly, and is activated by a thumb wheel set into the upper face of the camera, not unlike the Voigtlander and Fujica range finder cameras. The large viewfinder has a bright rangefinder spot and floating frame lines that move to correct parallax, which is simplified by having the viewfinder located directly above the lens. The Prontor SVS shutter has speeds from 1 to 1/300th of a second plus B, and the front-mounted shutter release is smooth and sensitive in operation. This model features the excellent 45mm Isco-Gottingen Color-Westonar f/2.8 lens, a sharp little Tessar design. Overall, I find the appearance an excellent example of retro mid-century design.</p>

<p>It's the base of the camera that shows particular design flare and ingenuity.</p><div></div>

<p>The film advance "lever" folds out and is worked by the left hand, rotating 180 degrees to advance the film and cock the shutter. The right hand operates the focusing adjustment and shutter release, and once one becomes used to the procedure it's very quick and easy. The small "foot" at the front of the base doubles as a sprocket release, popping out the sturdy film rewind handle. The interior of the camera is very well-finished and thoughtfully designed; the spindle locating the film canister, for instance, is sprung-loaded, so no external connections are required, a feature other manufacturers might well have taken note of.</p>

<p>Interior</p><div></div>

<p>Overall, the Baldessa is a very pleasant and efficient little camera to use, and I'm always impressed by the quality of the images the Baldessas produce. I loaded it with some slightly outdated Kodak Gold 200 that came with the camera, never my favourite film, and took it with me on a medium-format B&W project I'm undertaking, documenting a historic racecourse on the outskirts of town. Scans from the colour images are from the Fuji Frontier. I'll also include a few B&W frames from the test film I ran, Arista 100 developed in PMK Pyro and scanned on the Epson V700 using Silverfast SE software. I hope you find a few of the samples to your liking.</p><div></div>

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Great example, and nice results. I'm not familiar with this camera so thanks for an informative post.

<p>Very nice crisp images, <strong>Rick</strong>! I have an older East German Beltica of similar pedigree with a Cludor shutter. Makes very good pictures with its Tessar lens. But the sub-systems in that are not integrated. The film advance does not cock the shutter! Etc., etc. One has to do these as if they are independent operations. I think the Balda separated after the war and went West, leaving some older parts in the East. Thanks for the post; I did not know that you had a Race Course so near your place. sp.</p>

<p>Cool!</p>

<p>When I was an undergraduate, most of my friends were West Germans. They sported one or another of these saftig-und-prall Wessie-designed RFs and SLRs. Some of them resembled their cameras and vice versa. I got to see their slides, always Agfa. They all worked well.<br /> However, I think none of them got results so nice as yours.</p>

<p>Like SP, mine of this lineage are from the VEB Belca, the former eastern Balda works. The Ossies tended to stick with 30s-looking folders.</p>

<p>A beautifully preserved example that does the job well. Thank You, for another fine post!</p>

<p>Nice shots Rick, as always. I had a thing for Baldas at one time, and owned maybe a dozen (not at once). They made these things in a bewildering amount of designs, even if they were all mainly under the Baldessa title. One of my favorites was a smaller, simpler model w/ scale focus. I remember another that had shutter priority AE even! That one was called a Baldamatic.</p>

<p>My best pics came from a diminutive 35mm folder called the Baldini w/ a Xenar lens. It's unfortunate they weren't Italian made w/ all those names, but in practical terms, it may be just as well :] The camera you have is an odd little beastie to shoot because of it's very light weight, small size in your hands, and the front mounted shutter and focus controls. Then there's that funny little wind on key below. Say this for Balda, they were different.</p>

<p>I must confess that I have never handled a Balda camera, let alone used one! My, it is pretty...lovely design, and thanks for showing it in your usual impeccable photos.<br>

That old racecourse pavilion looks the business, and I can see how you could absorbed in that project...the thing is a symphony in timber. Seems like the light is getting better and better down there.<br>

When was that pavilion built? Looks early 20's?</p>

<p>Rick,<br>

Thank you for this informative post and for the pictures, nice as usual. How would you compare this camera with, say, a Vito B? </p>

<p>Thanks for the responses. <strong>Bernard</strong>, the Baldessa certainly doesn't have the same weight of metal or the "quality" feel of the Vito B, but I've always felt that Voigtlander perhaps over-engineered things a little, especially in regard to the film-loading with it's levers and hatches and all the tricks. The Baldessa is a departure from the conventional designs of the era, and I find the way it handles is very much to my liking. The lens is pretty much on a par with the Skopar and definitely better than the Lanthar, and the inclusion of a coupled rangefinder is a definite bonus. I've just taken down a Vitomatic IIa and compared it to the Baldessa 1b with it's similar meter and rangefinder, and while the Vitomatic is undeniably a gem, I much prefer the ergonomics of the Baldessa.</p>

<p>Yes, <strong>Tony</strong>, I understand that the stand dates from 1915; most of the trees that grace the course were planted in the late 1800's, and there are some truly magnificent specimens. Unfortunately, with the decline in the popularity of "going to the races" much of the infrastructure is in decline, and I thought I'd better record some of the fine features while they are still photogenic. I will try to post some samples of the work in a later post. Most New Zealand towns of any size had access to a racecourse, <strong>SP</strong>, and it really wasn't until the last couple of decades of the 20th century that things began to go downhill.</p>

<p><strong>JDM</strong>, I'm not sure that the Baldessa is <em>exactly</em> juicy and bulging, but it certainly has the look of well-fed West German design of the era. Was it you who once noted the similarity between German citizens of the era and their domestic radios? Thanks <strong>Steve</strong>, interesting reminiscences, and thank you <strong>Louis</strong> and <strong>Mike</strong> for your input.</p>

<p>While it is true that the east german remainder of the Balda works did not make too many new designs, there were quite advanced viewfinder/rangefinder cameras from other manufacturers. Remember the Werra line of cameras or the Altix/Altessa. <br>

Years ago there was an extensive article about the Baldessa cameras in a german camera collectors magazine. There were also more advanced models, with integrated exposure meter and also auto-exposure. They could also be coupled to an electric motor drive. </p>

<p>Great stuff, as always. Thanks for sharing.</p>