The Balda Baldessa 1B is a 35mm. coupled rangefinder camera with built in light meter and a rather unusual focus control and film advance placement. It was made in about 1958 (as I was oddly enough) and has a rather nice, curvy feel.
Balda Baldessa 1B 35mm rangefinder camera
Balda Baldessa 1B 35mm rangefinder camera – side view showing focus and shutter release
Balda Baldessa 1B 35mm rangefinder camera – side view showing flash sync socket
Balda Baldessa 1B 35mm rangefinder camera – some damage to the rangefinder window
Balda Baldessa 1B 35mm rangefinder camera top view
Balda Baldessa 1B 35mm rangefinder camera – light meter
Balda Baldessa 1B 35mm rangefinder camera – exposure setting with the EV markings
Balda Baldessa 1B 35mm rangefinder camera – bottom view showing film advance, rewind and film type reminder
Balda Baldessa 1B 35mm rangefinder camera – film chamber
My Camera
I paid a few pounds for this camera a couple of months ago and bought it as a non working unit so I could get some practice with my camera repair skills. At the moment it is still broken, so I will report on how I fixed it in the next part of this series.
The actual fault with the unit I bought is to do with the film advance and shutter cocking. When the key on the bottom of the camera is turned it doesn’t correctly cock the shutter and gets locked. Then if the shutter is pressed the key unlocks, but the shutter doesn’t actually fire. Oddly, if I hold the shutter release down I can wind the film advance key and at a certain point the shutter fires and runs down the correct length of time. I suspect there is some timing issue or dirt in a mechanism somewhere.
Other than the mechanical problem with the shutter, the glass in front of the rangefinder window looks cracked, although in fact it is a plastic window and is creased rather than cracked. The name tag on the front of the camera is also a little worse for wear, with the transfer being almost completely worn off.
There are some positives however; the light meter still responds to light and the range finder is quite bright and smooth in operation. Also, when it works the shutter timing seems about right and the aperture adjusts nicely.
Balda Baldessa 1B Description
As I said above, although the Baldessa has a similar spec to many other 35mm rangefinder cameras available in the late 1958 it does have a rather different control layout from the norm.
The light meter is of the non-coupled variety. There is a light cell on the front of the body which measures the light reflected from the subject, moving a meter needle in the top panel just above it. Next to the meter needle window is a dial which is adjusted so a red arrow lines up with the meter needle and then the correct exposure is read from the dial. The light meter and camera are designed to work with the EV (Exposure Value) system, so the value read from the light meter is a simple number which is transferred to the camera exposure system. Once set, the aperture and shutter speed are locked together, although a number of different combinations can be selected, any of which will result in the same exposure. It’s a bit like Program Shift on a modern digital camera and allows the photographer to make an artistic choice whilst keeping the exposure right.
The focus is not adjusted by turning the front element of the lens, but with a dial set into the top of the front section of the camera that the lens is mounted on. Although this is a bit unconventional, it actually works quite nicely because the finger used for the shutter release is naturally in the correct position to turn the dial. There is a readout on the top of the dial which gives you the distance after the camera is focused and also a depth of field scale, but I suspect these are there for convenience when using flash because the rangefinder itself is fully coupled to the lens.
The bottom of the camera is where the film advance, rewind and film type reminder are arranged. The film advance is a key arrangement rather than a quick advance lever, so it needs to be lifted up and wound to advance the film and cock the shutter. This makes it slower to use than some other cameras available at the time, but I suspect people didn’t fire off 10 shots of the same subject in the late ’50s so it was probably fine. The rewind control is locked into the bottom of the camera with a small lever at the front of the camera and when it is open it’s a nice large control which would make the rewind operation quite smooth. Around the tripod bush is a film type reminder which is turned with a knurled rim around the outside of the bush. It lists the likely film types and speeds available at the time the camera was made. There is a count down frame counter which is just visible under the film advance key, but it’s hidden until the key is hinged up.
Overall this is quite a nice camera in the hand. The curved body fits well and although the controls are laid out somewhat unconventionally, for the most part they are easy to use and quite effectively placed.
I’m hoping that I can fix the issues with the film advance and shutter cocking and when I do I’ll write an article with some details.
Balda Baldessa 1B specifications
Balda Baldessa 1B 35mm rangefinder camera
Uncoupled light meter
ASA range 6 to 6400
Coupled rangefinder with focus control on front of camera
Unconventional film advance key on base of camera
Film type reminder built round tripod base
Isco-gottingen color-westanar 45mm f/2.8 lens
Prontor SVS shutter
X & M flash sync
Mechanical 10 sec Self timer
EV exposure system
Accessory shoe
Shutter speeds 1 sec to 1/300 sec
Apertures f/2.8 to f/16
EV settable from 2 to 17
Ser No: 088884
Balda Baldessa 1B 35mm rangefinder camera The Balda Baldessa 1B is a 35mm. coupled rangefinder camera with built in light meter and a rather unusual focus control and film advance placement.
