Description
Balda Baldessa film camera SN 004837 comes with original case. *** Not tested but shutter is working
Balda Baldessa is one of the better-known mid-century 35 mm cameras from Balda-Werk Bünde (West Germany). It was introduced in the mid-1950s as Balda moved away from folding cameras into the rigid-body 35 mm compact market, where it competed with cameras like the Kodak Retinette, Agfa Silette, and Voigtländer Vito.
Balda Baldessa – General Overview
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Type: 35 mm viewfinder camera
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Introduced: Around 1957–1959 (first rigid-body series)
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Film format: 35 mm cartridges, 36×24 mm frame
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Style: Compact, stylish metal body with a distinctive modernist look
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Target market: Amateur photographers wanting an affordable but well-made German camera
Design & Features
The Baldessa series is known for its quirky but elegant design:
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Lens options:
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Steinheil Cassar 45 mm f/2.8
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Isco-Göttingen Color-Isconar 45 mm f/2.8
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Shutters:
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Pronto (1/25 – 1/200 s + B) or
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Prontor-SVS (1/300 s top speed on some models)
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Focusing: Zone focusing (scale on lens, no rangefinder)
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Film advance: Bottom-mounted wind lever (a quirky Balda trait!)
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Shutter release: Large front-mounted button rather than on the top plate
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Viewfinder: Bright optical finder (no rangefinder in the early versions)
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Meter: None on the original Baldessa, but later versions added one
Baldessa Family Models
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Baldessa (original, c.1957)
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No light meter
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Simple, sleek design
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Lens/shutter combos as above
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Baldessa 1A (c.1958–1960)
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Continuation of the original, very similar
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Some cosmetic refinements
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Baldessa 1B (c.1960)
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Added a selenium light meter on the top plate
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Still scale-focus, not a rangefinder
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Baldessa LF (early ’60s)
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“LF” = Light meter + Flash sync improvements
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Slightly restyled top housing
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Baldamatic series (successor, early 1960s)
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Selenium meter with coupled exposure system
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Automatic exposure options in later versions
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