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

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Ilford Sportsman

Shutter release, V X & M lever

EV unlock button and exposure setting

EV values

Focus, shutter speed and aperture with focus assist icons

Film advance – covering peeling badly

Serial no plate on bottom

Dacora dignar 45mm f/2.8

Film type reminder

Simple frame counter

“Always use Ilford film”

Film chamber

I’ve had this camera in a box in my office since the day Dad gave it to me and never really looked at it until today when I decided to dig it out. I had always assumed it was just a cheap ‘throw away’ camera but now I’ve had a proper look at it, I discover that it’s actually quite a capable performer for its day.

The lens fitted to this camera is a Dacora dignar 45mm f/2.8 and the shutter is a Prontor-svs which is quite a renown make. The dacora lens is a bit of a giveaway to the fact that this camera was also sold as a Dacora Dignette. In fact, since the camera has written on it ‘Made in Western Germany’ and Ilford was a British company, I suspect that this is actually a camera made for Ilford by Dacora.

The mechanical condition of the camera is quite sound with the shutter working at all speeds and the aperture moving freely, but there is a fair amount of damage to the covering. I’ve tried to peel the cover off in order to properly stick it down, but it is a very brittle, fake leather and it rips rather than peel, so I may need to cut some replacement covers and stick on in place of the original. I think this must be a common problem because a lot of the Ilford Sportsman models I see on eBay show similar signs of cover peeling.

The exposure system of the camera allows the adjustment of the aperture and shutter speed, and there is also an Exposure Value scale on the lens mount. The Exposure Value system (EV) was quite popular in the 1950’s and was an early attempt to simplify photography by allowing the exposure to be set without worrying about f stops and shutter speeds. Once the EV value was set (which was simply a combination of f number and shutter speed), it could be shifted as a whole to determine the type of picture you wanted to take. If you wanted to freeze motion you would turn the dial one way, if you wanted the background out of focus you would turn it the other way. It’s a bit like Program Shift which is available on many modern cameras. Of course, if you were to set the shutter speed too low you could get camera shake, so it didn’t completely remove the need for a bit of knowledge on the part of the photographer.

On this camera you set the EV value by pressing down a lever on the lens barrel, and moving the combination of shutter speed and aperture until the red arrow lines up with the desired EV number. You could also set aperture and shutter speed if you wanted – the result is the same.

The shutter has an V, X & M lever which I assume is to select Self timer, x sync and normal operation. On my camera the V setting won’t lock into place, so I guess the self timer is broken. I know of other cameras of this vintage with that problem.

The viewfinder is a simple window with lines indicating the approximate limits of the picture you will take. In common with most, if not all viewfinder cameras of this era, there is no other information shown.

To focus the picture, you basically guess the distance and set it on the focus ring. In order to assist with this there are icons of landscape, group and portrait subjects but since this camera was most probably used for holiday snapshots, it was probably mostly set to a small aperture and the focus set just off infinity to ensure most of the picture was in focus.

In many ways the camera reminds me of my Voigtlander Vito B. The frame advance lever is in the same position and works in the same manner as that camera and the shutter has the same ability to lock the speed and aperture and shift the exposure with the EV system.

Ilford sportsman Prontor-SVS 35mm viewfinder camera

1sec to 1/500sec +B leaf shutter

Flash sync at all speeds from front mounted sync socket

45mm f/2.8 Dacora Dignar lens with f/22 min shutter

EV range 2 to 18

X, V & M lever for self timer, sync and normal operation

Film type reminder on rewind knob

Front mounted shutter release with cable release thread

Cold shoe accessory

Ser No 228453