Balda Baldina

Balda carried over the Baldina name from a 1935 klapp model, but this model has nothing to do with the original.

The Baldina came in three flavours:

• Baldina, a viewfinder, mock rangefinder
• Baldina B, a viewfinder with an integral meter
• Super Baldina, a rangefinder.

The viewfinder and the rangefinder look the same and share the exact top, but the second pane is blocked in the viewfinder. This variant is often found in German models of the time, sharing bodies to cut costs.

The Baldina models offered many lens and shutter combinations. I would relate it to the inconsistent supply chain that prevailed in the post-war years. Prices varied, but today, all models fetch the same if found buyers.

I have two cameras on my bench, and neither works. The Baldessa line that came two years later is light years ahead, and was Balda’s last attempt was to make a decent camera. The company seems to have lost steam after the Baldessa lineup and caved into making cheap and forgettable models.

As described above, it is a rangefinder wannabe. It has an extra front window that leads nowhere. The viewer is tiny and dim, on par with other models of the time.

The lens assembly extracts out at a press of a front-mounted button. The zone-focusing dial stays on the body, assisted by a large finger rest. DOF markings are by the release button. A fingernail-hating fin sets the aperture values, and a serrated dial sets the modest shutter speed offering, B, 25-200. A dedicated timer lever at the lens barrel bottom. On a positive note, cogs on the film pathway pull the film together with the intake drum, which was not a standard feature then. A film memo skirts the rewind button.

As a precision instrument, the Baldina flopped. It is crudely made, with no finesse or attempt for excellence. The shutter is dead, and the winder lever return spring failed. The paint peels, as does the skin. Printed markings on the film speed dial wore out. The metal parts remind me of the sloppy East German products.

For the collector, it is an insignificant camera. They are offered at random so it could complete a shelf of German post-war cameras.