Balda
Balda was a German maker based in Dresden. It was founded in 1908 and took the name Balda-Werk Max Baldeweg in 1913.[1] It made a quantity of medium-priced folders before World War II, and its camera production was quite comparable to Welta or Certo, though Baldas as a rule sold for lower prices than either of those cameras. One originality of Balda was to sell cameras to many other companies for resale under their own brand (today this would be called OEM). Perhaps as part of this strategy, Balda cameras were fitted with a very wide range lenses, from the low cost self-branded triplets through Meyers and Ludwigs, to the high end Schneider Xenars and Xenons, and Zeiss Tessars and Biotars.
After the war, Balda was nationalized in East Germany in 1946, while its founder Max Baldeweg fled to West Germany to start Balda-Werk Bűnde. After trademark litigation similar to that involving the Carl Zeiss companies and Zeiss Ikon companies the name of the East German company was changed to Belca-Werk in 1951. It continued for some time to produce folders like the little 35mm Beltica, and was absorbed into VEB Kamera-Werke Niedersiedlitz in 1956[2].
Max Baldeweg set up a new company called Balda (Balda Kamera-Werk), this time based in Bünde, West Germany. This company produced a series of 35mm and medium-format rollfilm cameras, some of them being sold by Porst under the Hapo brand. Balda later produced cameras in both 126 and 110 cartridge format.
Balda Dresden, later Belca
35mm film, folding
120 film
4.5×6cm, folding
- Baldax (4.5×6, #0 or #00 shutter size)
- Baldaxette I (4.5×6, coupled rangefinder)
6×6cm, folding
- Baldax (6×6, #0 shutter size)
- Baldaxette II (6×6, coupled rangefinder)
6×9cm, folding
- Baldafix (6×9)
- Juwella (6×9)
- Pontina (6×9 and 4.5×6), also sold as Hapo 10 and Hapo 45
- Super Pontura (6×9, coupled rangefinder)
6×9cm, box
- Balda Box (6×9)
- Frontbox (6×9)
- Poka (6×9)
- Rollbox (6×9)
127 film, folding
- Baldi (3×4)
- Rigona (3×4)
Plate models
Belca
35mm film
Folding
- Beltica I (vertical style folding, like the pre-war Baldina)
- Beltica II (horizontal style folding)
Rigid
Stereo
120 film, folding
- Belfoca (6×9)
Balda Bünde
35mm film
Folding
- Baldalette
- Baldina
- Baldini
- Baldinette a modified version was sold as the Rival 35
- Mess-Baldinette (uncoupled rangefinder)
- Mess-Rigona (uncoupled rangefinder), also sold as Hapo 35 and Rival 35
- Rigona
- Super Baldina (coupled rangefinder)
- Super Baldinette (coupled rangefinder)
Rigid
- Baldina
- Super Baldina (coupled rangefinder)
- Baldessa / Baldessa I
- Baldessa F/RF/L-RF/LF-RF
- Baldessamat F / RF
- Baldamatic / Baldamatic I
- Super Baldamatic I / II / III
Ultra compact
- C 35
- CA 35, and Voigtländer Vito C
- CE 35
- CS 35
- Mini 35
- Scout 35
- Minox 35 series - the entire line of Minox 35 cameras was manufactured by Balda Kamera-Werk in Bünde, West Germany
110 film
- Minox 110 (Manufactured by Balda Kamera-Werk)
126 film
- Nizo Elektronik 1000 (made for Niezoldi & Krämer)
- Argus Lady Carefree
120 film
6×6cm, folding
- Baldi 29
- Baldix
- Mess-Baldix (uncoupled rangefinder), also sold as Hapo 66e
- Baldax
- Super Baldax (coupled rangefinder)
6×6cm, collapsible
- Baldixette
Notes
Links
Camera industry in Dresden |
Balda | Certo | Eho-Altissa | Eichapfel | Ernemann | Feinmess | Heyde | Hamaphot | Huth | Hüttig | ICA | Ihagee | Kochmann | Kerman | KW | Eugen Loeber | Ludwig | Mentor | Merkel | Meyer | Mimosa | Pentacon | Richter | Sommer | Stübiger | Unger & Hoffmann | Werner | Wünsche | Zeiss Ikon | Zeh |
Camera distributors in Dresden |
Stöckig |
Camera industry in Freital |
Beier | Pouva | Stein & Binnewerg | Thowe | Welta |
In English:
- Flickr group Balda Cameras
- Balda section at Retrography.com by Simon Simonsen, Denmark
- Balda C-series subminiatures at submin.com
In German:
In French:
- Balda page at Mario Groleau's website
- Belca page at Collection G. Even's site
- Balda page at Collection G. Even's site
- Balda cameras and Belca cameras at www.collection-appareils.fr