Balda Baldessa Ia / Ib
This peculiar little 35mm rangefinder was manufactured by Balda in 1958, out of the West German city of Bünde. It is the successor to the previous Baldessa I, with a coupled rangefinder added.
On its surface, the Baldessa Ia is a great compact, 35mm rangefinder that can be found at bargain prices. It was built for the consumer market with a lower price point, which it still enjoys today. Despite its budget-friendly pricing, the Baldessa Ia is a solid performer and a super interesting camera, given its many unique design features. The shutter speed and aperture are both manually set on the barrel of the lens. Focus, however, is done via a wheel mounted to the face of the camera, as opposed to a ring on the front of the lens. The shutter button is located to the left of the lens, a positioning that is uncommon but not unheard of. Interestingly enough, the shutter button has a threaded socket for a cable release on the bottom side instead of the top. The Baldessa 1a sports a film advance key, instead of a knob or lever advance. On the base of the camera is a folding key, which advances the film with a 180 degree crank. Opposite the film advance key is a bottom-mounted rewind crank. In between the two is a film speed reminder dial. With all this fun stuff happening on the bottom of the camera, the Baldessa Ia has a top plate that is virtually empty, with the exception of a flash cold shoe.
The business end of the Baldessa Ia features either a Color-Westanar or Color-Baldanar 45mm f/2.8 lens in a Prontor-SVS shutter.
Released in the same year, the Baldessa Ib added a selenium cell light meter.
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