moggi1964
Established
A recent purchase on ebay got me a Belmira for £17.29.
I sent it straight off for a CLA (£30) and it is on its way back now. The glass on a mirror has de-silvered so the RF won't be very clear if usable at all but it'll be great little compact street photography zone-focusing camera.
So for £50 I have what I think is a beautiful piece of engineering/art that I hope will take terrific images. It has the 2.8/50mm Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar.
I will of course post back here and let you know how it performs.
Does anyone know how to determine in which period a particular example was manufactured?
I sent it straight off for a CLA (£30) and it is on its way back now. The glass on a mirror has de-silvered so the RF won't be very clear if usable at all but it'll be great little compact street photography zone-focusing camera.
So for £50 I have what I think is a beautiful piece of engineering/art that I hope will take terrific images. It has the 2.8/50mm Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar.
I will of course post back here and let you know how it performs.
Does anyone know how to determine in which period a particular example was manufactured?
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
Never seen any of these before - i had to google it. Tessars are good enough for the majority of the cases; so it should be good fun using it.
santino
FSU gear head
It’s the design that is special. The Praktica style release button and cocking the shutter via a slider. It sits next to the Werra on my shelf.
moggi1964
Established
Thank you both for contributing.
Pan, hoping that turns out to be the case with this one. I will of course post here when I get it back and run some film through it.
Santino, do you use yours or is it's place on the shelf a result of its uniqueness and pretty looks? I would like to see any images you have taken with it.
Pan, hoping that turns out to be the case with this one. I will of course post here when I get it back and run some film through it.
Santino, do you use yours or is it's place on the shelf a result of its uniqueness and pretty looks? I would like to see any images you have taken with it.
charjohncarter
Veteran
It is clean too. Should be fun.
oftheherd
Veteran
I think I remember another tread on a camera of this type, simply because I hadn't heard of it before. I have several copies of Welta Weltis, Weltinis, and 6x6. The first I used was a Welti I inherited from my father. The ones I have are great performers. I think you will grow to like yours. It looks kind of neat
EDIT: I meant to add a photo one of my Weltis and Weltinis. At least here is a couple of my Weltinis.
And a Welti with a couple of other folders I like to use.
EDIT: I meant to add a photo one of my Weltis and Weltinis. At least here is a couple of my Weltinis.
And a Welti with a couple of other folders I like to use.
moggi1964
Established
Beautiful selection and lovely that one has sentimental value. Thanks for sharing those.
seany65
Well-known
I did consider getting one a while back to go with my Welta Rheinmetall Weltax and my Welta "something" - it's supposed to be a Perle but it has 'Welta' written on the front where it would normally have 'Perle' or 'Symbol' etc., but then I realised that I'd have nowhere to put it. I've since got rid of 5 cameras, 2 flashes and 3 lenses and I now have only just enough room for what I'be got left.
571514m3
Established
"So for £50 I have what I think is a beautiful piece of engineering/art that I hope will take terrific images."
Looking forward to that. What a beautiful camera. Great lens. Lots of them on ebay.de as expected. Looking forward to seeing what you did with it.
moggi1964
Established
moggi1964
Established
Thanks. Should be with me in about three weeks as I asked the repair guy to hang on to it when it is done and to return it with my Yashica's that I will be sending him this week.
I'll definitely be posting images from it in November.
Dralowid
Michael
Always rather liked folding 35mm cameras, particularly Weltas and Weltinis.
They make a change from those Retinas...
They make a change from those Retinas...
santino
FSU gear head
The rf on mine is off so I used it just once to test it out so no serious shots to show. I love the design and it is imo really well build. So it actually is (my) shelf queen
Timmyjoe
Veteran
Does anyone know how to determine in which period a particular example was manufactured?
Going by the serial number on the lens, I'd say sometime between 1955 and 1958.
Best,
-Tim
moggi1964
Established
Thanks Tim. It's older than me and I think the mechanical parts also work better. Maybe it's time I got a CLA
moggi1964
Established
The rf on mine is off so I used it just once to test it out so no serious shots to show. I love the design and it is imo really well build. So it actually is (my) shelf queen
She deserves the spot.
oftheherd
Veteran
Not that it matters to this thread, but I lost my father's Welti in a house fire and replaced it with the one in in the photo. I do like Welta cameras. I think they don't get the acclaim they deserve.
oftheherd
Veteran
Never owned a Retina. I can remember them being a popular topic of discussion in the camera club my father was a member of.
I was always curious how it would be to have interchangeble lenses as on the Retina II, but never figure it would be such a big deal since I didn't think the selection was that good. I guess it was good for its day, but not these days in my opinion.
Muggins
Junk magnet
I have a pre-war Welta Perle 6 x 4.5 folder - apart from an appallingly placed shutter release (seems to be a common feature on cameras of this period - though my Voigtlander Bessa has a very, very well thought out one), it's really rather nice.
They also built the deliciously mad Superfekta: http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Superfekta
moggi1964
Established
That is sad. We lost virtually all our belongings in a fire in 1972 and it has really come home to me in the last few years what wonderful and meaningful keepsakes went up in flames. What's done is done I guess.
Sounds like your Dad enjoyed his photography.