Balda
Superb! 1938 Balda Jubilette, 35mm camera, with Original Leather Case, CLA'd, Freshly Serviced!
Cleaned, Lubricated & Adjusted. Ready for immediate use!
This is an exceptionally fine Balda Jubilette produced in Dresden, Germany in 1938. It was a limited production camera, introduced to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Balda Camera Company. The Jubilette was Balda’s second 35mm camera and it used Kodak’s then new 35mm film which Kodak film had designed to fit Leica, Contax. Prior to its introduction, photographers had to use dark rooms to load 35mm movie film onto special spools and holders. Eighty years later we are still using this film in our all our 35mm cameras.
The Balda Jubilette became very popular in prewar Europe and they had many fans. They were often used quite intensely during WWII due to their small size and light weight. This made it easy to carry them under all sorts of difficult conditions. As a result many were worn out or lost. Now-a-days this camera can be rather difficult to find, especially outside of Europe. And when they do show up they often show their history and generally no longer work.
The camera here is an exceptionally fine example. Unfolded it’s an enjoyable classic camera that gets a lot of attention. I especially like the real leather covering, the slanted vintage Jubilette script and the complex looking depth of field chart.
This Jubilette has been carefully cleaned, lubricated and adjusted. Everything works. The quality Compur shutter works very well. All speeds (T, B & 1 sec.-1/300th) are appropriate. The slow speeds buzz along smoothly and the faster ones are clean and snappy.
The lens is a relatively fast 2.9/5cm (50mm) Baltar which was also produced by Balda in Dresden. (It’s based on the classic Cooke triplet and has three lens elements in three groups.) This design is well known for its lovely rendering and bokeh. It produced photos with a very attractive, rounded look and is very popular in Europe.
The lens is exceptionally clean and clear. There are no scratches, no cleaning marks and it’s capable of producing lovely photos with modern color and B&W films.
It comes complete with an original used brown leather case.
All in all, a lovey, significant and enjoyable vintage camera. Load it with your 35mm film and you’ll be good to go.
