Rare! 1937 WELTA WELTUR 6x9 Coupled Rangefinder Camera, with original case. CLA'd, Freshly serviced!

Cleaned, Lubricated & Adjusted. Ready for immediate use!

This is a rare medium format rangefinder camera built produced in circa 1937 by Welta Kamera-Werke which was located near Dresden Germany. In the mid 1930’s Welta was a high-end camera brand, well known for its fine quality products. It was in fact one of Germany’s “big three” camera producers, which was represented by Zeiss-ikon, Welta and Voigtlander.

 The Welta Weltur was a very expensive camera produced only briefly between 1935 -1940 and it competed successfully for the attention of the affluent photographers. In contrast to many cameras which were made of folded sheet metal, the Welta Weltur was constructed of precision die cast alloy that had been carefully machined, wrapped in the finest quality leather and fitted with a coupled rangefinder. The rangefinder made focusing quick and easy and it used precision prisms rather than mirrors to produce an image that was easy to see.  

The Weltur was one of the first cameras to have the viewfinder/rangefinder combined into a single window. This feature simplified focusing and composition and this approach is still used in modern rangefinder cameras. Another advanced feature was that the lens and shutter moves together as a unit when focusing. This provided better lens performance (especially up close) than the more common “front cell focus” in which only the front element was turned in or out.  

This camera has been fully serviced and uses 120 roll film. It’s a dual format camera which means it can be set up to shoot either for either 6x9 or 6x4.5 negatives. To do so required the use of a reduction mask. These masks are exceedingly rare and far more difficult to find than the camera itself. Cases for these cameras are also rare. Fortunately both are included in this sale.

I’ve been collecting vintage cameras for some 50 years and I’ve owned and used many classic rangefinders over the years, however there is something special about the 6x9 Welta Weltur. It’s their quality construction that I mentioned previously and exclusivity. They were expensive when new, not many were sold during the Great Depression and fewer yet managed to survive WWII to the modern day. Because of this quality and rarity, the 6x9 Welta Weltur will always be a desirable, exclusive camera.

The lens on this camera is particularly nice, it’s a 3.8/105mm Rodenstock Trinar.  It’s a lens based on the classic Cooke triplet. Stopped down it is very sharp. Wide open, it has a rendition and a very lovely rounded look (good bokeh) making it especially effective for portraits. The lens is exceptionally clean and clear and looks virtually like new. There are no scratches, no cleaning marks and it’s capable of producing lovely photos with modern color and B&W films.

This lens is set into a quality Compur shutter. The shutter works well and all speeds (T, B & 1 sec – 1/250^th) are appropriate. The slow speeds buzz along smoothly and the fast speeds are clean and snappy.  The real leather bellows are in great shape and completely light tight.

 It comes complete with a rare 6x4.5 reduction mask and original leather case.

 All in all a wonderful classic camera. Load it with your favorite film and keep it handy for that perfect shot you’ve been looking for. You know the one... the one with the perfect Ansel Adams light breaking through the dark storm clouds that leaves you wishing you had a classic 6x9  camera with you.