Balda Super Pontura

The Super Pontura was top of range in the family of folding medium format cameras that Balda manufactured in Dresden, Germany, before WW2.

What we have here is a 6x9 rangefinder folder (also capable, by means of the accessory mask, to give 16 6x4.5 negatives per roll), with an original and compact design similar to that of the chromed Baldaxette, a model from roughly the same period but which was smaller and sold in 6×6 or 6x4.5 versions.

The rangefinder and the optical viewfinder — with automatic parallax correction, an innovation not frequently seen in cameras of this age — are uncombined, with one peep hole at each side on the rear of the chromed top cover.

The rangefinder is coupled, and has quite an intelligent design: split by two halves, the lower one provides a yellow filter overimposed, while the top half has a small indent which is really really useful for alignment of vertical lines. The rangefinder works by focusing both parts, top and bottom, so as to make the focus match.

Different lenses, all of them unit focusing, can be found on the Super Pontura, including:

• - Meyer Trioplan 10.5 cm f/4.5


• - Meyer Trioplan 10.5 cm f/3.8


• - Schneider Radionar 10.5 cm f/4.5


• - Schneider Xenar 10.5 cm f/4.5


• - Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 10.5 cm f/4.5

Worth noting that focal length is expressed in centimeters, not in milimeters: this was the common practice before WW2, and therefore something we can look for when trying to date a lens or a camera.

By default, the Super Pontura was available with Compur 0S shutter, providing a top speed of 1/250 sec, with the optional upgrade at purchase time to mount the camera with a Compur-Rapid with top speed of 1/400.

The reducing mask, being a detachable accessory, is often lost and not present with the camera. The Super Pontura weights around 790gr.

<< Back