A Walk with the Welti (and Baldinette)

Back in June I took in a long, hot summer walk with my Welta Welti and Balda Baldinette. Both are pretty similar cameras that would have sold to similar users and a fairly similar price point. You probably get the idea by now: They're a lot alike. Both are viewfinders, function the same way, have comparable lenses (or so it might seem from the focal distance and aperture range), and are of the same vintage. I'd always wanted to try them both, with the same film, on the same day, and decided to give it a go a couple of months ago. Here are the results.

Welta Welti I

Trees and turkeys. Given that PanF 50 is a very high-contrast film, this shot caught a lot of shadow and highlight detail. It also shows that this little lens has considerable sharpness.


A high-key tree with some sun glare (or maybe drying rings.)


Wide-open shot looking up through some flowers. Check out the swirly bokeh and say "oooooh."


This shot is just in here because it's the only shot where I took identical photos with each camera.

Balda Baldinette

To my eye, the Welti image is much sharper with better edge sharpness, deeper contrast, and better detail in general. In this shot, the hills are almost lost to the sky, but in the Welti shot there's a subtle but perceptible division.


Again here the sharpness drops off very quickly away from the center.


Stopped down considerably, the lens is much sharper.


And for some uses the edge softness can be appealing.

In sum, I like both for different reasons. I'd be more inclined to take the Welti with me if I were to choose either, but both are pretty nice cameras given their original cost (My Baldinette sold for around $40 on release [more for the nicer lenses] and the Welti for a bit more at around $50.) The $10 in the 1930s would have been significant -- the difference between $672 and $839. Yes. These cameras sold back them for as much as low-to-mid amateur range DSLR bodies and kit lenses sell for today.