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Post by Michael Fraley on May 15, 2008 22:11:38 GMT -5
I have a Welta Weltax folder on the way. It has a Tessar f3.5 lens. No rangefinder so it's guess-the-distance. But it's described as having a bright viewfinder which matters to me. Also it has an insert, so it can take either 6x6 or 6x4.5 negatives on 120 roll film. Lately I've been very keen on medium format folders.. Will post a picture of it when it arrives. Anyone else have a Welta?
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Andrew
Lifetime Member
Posts: 243
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Post by Andrew on May 16, 2008 6:30:58 GMT -5
I look forward to the picture Micheal...those masks/inserts are somewhat difficult to get as well so you did well...for what its worth the same insert fits into the Welta Weltur which uses the same body. i think i once purchased a weltax just to get that mask lol
i have a couple of weltax myself, great solid built camera. the viewfinda is not bad for a vintage camera and you will see it also has a little slide button for a mask in the viewfinda to switch formats, in addition to a the basic but niffty parralex ajustment that tilts the veiwfinda for near shots.
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Post by Michael Fraley on May 17, 2008 1:15:10 GMT -5
Thanks Andrew, I was wondering about the Weltur too. What other folders do you fancy? I have a Balda Hapo 66E, like a Baldax but without the slow speeds. Also an Agfa Isolette III. I thought the focus was blurry on the Isolette's rangefinder, until I got a new prescription of glasses Now it's a favorite, with new green bellows and a refurbished lens.
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Andrew
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Posts: 243
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Post by Andrew on May 17, 2008 20:42:15 GMT -5
Hi Michael, yeah i think the Weltur is as good a couple rangefinda camera as you were likely to get pre-war an easy match for the Super Ikonta ,which i also have and love, the mechanics and engineering are fabulous and i enjoy using itbut if i was to pretend i was living in 1938 and had to reccomend one to a serious photographer i would choose the weltur because of its features and smoother operation. and the BessaRF (which hmm i also have as well--probably have too many of things if thats a bad thing) available then as well. actually i think the Weltur is better in some ways to this as well although i do like voightlanda's heliar lens. and was still as good or better as many post-war c/rangefinda cameras as well. however, by the very late fifties there are a few i that i really like; such as the japanese fuji pearl IV i think it is, the Ensign autorange 820 from memory is a great camera and the super issolette i can recomend as one of the best 6x6 folders full stop. but it is pricey. the benifit to these late post-war models is predominately that their veiwfinders are much bigger and brighter, all have top lenses and are auto film stop wind on etc not to mention they have coated lenses but that doesn't neccesarely on its own make them better IMO
thats not to say i dont enjoy just using the simple folders (even the very early 1920's types)- i usually just use them by setting the focus and aperature to the hyperfocal distance to make it easy most of the time. oh and i like my perkeo's as well LOL the list goes on
there's not many folders i don't like per-say, i appreciate all of them for what they are! but obviously the higher end cameras are more fun, have better features and produce better results because of the better equiped shutters and lenses--thats not to say one cant produce a good result with a very very basic camera just that it is more limited and difficult to use in some situations. i like the issolette's as well, I have all of them except the air operated one that controls aperature exposure setting. I actually gave an Iso III with red bellows and leather to my daughter because they are a good camera. easy in the hand (i like to just slip it in my pocket and it doesn't reall have and bits that catch on anything), easy to use (i got her one with EV scales and linked shutter and aperature settings to make it easier for her, so she can guess light values and not need a meter all the time) and nice to look at too, with good results from thier solinar lens to top it off.
i have tended to mostly collect welta folders but i could of easily been happy collecting Balda, Ziess and Voightlanda i really like as well.
cheers Andrew
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Post by Michael Fraley on May 17, 2008 22:23:25 GMT -5
Thanks Andrew! Much to contemplate, thanks for your insights..
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Post by Michael Fraley on Jun 21, 2008 21:32:17 GMT -5
Well, the Welta Weltax arrived. It sort of was problematic for me. I ended up sending it back to the seller along with the difference in price for a Zeiss Ikon Mess-Ikonta. It has a Novar 75mm/f3.5 lens, slow shutter speeds, and the usual 100 & 300 fast shutter speeds. I have my first roll in it, Fomopan 200 ISO black & white. I've been curious about the Zeiss folders. This one is very nice. It has a large bright viewfinder which is 1:1 magnification. The rangefinder is a separate window and is also good. I think this is a 'practical' folder. I may save up for a more expensive Zeiss. But for now this one is going everywhere with me...
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Andrew
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Posts: 243
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Post by Andrew on Jun 21, 2008 21:41:12 GMT -5
Hi Michael, what was the problem with the weltax? its a shame, the tessar is a great lens!
i was wondering if the viewfinder may not be suitable for someone with eyeglasses?
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Post by Michael Fraley on Jun 22, 2008 12:56:44 GMT -5
Hi Andrew,
The viewfinder on the Welta was okay, and I do wear glasses. In fact it was quite bright. It had a slider which was to change from 6x6 to 6x4.5. When I received the Weltax, the shutter was not working on lower speeds. This was easily fixed by the seller, who tells me he replaced the shutter. There was also a scratch on the lens which was cosmetic more than anything, but it bothered me. I originally thought it was great to have the 6x4.5 frame insert, which is hard to find, but in practice I found it awkward to turn the camera 90 degrees for a horizontal format. And finally the construction did not feel as solid as my Agfa Isolette or Balda Hapo E66. I thought the Zeiss would be more 'solid' feeling, and it is. Just my personal preferences..
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Reiska
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Member has Passed
Posts: 558
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Post by Reiska on May 12, 2009 6:41:28 GMT -5
I think, that Michael wouldn't mind if I show my new Welta Weltax here. I bought it today with a bagful of horse nuts (not shown) Without a sticky shutter (the camera) it is in very good condition. I am sure, that the lighter fuel will do the job. The lens coated is Tessar 3,5/75mm. It is assembled at the Rheinmetall-Werk in Sömmerda (DDR) or GDR in English. Simon Simonsen's excellent Welta pageActually the whole site is absolutely worth visiting. As you see, the spring is coming here too ;D IS THIS A JOKE? (13.10) I deleted this dead eb... link. The price tag on a Welta Weltax was 230$
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Post by shortstop on Jul 19, 2014 7:40:28 GMT -5
Here is my 6x9 Weltur.
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Stephen
Lifetime Member
Still collecting.......
Posts: 2,718
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Post by Stephen on Jul 19, 2014 8:03:17 GMT -5
The nicer rangefinder version as well, Welta's in good order are fine cameras, the 6x9 is especially good with the huge negative. Lenses are a bit modest at times, but all right for the negative size, only a little less contrasty than comparable modern lenses. Colour balance can be variable though, as they really pre date modern colour film usage.
Stephen.
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Post by shortstop on Jul 19, 2014 8:05:20 GMT -5
I've tried to send a better resolution of the image of my Weltur, but without success.
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Post by shortstop on Jul 19, 2014 8:07:45 GMT -5
The lens is a Schneider Kreuznach Xenar 3,8 105 mm. Tested in BW: excellent. Not yet in colour.
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Post by philbirch on Jul 19, 2014 8:17:43 GMT -5
Hi Shortstop. First welcome to the forum. Use an image hosting site for your pics and link from there. I use fotki.com for this forum. Flickr if I want to show photos in full size. I notice you are using your Android device, perhaps the tapatalk app re-sizes. I don't have much success on this forum with my Android tablet or phone, I prefer the laptop.
Nice camera through, what else do you have?
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Post by shortstop on Jul 19, 2014 9:19:39 GMT -5
I use an iphone 4s. In other forums attachment of photos in full size is not a problem. May be I missed something in attaching the Weltur image. Don't use flickr. I use the other cameras I have. They range from 135 to 4x5.
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