Shutter misfire on Balda Super Baldina (telescopic)

[meltedARTS]

Hi Everyone,

I just picked up a Balda Super Baldina (postwar telescopic lens, not the pre-war folder), and I'm experiencing the following problem: the shutter misfires on the return travel of the film advance lever when the lens is extended.

However, this doesn't happen if I retract the lens, then advance the film/cock the shutter, then extend the lens again. This way, the shutter stays cocked until I press the shutter release. So my guess is there's some clearance issue with the shutter mechanism and the lens assembly, but I don't know much about the guts of this camera to say for sure.

I've read (on the internet, so it must be true) that shutter problems are common with Super Baldinas, especially if they've been sitting for a while. Mine has not been used in at least two years. I've also read that it's not good for the camera to cock the shutter and fire it while the lens is retracted, though I'm not so sure about the first part (mostly since my workaround has been to cock the shutter with the lens retracted, and it seems to work and I don't get the impression the camera is being damaged by this).

Also worth noting, a few times I have been able to get the shutter to cock normally with the lens extended. So I'm wondering if this problem is just due to inactivity and if I give the camera a regular workout, the parts may free up and start to fire more normally.

This camera is a beauty. Besides the shutter problem, it's in great cosmetic and mechanical shape (with a nice, bright RF!), so I'd like to get it firing properly. If you have any advice or experience with the Super Baldina, I'd be grateful to hear your opinion.

Many thanks,

Ewan

[FallisPhoto]

Originally Posted by meltedARTS

Hi Everyone,

I just picked up a Balda Super Baldina (postwar telescopic lens, not the pre-war folder), and I'm experiencing the following problem: the shutter misfires on the return travel of the film advance lever when the lens is extended.

However, this doesn't happen if I retract the lens, then advance the film/cock the shutter, then extend the lens again. This way, the shutter stays cocked until I press the shutter release. So my guess is there's some clearance issue with the shutter mechanism and the lens assembly, but I don't know much about the guts of this camera to say for sure.

I've read (on the internet, so it must be true) that shutter problems are common with Super Baldinas, especially if they've been sitting for a while. Mine has not been used in at least two years. I've also read that it's not good for the camera to cock the shutter and fire it while the lens is retracted, though I'm not so sure about the first part (mostly since my workaround has been to cock the shutter with the lens retracted, and it seems to work and I don't get the impression the camera is being damaged by this).

Also worth noting, a few times I have been able to get the shutter to cock normally with the lens extended. So I'm wondering if this problem is just due to inactivity and if I give the camera a regular workout, the parts may free up and start to fire more normally.

This camera is a beauty. Besides the shutter problem, it's in great cosmetic and mechanical shape (with a nice, bright RF!), so I'd like to get it firing properly. If you have any advice or experience with the Super Baldina, I'd be grateful to hear your opinion.

Many thanks,

Ewan

The good news is that a good CLA will probably solve your problems. The bad news is that the post-war Super Baldina, internally, is a camera repairman's nightmare, so it may be more expensive than usual. It is one of those things like a stuck self-timer on a Hi-Matic, a stuck shutter on a Canonet or a diagonally tracking rangefinder on a Super Ikonta, that is usually so much trouble that the repairman will be strongly tempted to tell you that it isn't worth fixing. It depends on the camera repairman though, and you may get lucky.

[meltedARTS]

Thanks for the input. I got the camera on the cheap, so a CLA would most certainly be more than what I paid for it. I've been shooting a test roll using the aforementioned workaround, and I've actually got the action down pretty good of retracting the lens, cocking, re-extending the lens, and shooting. I'll see what develops (har, har). If the film turns out, I'll probably do nothing and continue as is. If not, I may get brave and take it apart myself. Though I do understand that to doing so opens quite a can of worms. Either way, I'll keep you posted.

[FallisPhoto]

Originally Posted by meltedARTS

Thanks for the input. I got the camera on the cheap, so a CLA would most certainly be more than what I paid for it. I've been shooting a test roll using the aforementioned workaround, and I've actually got the action down pretty good of retracting the lens, cocking, re-extending the lens, and shooting. I'll see what develops (har, har). If the film turns out, I'll probably do nothing and continue as is. If not, I may get brave and take it apart myself. Though I do understand that to doing so opens quite a can of worms. Either way, I'll keep you posted.

I collect folders and rangefinders, but this is one of the few I have made a decision to avoid, just because of all the bad things I have read about working on it. If you can get it working, let me know and I may change my mind.