welta Perle?

jamaeolus · Expire: 2015-08-20

I have recently purchased an old Welta camera. The guy at the local camera shop said likely to be a Perle. It has the Pronto shutter and Rodenstock Trinar. It does not give a model name anywhere I could find, but the photo in his camera book matched it and the pronto/rodenstock combo also fit the description. The frame size is a puzzlement though. Apparently manufactured in different format sizes, the frame on this one is 73mm wide and 45.5 high. Is that 127? Is it available? I'll post some picks of it when I get a chance to format them for the site. Its in really great shape for a camera from the 30's, no evidence of pinholes in the bellows all mechanics function, shutter seems to be correct, the diaphragm moves easily as does focus, so I would love to try it out if its possible (within reason) to buy or adapt film for it. It looks pretty much like this one, though the leather, while intact, is somewhat dry and discolored.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/mitica100/Welta-Perle.jpg

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

Measure the actual opening of the film gate. It could be 4.5x6, very common.
And good news for you as those took 120 film.
An easy way to tell if a German folder is 6x9, 6x6, 4.5x6 127 or 35mm, reasonably accurately, from ebay pictures is to check the back and the lens.

35mm - no red window, 5cm (or less) lens. two knobs, but that can fool you.
127 - red window, middle of the back. Often two windows. 5cm (about) lens
4.5x6 - two red windows on the top of the back. @7.5cm lens
6x6 - red window middle of the back, 7.5cm-8cm lens
6x9 - red window lower right side of the back, 10.5cm-12cm lens 10.5 is very common, the others are sometimes seen on older 1920's)
larger formats - red window generally lower right of the back, lenses 12cm or longer.

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

I just checked and there is a risk that you may have a model that takes the really oddball 129 film. Perle's were made in that format.
You can actually get 127 film, there are specialty makers for that still, but 129 went the way of the dodo long ago.

Format was nominally 5x8cm
Lens would be I think a 9cm

jamaeolus · Expire: 2015-08-20

It has the Rodenstock Trinar 9 cm f4.5 and the opening at the back is 4.5 cm and 73 mm so seems like it must be the 129 format. I have the one spool and some 120 spools given to me by the camera store which i can cut down to size. Is 127 film smaller or larger? The film #'s (120, 127, 126, 129) don't make much sense to me. The 120 film rolls were quite a bit larger and I have seen web demo's of cutting 120 film (with a cigar cutter) to use in 127 cameras. I was hoping to use the thing for landscape so the closer I can get to covering the frame the better. If all else fails I'm sure I could use 35mm film with a mask but I'm not sure what the point would be!

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

127 is smaller.

127 - 4cm wide
129 - 5cm wide
120 - 6cm wide

These are nominal widths, the actual film width is a bit more.

All allow for multiple formats, for cameras with red windows there are several series of frame numbers in the back for this purpose.
These formats just take a longer or shorter slice of the film. For instance with 120 you can take a strip 4.5cm, 6cm or 9cm long.

jamaeolus · Expire: 2015-08-20

philslizzy · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 4748 Location: Cheshire, England

Definitely the 129 film model, the only one to come with brown leather according to my McKeowns guide. The width of 129 is half way between 120 and 127 film. Good luck!!