Werra 1 (about 1962)

The Werra 1 is a scale focusing 35 mm camera that was made by VEB Carl Zeiss in Eisfeld, East Germany. The camera was named for the river Werra, which flows through Eisfeld. Werra also was the name of a line of binoculars made by the same company. VEB roughly meant "state owned company", which was part of the East German Communist system for the organization of industry. This example was made for the export market. The focusing scale is marked in feet and meters, and the shutter and lens have "Q1" symbols to indicate supposedly higher quality control. The shutter also has the tower icon of VEB Pentacon. Because the original Carl Zeiss firm still existed in West Germany, the East German state did not have the right to use the name "Carl Zeiss” in the West, so the lens on this export model is marked "Jena" instead of "Carl Zeiss."

Ready to shoot

Lens Covered

Bottom

Back

The body of the camera has aluminum trim and black vulcanite. The top of the camera has just the shutter button. The front of the camera has the viewfinder window and the lens. The bottom of the camera has the rewind knob, a tripod socket with a 3/8" thread, the latch for the back, the rewind clutch button and the film counter. The PC flash sync connection is on the right side. Strap loops are on both sides. The back of the camera has just the viewfinder eyepiece.

All of the controls are grouped around the lens. The film advance ring is at the base of the lens, followed by the shutter speed ring, the depth of field scale, the focusing ring and the aperture ring. The shutter is a "Prestor" shutter with times 1/750, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 second plus "B". The shutter button is threaded for a cable release. The shutter can be set to sync with flash bulbs ("M") or electronic flash ("X"), or set a self-timer ("V"), using a lever under the lens. The lens is a 50mm, coated Tessar design. The apertures go from f/2.8 to f/16. 30.5mm screw-in filters fit this camera. Putting a filter between the lens and the lens hood makes access to the aperture ring easier. The lens hood can be reversed to act as a lens cover. Before covering the lens any filter should be removed and the lens focused to infinity.

The viewfinder has an adjustment for eyesight, and has frame lines with markings for parallax correction.

To load the film the back is unlatched at the bottom and pulled completely off. The film runs from right to left, opposite from most 35 mm cameras. The film counter is manually reset after film is loaded. To advance the film the ring at the base of the lens is rotated clockwise. Rotating the film advance ring advances the film and cocks the shutter. The rewind clutch button has to be pressed continuously while rewinding film.

The Prestor shutter works like the 1949 Kodak Synchro 800 shutter. The shutter leaves swivel in one direction around a pivot instead of oscillating back and forth. This action allows the Prestor shutter to open and close faster (1/750 second compared to 1/500 second on a Compur-Rapid or a Synchro-Compur). Because this swivel action is not self-capping when cocking the shutter, a second set of shutter leaves cap the lens when the shutter is cocked. Unfortunately the capping leaves on my shutter were stuck shut. A liberal application of contact cleaner got the shutter to run, but the shutter probably should be re-lubed. There are Youtube videos (https://www.youtube.com/user/mikeno62/search?query=werra) on disassembling a Werra with a Synchro-Compur shutter that may be helpful on this project.

A 51mm x 39mm card packed inside the camera has this text in German:

"Achtung!

Beim Aufschrauben der Sonnenblende als schutzkappe, darf die am Objektiv eingestellte Ectfernung 6 m bis infinity betragen. Kuerzere Entfernungen nicht zulaessig. Filter nur auf Gewinde des Schutzdeckels auf schrauben nicht zwuischen Objektev und Schutzekappe,

Schuetzen sie, wann Sie keinen Film eingelegt haben, die neuartige Film-buehne und diefeinstgeschliffene Andruckplatte vor Beschaedigungen! Legen Sie diese Karte zwischen beide Flaechen, damit sie sicj nicht beruehren!"

Translation courtesy of Google Translate:

"Notice!

When screwing on the sun visor as a protective cap, the distance set on the lens may be 6 m to Infinity. Shorter distances are not permitted. Only screw the filter on the thread of the protective cover, not between the objective and the protective cap.

When you have not inserted a film, protect the new film stage and the finely ground pressure plate from damage! Place this card between the two surfaces so that they do not touch!"

Werra cameras were made from 1954 to 1968. The many versions included scale focusing and range finder focusing cameras, both with and without light meters, with several different shutters, a couple of different fixed lenses, and slight changes in body style. The most advanced versions had interchangeable lenses. The Werra 1 did not have a range finder or light meter and was intended to be a low price camera, costing less than 100 marks ($25 in those days). About 281,000 Werra 1 cameras were produced.

With the lens covered the design has very clean lines. A Werra with a body style similar to my camera but with green vulcanite and without a nameplate is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art:
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/174806

The Werra is a straightforward camera to use. Set the shutter speed, advance the film, set the aperture, focus, aim and press the shutter button. Scale focusing works pretty well if you are not too close to the subject and you have the lens stopped down for a reasonable depth of field. Otherwise you might need to measure the distance to your subject with a tape measure or a pocket range finder.

The suffragette monument in Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee (Alan LeQuire, sculptor).

Werra 1 camera on Ultrafine Xtreme 400 film.