I first read about the ingeniously designed
Werra on
this blog post about an amazing Japanese camera shop that specializes in old lenses - the propietor's cutoff date is 1974, but the emphasis seems to be on the 1930s.
The various Werras were manufactured by the legnedary Carl Zeiss plant in Germany, and was named after a German river. I'm not sure what the visual metaphor is from river to camera, but if the Werra flows it is in its design. Even from the limited vantage point of the camera-with-a-kitty photo at right you can immediately see what makes the Werras stand out: the shutter release is the only control on top of the camera.
In the Werra series of cameras, the shutter cock, the film advance, aperture and shutter speed settings are all contained within the lens barrel. Aperture and shutter speed are not unheard of functions for a lens barrel, but the Werra takes it further. A simple clockwise twist of the black ring you see at the base of the lens both cocks the shutter and advances the frame.
Being manufactured by the great Zeiss factory, the lens is pretty sweet, though zone focusing is still not my forte.
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| Across the street from Ford's Theatre. |
But this close-focus shot worked out.
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| Ann Taylor Window, some Lomo branded 200 ASA stock. |
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| Connecticut Avenue |
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