The Ultimate Werra

<p>It took a while, but I've finally acquired an outfit which has eluded me for many months. It's the Carl Zeiss Jena Werramatic, complete with lenses and case.</p><div></div>

<p>For a start, a tidy, working Werramatic is not that easy to come by, and the lenses are even more elusive. The Carl Zeiss hard case is almost unknown. Another problem is the limited depth of my pocket; these items are a little more costly than my usual acquisitions. However, I was offered this outfit by a UK dealer, who pointed out that both the accessory lenses needed cleaning to remove light fungus, and that only one of the lenses had it's original plastic bubble case. However, as the price was at least $200 less than I would have expected to pay, I took the plunge. To my relief the camera was fine, though in dire need of a clean, and my friendly Leitz-trained technician was delighted to clean both lenses for $80, having had a Werra as his first "real"camera as a teenager. I cleaned the camera and polished up the rather lovely black leather case, and now the outfit is all together again and looking very pretty.</p>

<p>For some background on the Werras, have a look at my post:</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00bteL</p>

<p>To recap a little, the Werra is reputed to be the only camera to bear the Carl Zeiss name. In the early 1950's, many Zeiss technicians found their way back to Germany after having been transported to Russia at the end of WWII to assist in the setting-up of photographic manufacturing plant removed from Germany. Rather than lose a valuable labour force, so the story goes, CZJ set up a plant in the town of Eisfeld, and gave the technicians the task of designing a completely new camera. It's often said that the Werra is a "designer" camera, dreamt up by a talented group of designers and engineers who set out to prove their abilities and re-establish their reputations, and to some extent this is probably correct. The first camera appeared in 1954 and was named "Werra" after the river that runs near the town; it was simple but innovative in the extreme with only a shutter release on the top and all other necessary bits on the bottom, with film transport and shutter cocking achieved by a 90 degree rotation of the knurled ring behind the lens assembly, against the face of the camera. Another distinguishing feature was the combination lens hood/lens cap which remained a feature through all the models and variations that followed; here's a pic of a Werra 1E showing the item in it's two guises:</p><div></div>

<p>The Werra evolved through a succession of models with progressively more features. Originally a viewfinder camera clad in an olive green leatherette, the colour was changed to black around 1957 when it became apparent that consumers were a little hesitant about the green; today the green is sought-after, as so often happens when styles change. Production of the Werras ended in 1965, having run through numerous variations of models with light meters and/or rangefinders, the final development being the Werramatic with three lenses, coupled rangefinder and coupled lightmeter. The lenses, as one would expect, are of fine quality; the standard lens is the 50mm Tessar f/2.8, there is a 35mm Flektogon f/2.8 and a 100mm Cardinar f/4. So far as I know, the Cardinar is unique to the Werra line. They have a dedicated breechlock mount, coupling automatically with the rangefinder:</p><div></div>

<p>Aperture adjustments remain on the camera, simplifying the lens structure. The shutter and aperture rings are linked, and the setting procedure entails setting the shutter speed first and then the aperture, a subsequent rotation of the shutter speed ring then moving the aperture ring in tandem. The complex but reliable Prestor shutter allows speeds from 1 to 1/750th, quite a remarkable performance for a shutter that's comprised of two sets of leaves. The front-mounted focusing ring on the Tessar actually moves all the elements, not just the front one.</p><div></div>

<p>The bottom of the camera has the film counter, tripod thread, rewind handle and a clever central disk that releases and locks the removable back and, in a intermediate position, disengages the sprockets to enable film rewinding. The flash synchronisation and self-timer lever can be seen behind the lens. All very neat and tidy.</p><div></div>

<p>The interior is impeccable, showing the very high standards of engineering and finish.</p><div></div>

<p>The camera's masterpiece is the viewfinder with it's adjustable eyepiece. The designers managed to show three frame lines with parallax compensation marks, a very cunning rangefinder rectangle that moves an entire portion of the image left or right, and a simple but effective pointer-in-the-slot indicator for the coupled lightmeter. The piece de resistance is provided by a system of mirrors and lenses that projects an image of the aperture and shutter settings into a corner of the viewfinder, eerily floating in space. Despite all this information the viewfinder is exceptionally bright and doesn't feel cluttered. I've done my best to capture it all in an image, not an easy task.</p><div></div>

<p>The Werramatic takes a little getting used to. It's very small, and though movement of the aperture and shutter rings is assisted by the black plastic tabs, big fingers fumble a little until the controls become familiar. I found I had to stick to a set procedure; I find it easier to grip the cocking ring and revolve the camera than vice versa, and then set the exposure before focusing and final framing. The selenium-celled lightmeter is still quick and accurate. Once this sequence becomes second nature the camera becomes a joy to use, very light and responsive with a well-nigh perfect shutter release. While I'm not a frequent user of rangefinder cameras, the Werramatic's unique design and appearance and great lenses will ensure it gets a frequent workout. I post a few samples; the first three are a sort of lens comparison, the rest are random, but I've noted the lens used. Fuji Superia 200, scans from the Fuji Frontier.</p><div></div>

<p>No.2</p><div></div>

<p>No.3</p><div></div>

<p>No.4</p><div></div>

<p>No.5</p><div></div>

<p>No.6</p><div></div>

<p>No.7</p><div></div>

<p>No.8</p>

<div></div>

<p>No.9</p><div></div>

<p>No.10</p><div></div>

<p>No.11</p><div></div>

<p>Wow, that is a sweet looking camera, and one that I have yet to come across. Amazing that you have all the kit, really is one of the true pleasures of the CC business....getting that elusive outfit together.<br>

Colour really pops, so the lenses are more than ok....and that red....Thanks for the post on this unusual beast.</p>

<p>Interesting, and so compact! The Tessar looks snappy. Thanks.</p>

<p>Thank you for this well researched report on an equally amazing camera and fine images. The German specialists designed a camera that is the antithesis of the appearance of Russian made Leica or Contax copies of the period. The design would not be out of place in the present market, it would likely be lauded for its simple uncluttered beauty. The lens outwarddesigns are on a par with 1950 constructions, the multi functions (shutter, aperture, depth of field, focus ring) limiting any creative design input, but the camera body is amazingly harmonious. It could easily stand comparison with the simplicity of form of the then appearing Leica M series. The controls on the bottom may not be the most ergonomic but they contribute to enhancing the overall appearance. The pictures look very good and it is probably only in blow ups that perhaps any limitations might be seen. The Tessar is a wonderful Zeiss lens, at f4 and smaller setpoints.</p>

<p>I wonder why they used hatching on the upper and lower edges of the film plane and the multiple bumps on the back film plate. Must have something to do with holding the film flat? The VF window and its markings looks impressive.</p>

<p>A great posting, Rick, thanks!</p>

<p>Quite the impressive camera rick. I'm particularly impressed with the viewfinder having frame lines for all three lenses, not to mention the floating aperture and shutter speed image (which I first mistook for the front of the lens intruding into the frame). I have a Contina III that can share lenses with my Contaflex, but there are only lines for the base 45mm lens and the appropriate accessory finders that I've found on the web are shockingly expensive.</p>

<p><br /> All in all, it seems you have a very capable system there. And you've put it to good use here. Thanks for an informative and enjoyable post about a camera previously unknown to me.</p>

Now that's one beautiful camera outfit, and that you were able to run one down, complete with case....anyone else would

probably need to get into. "Way back" machine and travel back in time to buy one new, and the images/colors are really

good.

<p>Indeed a design that these days would probably be praised for its simplicity; I can image it takes a bit of retraining muscle memory for the advance lever, though! Those lenses indeed look more than fine - very nice. I like the fold-back hood, not sure if it is all that practical (though better than snap-on metal ones), but at least it keeps everything compact and tidy. I wouldn't mind if manufacterers took notice of this idea again....</p>

Deceptively simple In appearance. I bet a lot of people would not know what you have or just wat an impressive piece it

is.