Chris Dodkin
West Coast Correspondent
I've been on a hunt for another film camera on EBAY recently - all thanks to Rob and his lovely film shots!
I was stalking a Canon 7 Rangefinder with 50mm f/1.2 Lens, but the price went through the roof so I started looking at other models.
Came across the first 35mm camera I remember my dad having - A Werra 1a.
As he remembers it - he saw the advert in the Sunday paper in around 1955 - and was taken with the Zeiss optics and cheap(ish) price of 20 quid.
It has a Carl Zeiss Tessar 2.8 50mm Lens, with all exposure adjustments being made on the lens.
It's a point and shoot with scale-focusing - no rangefinder in this early version, which came from the East German factory.
On it's way next week from Eastern Europe, so might be a while till I get it - but it looks in minty condition, and is said to be fully functional, with case.
I always remembered the green finish and the lens cap which came off and reversed to become the lens hood - it looked like a mini thermos flask top!
Spoke to dad this morning by phone to tell him - and he was excited, but also remembered that 'you had no idea of what would be in the final image because the viewfinder was terrible' - so I may be taking on a challenge.
Oh well, reliving my childhood and having some fun - who'd have thought I'd be able to buy one all these decades later
I was stalking a Canon 7 Rangefinder with 50mm f/1.2 Lens, but the price went through the roof so I started looking at other models.
Came across the first 35mm camera I remember my dad having - A Werra 1a.
As he remembers it - he saw the advert in the Sunday paper in around 1955 - and was taken with the Zeiss optics and cheap(ish) price of 20 quid.
It has a Carl Zeiss Tessar 2.8 50mm Lens, with all exposure adjustments being made on the lens.
It's a point and shoot with scale-focusing - no rangefinder in this early version, which came from the East German factory.
On it's way next week from Eastern Europe, so might be a while till I get it - but it looks in minty condition, and is said to be fully functional, with case.
I always remembered the green finish and the lens cap which came off and reversed to become the lens hood - it looked like a mini thermos flask top!
Spoke to dad this morning by phone to tell him - and he was excited, but also remembered that 'you had no idea of what would be in the final image because the viewfinder was terrible' - so I may be taking on a challenge.
Oh well, reliving my childhood and having some fun - who'd have thought I'd be able to buy one all these decades later
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