2026-07-13 Braun Gloriette 35 mm Camera

The Braun Gloriette was made from 1954 to 1958. During that time it was sold with three shutters—Vero, Pronto and Prontor SVS (has self-timer). This camera came with the earliest shutter—the Vero—that had flash sync through a PC-fitting for “X” flashbulbs and electronic flash. It has a accessory shoe without flash connections. The marked shutter speeds are B, 25, 50, 100 and 200 sec. The Steinheil Munchen Cassar f/2.8 45 mm lens can focus down to an unmarked 3 feet (.91 m)—the last distance marked is 3.5 feet (1.06 m).

If you set the lens to all the red markings you would be set at—

50 sec (a red dot)
f/11 (another red dot)
20 feet (“20” in red)

Everything from 10 feet to infinity would be in focus. This exposure would work in full sunlight with ASA 100 films.

These type of cameras have in internal sprocket wheel in the middle of the top of the frame that sets the frame counter, controls the framing (at 8 sprockets per frame) and indirectly allows the advance lever to set the shutter. The middle of the sprocket wheel slot has a white dot and the wheel itself has a white dot between two of the sprockets. The film advance drum literally hauls the film through the camera without sprockets or other calibration. It is the sprocket wheel that makes sure each frame is the same width.

You can check the camera’s shutter is working by opening the film chamber and using a combination of the advance lever and spinning the sprocket wheel through one revolution. When you open the back you will find the white dot on the sprocket is just to the right of the reference white dot in the center of the sprocket wheel cut-out. Use your finger nail to spin the sprocket wheel to the right until the dots line up. Advance the rapid advance lever lever just a bit and you will feel the shutter cocking and the white dot will move just a bit to the right (past lining up with the reference dot). The shutter should fire when the shutter release is pressed.

All this works seamlessly if you simply load a film. The film is to be creased four sprockets from the end and that end pushed into the advance spool in the slot marked with a white line (there are two slots). You close the back and advance the film and fire the shutter twice. Then you can set the frame counter manually with the teeth just under the advance lever’s tip. The counter counts down.

In case you thought this camera was working fine, you’d be wrong. The “R” tab doesn’t seem to do anything to allow rewinding. The slotted advance drum will only turn one way. You could take the camera into a darkroom, remove the cassette and jiggle the film to loosen the coil enough the end releases from the slot in the spool. Then you can manually rewind the film into the cassette.

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