Alpa

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ALPA Capaul & Weber AG

logo
legal form Corporation
founding 1996 as
ALPA Capaul Weber , previously February 1, 1918 as Pignons SA
Seat Zurich , formerly Ballaigues , Switzerland
management
  • Ursula Capaul
  • Thomas Weber
  • André Oldani
Number of employees 8th
Website www.alpa.ch

Alpa is the brand name of a Swiss camera .

The current Alpa cameras are system cameras for digital and analog medium format photography. They consist of a solid, frame-like central part, milled with the highest precision, which, thanks to its low flange focal length, allows wide-angle lenses with a symmetrical structure and small flange focal length such as. B. to use the Zeiss Biogon , the Schneider Super-Angulon and the Rodenstock . ALPA currently offers lenses with a focal length of 23 mm to 250 mm. These are mounted in brackets with worm drives for focusing and can be locked directly or with an intermediate adapter on the front. Various analog film magazines up to a size of 6 × 9 cm and professional digital backs from various manufacturers can be attached to the back. The connections for lenses and back parts are the same, this allows certain combinations in which the (digital) back part is mounted at the front and the front adjustment path can be reversed.

Mountable handles, attachable viewfinders and various other accessories make the Alpa system one of the most sophisticated camera systems currently available.

history

The brand stands for two companies that are economically and temporally separated from each other:

  • The original Alpa goes back to a collaboration between Pignons SA and Jacques Bogopolsky (the developer of Bolex ) in Ballaigues . The 35mm SLR camera, first produced in 1942, was of excellent mechanical design (except for the last models, which were OEM products from Japanese manufacturers), with a range of accessories and lenses ("Switar"). Pignons SA went bankrupt in 1990 and ceased operations.
  • The worldwide trademark rights to the name Alpa were taken over by the 1996 newly founded company ALPA Capaul & Weber in Zurich after a legal case that lasted six years . This began in 1996 in cooperation with the Seitz Phototechnik AG company in Lustdorf, the manufacture of various cameras under the Alpa of Switzerland brand .
Alpa reflex
Alpa Alnea model 6

1918-1990

  • 1918: The Pignons SA company is founded in the Swiss Jura. In the local tradition, it initially focuses on the production of individual parts for the watch industry.
  • 1944: Pignons SA presents its first camera, the "ALPA-Reflex, Model C".
  • 1949: The ALPA Prisma Reflex is presented as one of the first SLR cameras with a penta prism.
  • 1964: Constant further development leads to technical masterpieces, such as the 9d model, one of the first cameras in the world with exposure metering behind the lens.
  • 1965: ALPA production reaches its peak with around 1300 cameras per year. This is followed by the initially gentle, then increasingly steep descent.
  • 1979: The ALPA Roto SM60 / 70 is developed and produced in collaboration with Hermann Seitz (Lustdorf, Switzerland).
  • 1990: The company can no longer withstand the pressure of competition from non-European manufacturers. Internal company problems do the rest. Pignons SA goes bankrupt. The last model manufactured by Pignons SA is the ALPA 11.

1996 - today

  • 1996: Capaul & Weber, Zurich, acquire the worldwide rights to the ALPA brand. The aim is to build on the quality level of the classic 35mm ALPA SLR cameras with fundamentally new designs.
  • 1998: The first two ALPA-12 models are presented at Photokina 98. Both for medium format: ALPA 12 WA (Wide Angle) and ALPA 12 SWA (Shift Wide Angle).
  • 2000: The uncompromising focus on maximum precision begins to pay off in full. The appearance of digital backs in professional quality makes minimal mechanical tolerances a necessity. The ALPA-12 cameras have been designed to do just that since their inception.
  • 2005: ALPA introduces the small ALPA 12 TC (Travel Compact). This makes the contours of a coherent platform visible. It becomes clear that ALPA means not just one or two models, but a complete, modular system.
  • 2006: The ALPA platform is expanded to include the ALPA 12 XY. With this pure tripod camera, accuracies are possible in the area of ​​camera adjustment that cannot be achieved with other constructions.
  • 2007: The ALPA 12 METRIC, a special camera based on the ALPA 12 WA, is created for photogrammetry. It is made exclusively to order.
  • 2008: The "gap" between the ALPA 12 SWA and the ALPA 12 XY is closed: The new ALPA 12 MAX combines many of the technical possibilities of the XY with handiness.
  • 2010: Introduction of the ALPA 12 STC, a compact, adjustable camera primarily for stitching (± 18 mm) or up / down shift.
  • 2012: Introduction of the ALPA 12 FPS, which can be used as an independent camera with a focal plane shutter for various lenses (ALPA, Canon, Hasselblad, Nikon etc.) or as a shutter module together with a traditional ALPA-12 camera.
  • 2014: Introduction of the new adapters for controlling Hasselblad H lenses and Contax 645. Introduction of cooperation with Phase One: A-Series. Introduction of high-precision stacking solution and first series products in additive manufacturing.
  • 2016: Introduction of the ALPA GON, the first modular tripod head and other new products and solutions, introduction of the ALPA Silex control device. Cooperation with Hasselblad u. a. for exchanging the lens protocol of the Hasselblad H lenses.
  • 2017: Introduction of the ALPA lens module for old ALPA 35 mm lenses, start of ALPA moving image solutions (Platon project).
  • 2018: Introduction of ALPA add | metric: Photogrammetric surveying camera based on the ALPA 12 FPS with customized installation, pressure plates and elements completely in additive manufacturing.

Current models

A current Alpa camera
Models of the ALPA 12 series
model Introductory year description
12 FPS 2012 Focal plane shutter; Focal plane shutter camera and shutter module, depending on the configuration, adapter for ALPA lenses, Canon EF, Nikon F, Hasselblad C / F, Mamiya 645 and more. 735 g
12 TC 2005 Travel Compact; Lighter model with a thinner frame, just one movement. 216 g
12 STC 2010 Stitch / shift travel compact; The Travel Compact for shifting and stitching in just one movement. 578 g
12 WA 1998 Wide angle; Standard model with two handles and holders for viewfinder etc. 760 g
12 SWA 1998 Shift / wide angle; Based on 12 WA, but also max. 25 mm vertical movement of the lens. 770 g
12 MAX 2008 Handheld camera with maximum adjustment range (vertical + 25 / -18 mm) and horizontal (± 18 mm), 1180 g
12 XY 2006 Tripod cameras with large adjustment ranges (vertical: + 45 / -25 mm and ± 25 mm horizontally) enable digital "tiling" (stitching); 2600 g
12 Metric 2007 Special camera, based on the 12 WA for photogrammetric measurement.
12 ST Prototype (2002) 4 ex. Shift camera with vertical adjustment range of ± 25 mm
12 SST Prototype (2002) 5 ex. Tripod camera with large adjustment paths (vertical & horizontal ± 25 mm) and horizontal adjustment slide
12 WA special 10 copies Special series; Silver (champagne colored) anodized of a 12 WA
The One 1 copy Special production of a 12 WA silver anodized with a gold nameplate.

Lenses

A large number of digital and large format lenses is or was available in the focal length range from 23 to 250 mm:

Lenses for the ALPA 12
Focal length Surname Image circle at f 11 comment
5.6 / 23 mm Rodenstock HR Alpagon 70 mm
5.6 / 24 mm Schneider Apo-Digitar XL 60 mm
4.5 / 28 mm Rodenstock HR Digaron-S 70 mm
5.6 / 28 mm Schneider ALPA Apo-Helvetar 90 mm
4.5 / 35 mm Rodenstock ALPA AAA Apo-Alpar 105 mm
5.6 / 35 mm Schneider Apo-Digitar XL 90 mm
5.6 / 36 mm Tailor ALPA Apo-Switar 90 mm
4.0 / 35 mm Rodenstock HR Digaron-S 70 mm
4.5 / 38 mm Zeiss Biogon T * 80 mm Sold out
5.6 / 38 mm Schneider Super-Angulon XL 140 mm
4.0 / 40 mm Rodenstock HR Alpagon 90 mm LB and SB34
4.5 / 45 mm Apo-Alpar Rodenstock ALPA AAA 115 mm
5.6 / 47 mm Schneider Apo-Digitar XL 115 mm
5.6 / 47 mm Schneider Super-Angulon XL 165 mm
5.6 / 48 mm Apo-Helvetar Schneider ALPA 115 mm
4.0 / 50 mm Rodenstock HR Alpagon 90 mm LB and SB34
4.5 / 55 mm Rodenstock ALPA AAA Apo-Alpar 115 mm
5.6 / 58 mm Schneider Super-Angulon XL 165 mm
4.0 / 60 mm Schneider Apo-Digitar N 60 mm
5.6 / 60 mm Schneider ALPA Apo-Helvetar 120 mm LB and SB17
4.0 / 60 mm Rodenstock HR Digaron-S 70 mm LB and SB17
5.6 / 70 mm Rodenstock HR Alpagon 100 mm LB and SB17
5.6 / 72 mm Schneider Apo-Digitar L 90 mm
5.6 / 75 mm Schneider Apo-Helvetar 90 mm LB and SB17
4.0 / 80 mm Schneider Apo-Digitar L 90 mm SB34
4.5 / 80 mm Schneider Super-Symmar Aspheric XL 210 mm SB34
4.5 / 90 mm Schneider Apo-Digitar N 90 mm SB34
5.6 / 90 mm Rodenstock HR Digaron-W 125 mm SB34
5.6 / 90 mm Rodenstock HR Alpagon 120 mm SB34
3.5 / 95 mm Linhof Rodenstock / ALPA technician 95 mm Single coated lens for B / W photography
5.6 / 100 mm Schneider Apo-Digitar N 100 mm SB34
4.0 / 100 mm Rodenstock HR Digaron-S 70 mm
5.6 / 120 mm aspheric Schneider ALPA Apo-Helvetar 120 mm SB34
5.6 / 120 mm Schneider Apo-Digitar N 110 mm
5.6 / 120 mm Schneider Apo-Digitar M 110 mm SB34
5.6 / 120 mm Schneider Apo-Symmar L 189 mm SB34
5.6 / 150 mm Schneider Apo-Digitar N 110 mm SB34
5.6 / 180 mm Schneider Apo-Digitar T 120 mm SB34
5.6 / 180 mm Rodenstock HR Digaron-S 80 mm LB and SB34
5.6 / 180 mm Schneider Apo-Symmar L 277 mm SB34
6.8 / 210 mm Schneider Apo-Digitar T 120 mm SB34
5.6 / 250 mm Schneider Apo-Tele-Xenar 190 mm SB34
  • (SB17 and SB34) also available as so-called "Short Barrel" version for the use of a tilt / swing adapter or 17/34 mm macro tube for infinity adjustment

With the Rollei lens adapter, the use of Rollei 6xxx lenses is also possible.

Macro adapters are used to extend the extension by 6, 17, 34, and 52 mm.

Camera accessories

  • Alpa seeker
  • Masks for the viewfinder
  • Ground glass holder for the back
  • Different focusing screens for the holder
  • Bellows with magnifying glass for focusing with the ground glass holder
  • Accessory adapter (is screwed onto the viewfinder bracket)
  • Spirit levels and finder spacers etc.
  • Carrying straps and hand strap
  • Tripods and tripod heads
  • Bellows devices

Backs

  • Alpa / Linhof roll film magazines for 6 × 6, 6 × 7, and 6 × 9 cm
  • Alpa / Mamiya Motorized roll film magazine for 6 × 9 cm
  • Adapter for Hasselblad V, Hasselblad H, Mamiya 645 AFD / Phase One XF, Contax 645 and Sinar / Leaf Hy6 digital backs
  • Adapter for Mamiya RB67 and Horseman film magazines
  • Polaroid instant film magazine

Individual evidence

  1. Entry of "ALPA Capaul & Weber AG" in the commercial register of the Canton of Zurich ( Memento from November 29, 2015 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

Commons : Alpa cameras  - collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

  • Lothar Thewes: ALPA- Always Different from the Rest . HOGYF EDITIO, Budapest 2003. ISBN 963-8484-60-8
  • Alfred Columberg: A Swiss camera Engadin Press, Samedan 2004
  • Shigeo Toyota: "ALPA - Complete Collectors Guide". Bea + Poly Publishers Ltd., Switzerland (1998) 2004. ISBN 3-905177-50-1