Alpa (Off Topic)

[ATANOVIC <ATANOVIC@genre.com>]

Ah the Alpa.  You bring back bittersweet memories.  My first SLR, bought in the 
mid/late 1970's, was an Alpa 11si, which I believe may have been the last Alpa 
model produced.  I bought it brand new for what was then the jaw-dropping price 
of $750 (I think the list price was $1150).  I subsequently also bought a few 
used lenses and got a well-used model 9-something body thrown into the 
bargain.  The 11si met an unfortunate end when I dropped it in a mountain 
stream.  The model-9 and other paraphenalia (filters, bellows, cases) I 
disconsolately gave away some years later.

Everything about the camera was charmingly quirky:  front-mounted shutter 
release, rewind lever that stuck out towards the front of the camera and turned 
clockwise instead of counter-clockwise, unthreaded filters (a kind of snap-in 
system).  When changing film, the entire back and base came off as a single 
unit.  It was completely mechanical except for the meter.  I wouldn't call it a 
camera of great subtlety or refinement, but it was fun to use, and could take 
some fabulous pictures.

I don't believe they made any of their own lenses for the camera.  An 
assortment of European manufacturers produced lenses in the Alpa mount.  The 
standard lens that came with the camera was the close-focusing Macro Switar 
50mm (I forget the manufacturer).  It had an ingenious system of dots on the 
barrel that changed color as you rotated the aperture ring to show you the 
depth-of-field.  Others lenses I had were by Old Delft and Angieneux.  
Schneider made some too I think, but I didn't own any of them.  Lenses, 
filters, and accessories were almost impossible to find in regular camera shops 
by the late 1970's, so one really had to hunt around.  It was really a labour 
of love to own an Alpa.

Interestingly, there are now a lot of Alpa collectors and users here in 
Japan---they even have their own quarterly magazine---and I see a lot of used 
Alpa equipment in the shops: more than I ever saw in the US when they were 
still being made.  But I haven't spotted an 11si yet...

Adrian Tanovic
Tokyo