Alpa’s representative models

Alpa prism reflective type This is the world's first 135 camera that uses a 45° prism reflective squint (the angle between the optical axis of the viewing system and the horizontal imaging optical axis is 45°). The viewfinder and ranging system, which is more convenient for observation, has replaced the waist-flat reflective viewfinder and rangefinder design on previous Alpa cameras.

At the same time, the aircraft also retains a high-precision baseline left and right double-image coincident rangefinder. It adopts French Angenieux and Alpa-Xianneng standard lenses with excellent imaging quality. It is said that its overall performance exceeds that of the German Leica IIIf and the Contax S produced by Zeiss in East Germany. The production started about four years earlier than the Asahiflex II, the first 135 SLR camera of Japan's Asahi Optical. This aircraft was produced between 1948-1952.

Main specifications:

Model: 135 SLR and head-up rangefinder camera

Shutter: P (B), 1-1/1000 seconds Focal plane curtain shutter

Lens: Angenieux 6 elements 4 groups 50mmf/1.8, or ALPA-XWNON (ALPA-XWNON), 50mmf/2 header ALPA type 4 is a Pinnacle The company's newly designed 135 camera is also a landmark product for Alpa cameras to mature. The camera body is precision-cast from high-strength magnesium alloy, which pursues lightweight while taking into account the compressive strength of the body. The design of the reflective viewfinder system of this camera is somewhat special. There is a non-detachable viewfinder housing on the top of the camera, which can be used for both waist-level and 45° squinting viewing. The remaining properties are the same as the Alpa prism reflective type, which was launched in 1952.

The landmark design also lies in the adoption of the unified standard size of the bayonet interface and the image plane positioning distance of 37.9mm (the rear top focal length is 37.8mm) since the Alpa Type 4. This is also the shortest image positioning distance on a 135 SLR camera so far. The design of such a short image plane positioning distance was mainly based on two considerations: first, it was conducive to the design of high-quality lenses with nearly symmetrical optical structures; second, it was convenient for other manufacturers at the time, such as Leica, Zeiss, and Nikon. , Pentax and other lenses can be mounted on Alpa cameras through adapters. If the image plane positioning distance is too long, they cannot be mounted. The Alpa 4b was produced from 1959 to 1965. It was the first to design a quick-return mirror system and was equipped with an Old Delft 50mm 1:2.8 lens produced in the Netherlands. But the highlight of its design is not this. It is the world's first front-mounted lever, and the index finger is used to lever the lever from front to back. The excellence of its design is that it allows the photographer to complete the film feeding and winding action without taking his eyes off the viewfinder. Achieve the purpose of fast and continuous film feeding; with the traditional rear-mounted lever film feeding, it is difficult for the human eye to always stick to the viewfinder eyepiece and take pictures without spacing when feeding the film.

In order to achieve rapid continuous shooting, the 135 cameras in the era of pure light and machine had to adopt a mechanical energy storage clockwork film feeding design. Typical products include the Roberto camera manufactured by the German Otto BERNING company. (ROBOT) Type I (produced in 1934), Robert-Royal 36 (produced in 1955), Canon DIAL35 (produced in 1963) and the domestic Beijing SZ-1 (produced in 1970). In addition, the front-mounted lever design, which was pioneered in Alpa cameras, is the most outstanding feature of enabling fast film roll without taking your eyes off the viewfinder. There is also a Vitessa L folding camera (produced in 1950) produced by the Voigtlander factory in Germany. It uses a high-top pressure rod type film winding device. It was not used because of its unsightly appearance and relatively complex structure. can be popularized. (ALPA 12WA)

ALPA 12WA is a Swiss-produced medium format camera with interchangeable lenses and backs, fully mechanical, manual, focusing on wide-angle lenses and handheld photography.

Returning to the origin, extreme simplicity is ALPA’s idea. ALPA pays close attention to details and focuses on precision, stability, durability and super combination. It won the 2000 International Industrial Design Award. The combination of computers, CNC machine tools, long workbenches, screwdrivers, and eye mask magnifying glasses is another manifestation of ALPA's value.

For those who like photography with one camera and one lens; for those who insist on using only one camera for decades; for those who are overly picky about the quality of photos; or for those who think that making a camera is an art in itself For people, ALPA12WA is value for money and a dream product. (ALPA 12ST)

ALPA 12ST is the supplement and continuation of ALPA 12WA. This is a versatile and easy-to-operate medium format camera for use on a tripod: back-facing erect viewfinder (or digital), multiple lens replacements, and ±25mm tilt shift. It was launched in September 2002.