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Post by paulhofseth on Jun 16, 2014 2:19:18 GMT -5
I just looked up the serial number of the camera body in the picture; it belongs to a series made in 1955. Probably with an all matte focussing screen.
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Post by paulhofseth on Jun 15, 2014 9:20:26 GMT -5
*One does not need to adjust film speed on the camera since it has no light meter. If you use an ilford XP2 B&W it will be quite tolerant towards inexcact exposures.
* According to the original instructions, intermediate times can be set except between 1\10th and 1\25th since this setting is occupied by the B setting, and between 1\500th and 1\1000th since they are "only one tooth in the cogwheel apart" (freely translated from German)
* The lens length knob will adjust your rangefinder view but not affect the picture. You will note that the (apochromatic) Switar lens is coupled to the rangefinder so that you can use this for focussing instead of the groundglass.
* The earlier models were marked Alpa Alnea and the corresponding 6 element Angenieux 28mms had ordinary aperture rings. The later A7b were marked Alpa Reflex, and some had a transparent wind lever mounted on the winding knob. Towards the end of the model-run Angenieux marketed the 28mm with the "auto diaphragm" which closed when the release button was pressed. The aperture values for this were set by a knob on top of the lens. ---------
The Pignons factory at Ballaigues was in the middle of the watchmaking area of Switzerland and like classic watch movements, their mechanics last a long time, but like fine veteran clocks and cars, should be used from time to time. I just excercised the shutter on one my late 1940es Alpa "Standard"; works perfectly.
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Vito Bs
Nov 25, 2013 4:14:30 GMT -5
Post by paulhofseth on Nov 25, 2013 4:14:30 GMT -5
And there is auxiliary stuff such as the closeup lens + the adjustable parallax corrector shifting viewfinder picture to match from 80 to 22 cm closeups.
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Post by paulhofseth on Nov 10, 2013 2:35:28 GMT -5
Ultron dust removal.
The excellent search function turned up this thread. I assume that someone here may have been dusting off the innards of the Icarex Ultron 50 (the concave front element version). If so; how to start?
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Post by paulhofseth on Sept 13, 2013 9:03:26 GMT -5
As stated on FF above: ".... drag a camera bag.......", the FFs have to have the disadvantage of weight and size. Smaller formats can have disproportionally smaller lenses serving the same purposes, so even two or three lenses will fit in various pockets. Assuming equally advanced sensor technology, the losses entailed by lightveight equipment relate to the need for enlargement. No crops, A5 formats, not much (zero?) practical difference. With heavy cropping instead of carrying more than one lens it is a different matter.
On the theoretical side, one might reason that if smaller sensor elements were used in order to keep the pixel count equal,there will be a smaller area for catching the photons. There hasa been quite a lot of net-discussions of this , but it would still be nice to be enlightened as to whether with equal technology,the same basic signal to noise and same output per photon, the larger sensor-element would win. Not all signal pollution is independent of input levels, and if a sensor is saturated by x photons, x times two photons and signal might not make for better dynamic range.
For immovable subjects HDR will give whichever dynamic range the output media can handle, while stitching images by computing power will provide wideangle or exceedingly detailed views.
The conclusion would seem to be that if weight and room are limiting factors and time is on your side, an M4\3 or smaller would do. If subjects are moving or if you do not wish to spend lots of time processing results and big enlargements or crops are needed, the larger format wins. The price paid is to drag heavier and larger gear.
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Post by paulhofseth on Sept 5, 2013 2:52:05 GMT -5
Just like in the market for pencil, brush and sculptors art, the market for the rarer works of mechanical and optical art depends on accurate identification.
The leading classical rarity is of course products by Ernst Leitz GMBH and successors, partly because of quality and robustness, partly due to collector familiarity. As the user market shrinks the collector market takes over and quality plus rarity gains importance.
Early metallic marvels from Alpa, Asahi, Canon, Chiyoda,, CNOPM, Ducati....Linhof, Minox,.Nikon.....Paillard, Rectaflex, Retina, Rollei, Voigtländer, Zeiss and others, will need the same rigorous documentation of provenaance as does Picasso or Munch prints as the market for still reasonably affordable objects develops.
Alpa serial numbers are listed in the Lothar Thewes book "Alpa, 50 jahre anders als andere" (50years different from others). He got his data from the Pignons archives.
The lists there of body numbers and lens production numbers is comprehensive, but a very small number of inaccuracies intrude. Probably caused by factors such as later rebuilds at the factory as well as importer modifications. The US importer, Heitz, for instance could deliver different colours on demand, and also stocked Kinoptik lenses which could be delivered in Alpa mount. The numbers for such additions are naturally not covered by Thewes.
An additional confusing factor is that the entire stock of spare parts from the Pignons factory in Ballaigues was sold off when it closed. Made "by hand" in Switzereland,t the average Alpa had a reputation for quality, was very expensive and much rarer than the average Leicarso to create new, even rarer ones would have been quite tempting.
Many variations exist in fewer copies than 100. The spares sell-off led to a brief flowering of "fakes". Not fakes in the FED-Leica sense of camouflaged imitations , but entire bodies assembled from genuine parts. This did not seem to hit the older "small bayonet", or the "Alnea" generation, but some of the 11si\11z generation. did reach the market, mostly by the body coverings providing the extra rarity.
As for the Switar optics, most of Kern Aaraus data was destroyed when it was taken over by the new Wid Heerbrugg, but some has been rescued by the Aarau city museum. The publications of mr. Patrice Herve Pont of Saga Photo in France used to record french optical history, with for insance lists of Angenieux numbers. His latest overview of Kilfitt history is published by club-niepce-lumiere.org . There are books on Kinoptik lenses and extensive lists of Schneider procuction numbers. Except for putting Al adapters on M42 mounts, to make fakes of Alpa lenses would either be easy to spot or if accurate, cost far more than they could possibly fetch in the market.
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Post by paulhofseth on Jun 13, 2013 3:14:40 GMT -5
The VT with the rapid wind trigger had a better viewfinder and much easier film loading than my ancient L IIIc and at the time both were fairly cheap on the second hand market & fit with my students budget. I vaguely recall that this was just before they started using the sensitive metal shutter blinds. Ok optics, except the 50\1,2. The L -M3 that displaced it proved to be even more robust and could use the old glass except that LBM glass proved to be better.
The huge high eyepoint prism of the F1 was nice, but the entire contraption too big, it lost out to the OM system.
The electronic wonders of today do not take as kindly to rain, snow,cold & being knocked about as the M3did, and one has to battle menus and dials to gain full control over speed, aperture and focus. Still, the Canon FF digitals do, however, provide better snaps. Parallax errors belong to the past and easier "darkroom" work can save even worse framing.
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Post by paulhofseth on Jun 3, 2013 12:26:44 GMT -5
I have take snaps of some of the Chinon Alpa lenses as well as of the Chinon lens listing used at the time. No sign, however, of how to include pictures here, so I am posting them on Manual Focus lenses.
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Post by paulhofseth on May 10, 2013 8:12:13 GMT -5
Interesting. I vaguely remember that the later japanese optics did not have a manufacturer name, just a few variations of "made for Alpa", m42 and adapter, but a rather strong resemblance to the ones listed in the contemporary Chinon catalogue.
I am not anywhere near to my stored lenses at the moment, nor to the Pignons and Heitz catalogues. I will take a look a few days hence to see whether they have the manufacturer name on them.
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Post by paulhofseth on May 8, 2013 3:38:09 GMT -5
I stumbled onto this forum through a mail on MFlenses, so please excuse reviving an older, but interesting thread.
Above it is stated that Alpa did not establish a complete system. That is a matter of definition.
In the "small bayonet" rangefinder- and rangefinder plus mirror, with and without pentaprism- phase before the Alnea, they offered wides through several normals -including the collapsible ones- all the way up to the long mirror lenses from Oude Delft.
After a while they offered a complete kit of macro equipment; rings, lights etc. , and followed with 250exposure backs and motors for the later "big bayonet" types. They also used the basic body to make a special vewfinder camera for sterilization (the surgical) as well as one for microfilming with adapted lenses and focussing frames. Lenses ranged from the wide Angenieux to the medium length Schneider, Kinoptic etc. through to the long Kilfitts. The most numerous body with -if I recall correctly, some 4000 made (compare numbers with the Leica IIIg- ), were the telephone-company-special modified by Alos. It came with a fix focus lens and a mains flash unit.
As Angenieux, Kinoptic apochromats and others may have become too expensive, the later system left Europe behind. First Asahi lenses with autoaperture-adapters came into their catalogue. Kern succumbed to the Leitz-Wild takeover, Switar production was stopped, tools scrapped and the institutional memories erased -exept for what has been saved by the Aarau museum.
The Chinon (not Cosina) period was an era of "badge engineering"- rather like when the Jaguar badge was put on the Ford family saloon or maybe more like when the Leica badge was put on Panasonic. Pignons may still have used their quality control on lenses sold in their name.
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