-----Original Message-----
From: John Hudson <jahudson@xxxxxxxxx>
To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: 27 February 1999 05:07
Subject: [OM] ALPA cameras
>Out of curiosity, is this brand still being manufactured? ........ I seem
>to remember that they were manufactured in Switzerland.
I vaguely remember a mid '80s mention in Modern Photography that the Alpa
brand had been transferred to a Japanese made camera. The last real Swiss
one that I remember seeing and handling was the Alpa 9d, in the mid '60s. It
had stop down match needle t.t.l. metering (mercury battery!) and a superb
f1.8 Macro Switar lens with a depth of field indicator that consisted of a
series of small holes through which a gold coloured wedge showed to make it
look like an array of glowing LEDs. It had its own large bayonet mount but
was supplied with a converter ring so that it could use Edixa/Pentax
threaded lenses. The body was curved and looked slightly like a large Leica
M2 and we used to say that if Leitz made an s..l..r. this would how it
should look - this was a year or so before the ugly, Leicaflex 1 appeared.
The most offbeat looking thing about the 9d was its back-to-front wind-on
lever that stuck out to the front, designed to make it easy to use in the
snow while wearing thick gloves.
At the time I was earning £16 per week as a photographic salesman, this 9d
body and lens cost £250 and you couldn't buy it cheaper elsewhere in the UK
because RPM (Retail Price Maintenance) ruled back then, a decade before the
appearance of the OM-1 (Oly content).
A couple of months ago B&H listed a used Alpa 9d for $1500, plus $79 for the
case, and I was very tempted for a while.
Regards,
Keith
keith_r.k.berry@xxxxxxxxxx
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