I recently saw a lens mount adapter to use Leica R lenses on Alpa bodies. Does anyone know much about Alpas and how they compare to say the Leicaflex SL series?

-- Jan (jeajea@uswest.net), September 18, 2001

Answers

Don't do it. Alpa's are interesting cameras, and built solidly, but very odd, very old, and very expensive for what you get (due to rarity). Stick with the Leica SLRs.

-- Ken Shipman (kennyshipman@aol.com), September 19, 2001.

I have to agree with Ken - I am not sure what the point would be. The Alpas are beautiful cameras - perhaps even better made than the Leicaflex models, but somewhat weird (in an Exakta kind of way), also they are very expensive collectors' items. Even if you could get Leica R lenses to fit them you probably would not have open aperture metering (I hope any adaptor would allow auto diaphragm?). If you already have Alpa bodies it makes some kind of sense, but I don' t think it make any sense if you don't, particularly when you consider you can pick up an excellent Leicaflex SL for only about $300 whereas Alpa can be very expensive indeed and are a blind alley. If you want to get an Alpa then I would stick with the lenses that were designed for the camera.

-- Robin Smith (smith_robin@hotmail.com), September 19, 2001.

I agree that Leica R or Leicaflex is more user friendly than those Alpa models and is not worth to use leica lenses at alpa bodies. However, it would be great for vice versa; that is to adapt Alpa lenses to Leica bodies because Alpa got some great lenses like Kinoptik Apochromat 100/2 and P. Angenieux Alfitar and Alitar. I hope there is a way to do that.

Patrick

-- Patrick So (patrikso@hkstar.com), September 20, 2001.

FYI:
Tom Abrahamsson has an 50/1.9 Alpa Macro Switar mounted on a M6.


-- Niels H. S. Nielsen (nhsn@ruc.dk), September 20, 2001.

To me, the strength of the 35mm Alpa system is its emphasis on macro capabilities. They made a very useful array of macro lenses and extension tubes and bellows that made them a good choice for scientific and technical photography. Many of their lenses were APO-corrected, and the metering system was accurate, although you need to deal with the odd external diaphragm coupling. All Alpa gear is expensive and collectable now. Even though it was qwirky, its build quality was beautiful. You can learn more about Alpa history on the Alpa website. The company that now owns the Alpa name makes a high-end MF camera. For general use, the Leicaflex SL wins.

-- Tim Nelson (timothy.nelson@yale.edu), September 20, 2001.