Selling various cherished Alpa items. These have been lightly used while in my possession, and I need to free up this money for house projects. I started acquiring the kit when I was shooting architecture for the NYT and WSJ, but I barely used it before both of those publications closed up their Home sections. It’s been used sparingly since: two advertising shoots, an occasional personal shot and exercising the lenses every other month. (All my commercial work is people, which I shoot with the Leica S and Hassy H systems. You can see my work at ethanpines.com). I am picky about my gear and always test my lenses; these are all very sharp. This is a great set that was hard to put together.
All items are in excellent condition. See this gallery for photos of all items. Also posting one photo below of each item.
NOTE: Max and 60mm are no longer for sale. Going to keep them if possible.
Alpa SWA body with rosewood handles: $4500
Bought lightly used from Linhof Studio in the UK. Fantastic condition. All movements are smooth and precise. Offers 25mm rise, or 25mm fall with the Alpa inverting adapter. Gorgeous, useful and light (bare body is only 640g / 22.5 oz). Might be the most beautiful camera ever made. And one of the only ways to shoot accurately focused handheld shots with rise / fall, on film or digital. If you haven’t shot with this camera, you don’t know what you’re missing.
Rodenstock Alpa HR Alpagon 40mm/4.0 lens (SB 17) with HPF ring + UV filter: $6500
Bought lightly used from Linhof Studio in the UK, and it’s been lightly used in my possession. What a lens it is — one of the marvels of the Alpa system. Very sharp with a large image circle — on paper it has an image circle of 90mm, but I get more shift from it than the stipulated 16mm/13mm (on a 54x40 digital back) when focusing closer than infinity. Focused at 3.6 meters, at f/8, I get 19mm/16mm. This is an original, factory-mounted Alpa lens. A new one from Alpa is around $11,500, excluding HPF ring. Includes HPF ring (meters), Heliopan UV filter, aftermarket lens hood, lens caps (round), Alpa lens cap (square) and original box
Rodenstock HR Digaron-S 28mm/4.5 lens with HPF ring: $3500
A very sharp, very useful lens roughly equivalent to an 18mm lens in 35mm terms. (And vastly cheaper than the Schneider Super-Digitar 28mm, if you can find that at all.) Though its image circle on paper is only 70mm, on a 54x40mm back, if you’re focused at an interior distance rather than infinity (say, 3-5 meters), you can get at least 5-7mm of shift (depending on orientation), which makes a real difference when stitching — this very wide lens becomes noticeably wider. I’m including two captures from this lens (on a Credo 60 back, 54x40mm): straight capture without shift, followed by the same shot stitched from two shots shifted left and right. You can see that the image circle provides room for shifting, even on a 54x40 back.
Note: I bought this used from an architectural photographer in Switzerland, and you’ll see in the photos that this lens has some cosmetic marks (on the body, not the elements). Also, the shutter speed ring is slightly harder to turn when rotating from fast shutter speeds to slower ones. Don't know why. Shutter speeds are accurate, and the shutter and lens have excellent planarity / parallelism. The lens is equally sharp to all corners starting wide open. Includes HPF ring (meters (not installed)), Alpa Pro Lens Shade, lens caps (round) and Alpa lens cap (square).
Rodenstock center filter for 28mm HR lens: $1000
The dedicated center filter for this lens (95mm, approximately $1300 new). Makes a huge difference when shooting with this lens (without it, the lens vignettes heavily). Bought new from Linhof Studio in the UK. Unused except about 10 test shots. Includes original cap.
Includes original cap.
Schneider Apo-Digitar 90mm/4.5 lens (SB 34) with HPF ring + UV filter: $3500
A very sharp, useful, small and light lens (15 oz) for the Alpa system — equivalent to a 58.5mm in 35mm terms (without stitching) on a 54x40 back. Performs beautifully at near distances (1:4) and all the way to infinity. Performance almost equals the 90mm HR SW lens, which is vastly more expensive. And I get more shift than the specs state. On paper it has an image circle of 90mm (shift = 16mm/13mm). When focused at 3 meters, at f/11, I was able to shoot shifted 25mm up and 10mm left simultaneously. Includes HPF ring (meters), B+W UV filter, lens caps (round) and Alpa lens cap (square).
Alpa Viewfinder: $1500
Gorgeous condition. Includes original box.
Alpa tilt/swing adapter, 17mm, 0-5 degrees: $950
Bought lightly used from Linhof Studio in the UK.
Alpa multi-use 17mm adapter: $550
Alpa 16mm macro extender: $450
Two Alpa gold shutter releases: $50 each
Alpa tool kit: $50
All prices are in USD and are net to me (buyer pays shipping + PayPal fees).
DM me here, please.
