The Alpa Reflex 1 (commonly known as simply the Alpa Reflex) is one of the most fascinating early 35mm single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras.
Although it never achieved the production numbers of the Kine Exakta or later German and Japanese SLRs, it established Switzerland as a maker of precision photographic equipment. It became the foundation of the prestigious, if somewhat quirky, Alpa series of cameras.
The camera's story began in the late 1930s in Switzerland, the home of Pignons SA – best known for manufacturing watch components. It wanted to diversify into photographic equipment and had commissioned Kyiv-born engineer and inventor, Jacques Bogopolsky (1895-1962), to design a compact 35mm reflex camera.
Bogopolsky (who also worked under the names Jacques Bolsky, Jacques Boolsky and later Jacques Bolsey) was already well known as the designer of the famous Bolex H16 movie camera. His SLR design was completed by 1939, just as Europe entered World War II.
The first prototypes appeared between 1939 and 1942 and carried “experimental” names, such as Bolca, Teleflex and Viteflex. Most were made for testing and only a very small number were exported. By the end of the war, they had settled on the Alpa name – chosen because it evoked the image of Switzerland.
The Alpa Reflex was officially introduced at the Swiss Trade Fair in April 1944. It was a beautifully machined, exceptionally compact, hand-built camera. In 1944 some 115 cameras were made, while 1945 saw that almost quadruple to 434 cameras.
The Alpa Reflex combined two different focusing systems: the expected waist-level finder as well as a coupled optical rangefinder with its separate bright-line viewfinder. The coupled rangefinder was retained until the Alpa 6 came along in 1956. It included a split-image focusing aid, eliminating the need for a separate rangefinder.
Even then, the Alpa 7 (sold concurrently with the Alpa 6) continued to have the rangefinder for those who did not trust ground glass focusing – although your scribe knows of no other firms to attempt this arrangement. The Praktina and a few others had a direct viewfinder in addition to their reflex finders, but not with a coupled rangefinder.
The Alpa Reflex quickly earned a reputation for extraordinary craftsmanship. Production was intentionally small; Pignons preferred quality over quantity and even accepted special-order modifications from customers.
Unlike many manufacturers, Alpa did not manufacture its own optics, instead commissioning lenses from leading European makers including Kern & Co (the famous Kern-Switar series), Angénieux (France), Schneider (Germany) and others.
Most early cameras carried fast 50mm standard lenses of exceptionally high optical quality, often from Kern or Angénieux. Pignons even guaranteed the performance of the lenses it sold with its cameras!
These first-generation Alpa Reflex cameras were built in several production series, designated C (1944-45 – first commercial production, D (1945-47 – improved manufacturing techniques) and E (1947-51 – final version), though these letters were not marked on the cameras.
In 1949 Alpa introduced the Prisma Reflex, replacing the waist-level finder with a fixed pentaprism. It was only the third pentaprism-equipped 35mm SLR, following the Rectaflex and Contax S, though the eyepiece, rather oddly, is angled upward at 45°.
Only these first-generation Alpas had the rangefinder and, in all, around 5,000 first-generation cameras (including the Prisma Reflex variants) had been produced by 1952.
In 1952, Pignons completely redesigned the Alpa line with new die-cast construction and updated mechanics. These second-generation cameras retained the Alpa name but were substantially different internally, marking the end of the original Reflex I design.
In 1959, the then-current Alpa 6, 7 and 8 became the 6b, 7b and 8b models, gaining a rapid film advance lever and an instant-return mirror.
While most cameras of the era wound with a lever that swept back-to-front, the Alpa swept front-to-back – which many photographers initially found odd. Reviewers noted that, although unusual, it quickly became natural in use and enabled the film to be wound without removing the camera from the photographer’s eye.
One of the interesting quirks of Alpa is that the model numbers do not indicate the sequence in which they arrived. Instead, they denoted different specification levels offered at the same time.
The short-lived 4 series was an economy body with a waist-level finder. The 5 models offered a pentaprism and the 6 added a split-image focusing aid. The 7 series had a Leica M-style, coupled rangefinder in addition to the reflex finder, while the 8 models were pure SLRs with every bell and whistle they offered.
The later series of models (the 9, 10 and 11) were named in the order introduced and added metering, and then TTL metering.
Alpas were always a limited production affair, with its peak production being in 1965 when roughly 1,300 cameras were made. Between 1944 and 1990, production was about 45,000 Alpa cameras of all models – making every Alpa Reflex comparatively rare today.
That, however, is not the end of the story. After Pignons ceased camera production in 1990, the Alpa trademark lay dormant until 1996 when it was purchased by Ursula Capaul and Thomas Weber.
Their vision was not to revive the old 35mm SLR, but to build a Swiss-made, medium format camera of the finest possible precision for landscape, architecture, industrial and fine-art photographers: the Alpa 12 series.
They anticipated that digital imaging would eventually replace film, so they designed the system from the outset to accept interchangeable film backs and digital backs from various makers. Even today, you can mount the latest Hasselblad CFV 100C digital 100MP back!
Capaul and Weber sold the company in 2022, although they took great care to ensure that it remained an independent, Swiss manufacturer. Today, the firm is known as Alpa of Switzerland AG.
Read more of David Young's ongoing series on classic cameras, as well as his book A Brief History of Photography.
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