Last Updated on 11/14/2017 by Chris Gampat
All images from ALPA. Used with permission.
Medium format snappers, architectural photographers, and landscape photographers, here’s something that will tickle your fancy. Swiss camera maker ALPA has recently introduced its latest camera package for film photographers: the ALPA 12 SWA equipped with ALPA Apo-Helvetar 5.6 43mm lens. You’d have to be fast, though, as it’s super limited edition with only five kits up for grabs.
Put together with “friends of analogue photography” in mind, the package showcases the absolutely gorgeous craftsmanship and mechanical precision the Swiss company takes pride in. It comes with everything you need to start shooting right away: the lens, the camera, a High Precision Focusing (HPF) ring, the ALPA 6×7 / 6×9 combined shift mask, and a roll film back (your choice of 6×7 or 6×9). Also included are an ALPA Swisstool, black and white films with film protection container, a practical carrying case, and certificate.
The ALPA 12 SWA (Shift Wide Angle), one of the company’s first two medium format camera introduced at the 1998 Photokina, takes both roll film backs and digital backs. Especially aimed at architectural and landscape photographers, it has a shift (perspective correction) capability integrated into the camera, which can be operated by hand or by using an additional tripod adapter (to achieve this with digital backs, the lens should be swapped as well). The rosewood natural hand grips also add an aesthetic functionality to this beautifully-designed camera.
Meanwhile, the Apo-Helvetar 5.6 43mm lens comes from the production of the legendary Schneider Kreuznach. According to ALPA, the German optics company has already stopped making lenses for medium and large formats, making the Apo-Helvetar a coveted lens among photography connoisseurs. Its focal length is equivalent to 20/21mm in the 35mm format. Together with the 12 SWA’s shift capability, it promises to produce distortion-free images suitable for the most demanding landscape and architectural photography.
Here are some sample images taken by Ralph Rosenbauer with the 6×9 Roll Film Back and Ilford XP2 400:
Check out their website to learn more about the ALPA 12 SWA / HELVETAR 43MM Limited Kit.
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