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From I can gather, Kern made one the 50mms which is said to be one the best 50mm for 35mm ever made, but I did not see any others. Agnenieux, Kinopye, Schnedier, Kilfit, Zoomar and even Pentax made Apla lens for Apla, Germany, France, US and Japan. I could find any referance to the 500 to 800 zoom reflex shown in Wikipedia.Quote:
Originally Posted by E. von Hoegh
Alpas were manufactured by Pignons SA who also manufactured parts and movements for high-end Swiss watches. The cameras were very well engineered (but heavy) and need to be handled for the quality to be appreciated. The Alpa 11e is one of the later models dating from around the early 1970s and is the third from last model in this series of cameras. The Final version, the 11si was made into the 1980s by which time they were technologically quite outdated though there was still a small market in (wealthy) enthusiasts and the cameras were surprisingly popular for medical use. E. von Hoegh is correct that the Kern lenses - in particular the 50mm Macro Switar are very fine lenses in construction and performance. Other makers such as Angenieux and Schneider also made lenses for Alpas and these tend to be excellent too. The cameras can be used and should produce excellent results. If your friend wishes to use a beautifully constructed mechanical, manual camera then he could do much worse. If he isn't a photographic enthusiast then it would be more sensible to sell and I would recommend he approaches either a dealer who specialises in cameras of this sort (there are specialists in these cameras) or if he wishes to he could send it to an auction house which holds specialist auctions of high end cameras. An auctioneer would be able to give an estimate but remember that there is normally 15% to 20% seller's commission to pay. A reputable dealer should offer around the same or slightly more than you would expect to receive after commission at auction. Beware of using ebay to gauge prices as they can vary wildly. One seller could find a ready market for a kit such as this in excellent condition at USD 1500 while a dealer may be asking a fixed price of USD 5000 and wait a long time to sell. I hope this helps.