We put together some sources regarding the historical ALPA 35 mm cameras. We (ALPA Capaul & Weber Ltd.) do NOT repair, buy or sell any classic/used 35mm SLR cameras (ALPA Pignons SA or other brands), accessories, lenses, spare parts, manuals etc.

For historical details, see...

1. Repair of historical ALPA cameras

We (ALPA Capaul & Weber) do NOT repair, buy or sell any classic/used 35mm SLR cameras (ALPA Pignons SA or other brands), accessories, lenses, spare parts, manuals etc. There is a Web-site specialised on these 35mm SLR ALPAs - may be you can get additional assistance/informations there: http://www.alpareflex.com

2. Transition

All drawings and all tools for the 35mm ALPA SLRs have disappeared during the six years from the moment Pignons SA - the original ALPA manufacturer - went into bancruptcy (August 1990) to the day when we (Capaul & Weber Ltd.) at last could buy the ALPA brand (29th of February 1996).

3. Sources for historical ALPA cameras

If you are interested in buying/selling classic/used 35mm ALPA SLR cameras (or accessories and lenses), please have a look at/contact: http://www.ebay.com

A well known dealer/auctioneer in classic and collector's cameras and accessories is:

• LEICA SHOP
  Westbahnstrasse 40
  A-1070 Vienna / Austria
  Tel. ++43 1 523 5659
  Fax ++43 1 523 5177
  Email: leicashop@leicashop.at
  Web-site: http://www.leicashop.at

4. Repair shops and sources

As far as we know (and, please, be aware that we can NOT pass any recommendation) there are several repair shops that may be able to clean, restore or fix a 35mm SLR ALPA (we do not list some repair shops here anymore because of bad experiences that were reported by their customers - they were frustrated up to the following point: "... I will likely be forced to report them to some government agencies in New York as well as the Better Business Bureau due to their unprofessional operation..."). Here those we have never heard any bad news (in alphabetical order):

• Ursula & Walter Baumgartner
  Fototechnik
  Limmatstrasse 285
  CH-8005 Zurich / Switzerland
  Tel. ++41 1 271 99 96
  Fax ++41 1 271 93 64    

• Alfred Columberg
  (as far as we know he speaks English, French and German)
  Ch. Frank-Thomas 10bis
  CH-1208 Geneva /Switzerland
  Tel. ++41 22 736 97 34        

• Essex Camera Services, Inc.
  100 Amor Avenue
  Carlstadt, New Jersey, NJ 07072 / USA
  Tel. ++1 201 933 7272
  Fax ++1 201 933 7647
  Email: info@essexcamera.com

• Lux Technologies
  Minh Hoang
  221 rue Lafayette
  F-75010 Paris / France
  Tel. and Fax ++33 1 43 01 10 08
  Email: lux.technologies@free.fr
  Web-site: http://lux.technologies.free.fr

• Hugo Schupbach-Ceraphot SA
  rte de Divonne 48
  CH-1260 Nyon / Switzerland
  Tel. ++41 22 990 04 89
  Fax ++41 22 990 04 83
  Email: schupceraphot@bluewin.ch

• Vintage Camera & Clock Repair
  Dan McCabe
  136 West Mountain Avenue
  Fort Collins, Colorado, CO 80524 / USA
  Tel. ++1 303 482 8529

• Wickford Camera Repairs
  85 Vicarage Road
  Watford, Herfordshire WD1 8EJ / UK
  Tel. ++44 1923 800588

• Zacks Camera Repair
  791 Hope Street
  Providence, RI 02906 / USA
  Tel. ++1 401 273 7247
  Email: info@zackscamerarepair.biz

5. Repair manuals

You will find a complete ALPA repair manual (= mod. 4 - 11si but NOT containing any information about the earlier models, the Si 2000, Si 3000, the ALPA ROTO and some ALPAs for special uses) at:

• Ed Romney, Repair Manuals
  PO-Box 487, Drayton, SC 29333, USA
  Tel. ++1 864 597-1882
  E-Mail: RomneyBk@aol.com
  Web-site: http://www.edromney.com

6. Collector's books

The most interesting collector's books on the classic 35mm ALPA SLRs are:

• In English (size A 5 = 14.8 x 21.0 cm, 169 p. [excl. separate production index of 56 p.], all pictures in color):
  Shigeo Toyoda / Takatoshi Sato / Daniel Lori
  ALPA - Complete Collector's Guide
  2004
  Bea+Poly Publishers Ltd, Switzerland (online: http://www.alpa-book.ch)
  ISBN 3-905177-50-1

• In English (size A 4 = 21.0 x 29.7 cm, 266 p. incl. production index, all pictures b/w):
  Lothar Thewes
  ALPA - Always Different from the Rest
  2003
  ISBN 963-8484-60-8
  Hogyf Editio, Mr. Horváth Gyözö Ferenc, Róna u. 169, H-1145 Budapest, Hungary
  Tel. ++36 1 3630 191
  Fax ++36 1 2730 956
  Mr. Lothar Thewes (= the author's) E-mail address: Lothar.u.Gisela.Thewes@t-online.de

• In German (size A 4 = 21.0 x 29.7 cm, 200 p. incl. production index, all pictures b/w):
  Lothar Thewes
  ALPA - 50 Jahre anders als andere
  2nd edition 1994
  ISBN 3-89506-126-3
  Lindemanns Verlag, Nadlerstrasse 10, D-70173 Stuttgart, Germany
  Tel. ++49 711 248 99 977
  Fax ++49 711 248 99 960
  Email: fotobuecher@lindemanns.de
  Web-site: http://www.lindemanns.de
  Mr. Lothar Thewes (= the author's) E-mail address: Lothar.u.Gisela.Thewes@t-online.de

• In German, French and English (size A4 = 21.0 x 29.7 cm, 263 p., production index, unique pictures of prototypes, side elevations, reproductions of documents, etc., many pictures in color):
  Alfred Columberg
  ALPA-Reflex - a Swiss photo camera
  2004
  No ISBN - edited and sold direct by the author:
  Ch. Frank-Thomas 10bis
  CH-1208 Geneva /Switzerland
  Tel. ++41 22 736 97 34
  or (under the order number 64043A) by:
  Lindemanns Verlag, Nadlerstrasse 10, D-70173 Stuttgart, Germany
  Tel. ++49 711 248 99 977
  Fax ++49 711 248 99 960
  Email: fotobuecher@lindemanns.de
  Web-site: http://www.lindemanns.de

7. Price guides

Since many years THE reference book for all camera connoisseurs and collectors (McKeown's sells up to ten times more copies than any other guide in the field):

• MC KEOWN'S PRICEGUIDE TO ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC CAMERAS
  published by: CENTENNIAL PHOTO
  11595 State Road 70
  Grantsburg, WI 54840
  USA
  Phone: ++1 715 689 2153
  Fax: ++1 715 689 2277
  E-mail: mckeown@camera-net.com
  Web-site: http://www.camera-net.com
  

8. Museums

There is an extremely interesting camera museum in the French speaking part of Switzerland where (among many other cameras) always some ALPAs are exposed - everybody interested in photography should have visited this place at least once in his lifetime:

• Musée Suisse de l'Appareil Photographique
  (Directors: Ms Pascale Bonnard and Mr Jean-Marc Yersin)
  Grande Place 99
  CH-1800 Vevey
  Switzerland
  Tel. ++41 21 921 21 40
  Fax ++41 21 921 64 58
  Email: cameramuseum@bluewin.ch
  Web-site: http://www.cameramuseum.ch
  

9. Kern & Co. Aarau

There is a permanent small exhibition about KERN & Co. AARAU, founded 1819 (different kinds of optical and other precision instruments, incl. the famous lenses KERN AARAU MACRO SWITAR 1.8 and 1.9/50mm used with many 35mm ALPAs). KERN AARAU was sold to WILD HEERBRUGG in 1988 and at least part of the production in Aarau ended in 1991. WILD HEERBRUGG was renamed LEICA GEOSYSTEMS, CH-9435 Heerbrugg/Switzerland, http://www.leica.ch and LEICA GEOSYSTEMS was bought in fall 2005 by the Swedish manufacturer of measuring systems and engineering products HEXAGON AB.

The exhibition's address:

• Stadtmuseum Aarau, im Schloessli
  Schlossplatz 23
  CH-5000 Aarau
  Switzerland
  Opening hours: Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 14.00 - 17.00h
  Phone ++41 62 836 05 17Fax ++41 62 836 06 381