Alpa 11
Pignons · Alpa mount · 24×36mm on 35mm film · 1971
Also known as: Alpa Alpa 11e · Alpa Alpa 11el · Alpa Alpa 11si · Alpa Alpa 11z · Alpa Alpa 11a · Alpa Alpa 11m · Alpa Alpa 11s · Alpa Alpa 11r · Alpa Alpa 11f · Alpa Alpa 11es · Alpa 11si · Alpa 11e · Alpa 11el · Alpa 11e · Alpa 11el · Alpa 11si · Alpa 11z · Alpa 11a · Alpa 11m · Alpa 11s · Alpa 11r · Alpa 11f · Alpa 11es · 11si · 11e · 11el
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpa 11e (1971–75) | Alpa | 1971–1975 | — | 1,228: 813 chrome, 415 black, 4 half-frame; serials 57201–58300 |
| Alpa 11el (1972–76) | Alpa | 1972–1976 | — | 1,163: 615 chrome, 548 black, 33 half-frame; serials 58301–59900 |
| Alpa 11si (1976–c.1990) | Alpa | 1976–1990 | — | 1,288: 287 chrome, 781 black, 12 black with wood veneer, 160 gold-plated, 12 chrome 'Golden Jubilee', 36 with pin-register backs; serials 60009–64150 |
| 11a, 11es, 11f, 11m, 11r, 11s, 11z (1973–82) | Alpa | 1973–1982 | — | 11a 2,354 (129 half-frame; the 'post camera' for meter readings, no finder, fixed focus, one speed; 59501–63825) · 11es 22 (crystallography, 1973) · 11f 13 (no meter, with a Schneider Xenon) · 11m 'Mercure' 85 (microfilm, 1977–82) · 11r 95 (11.5×16.5 mm document format) · 11s 34 (simplified 11si) · 11z 96 (1977–79, 1/60 only, half-frame, for electronic flash) |
- The production figures per finish are Pacific Rim Camera's transcription of Pignons' records; camera-wiki's 11-series page is a stub that confirms the sequence and the diode change. The 'little over 1,000' 11si figure in dealer copy is the same 1,288 rounded down.
- The Si2000 and Si3000 are Chinon cameras with an Alpa badge and a different mount, sold at the very end. They are mentioned here so a reader who meets one knows what it is; they have no page.
- Pignons' bankruptcy is 1990 in Wikipedia and 1991 in Pacific Rim Camera's company history; the trademark passed to Capaul & Weber in 1996 for the medium-format Alpa 12, which shares nothing but the name.
How to tell them apart
- Two lamps where the 10d had a needle — the only outward change from the 10d, and the way to tell the generations apart
- Red crest on the prism on export bodies only
- Gold, wood-veneered and pin-register 11si bodies exist in tens
Alpa 11e (1971–75):
- The transistorised meter: two lamps, one for over- and one for under-exposure, visible in the finder and repeated on the top deck
Alpa 11el (1972–76):
- Both lamps lit for correct exposure; small finder-display changes
Alpa 11si (1976–c.1990):
- Silicon photodiodes in place of CdS; coloured diodes for the display
- The last Alpa in production: the final bodies, around 1990, carry serials in the 64,xxx range
11a, 11es, 11f, 11m, 11r, 11s, 11z (1973–82):
- Special-purpose bodies on the 11 platform, most without a finder or a full shutter; the 11a alone outnumbers every regular 11 model
Specifications
- Format
- 24×36mm on 35mm film
- Finder
- Integrated 90° pentaprism, split-image spot, two exposure lamps (coloured diodes on the 11si) · no rangefinder image
- Shutter
- Horizontal cloth focal-plane · 1 s – 1/1000 and B (1/60 only on the 11z) · self-timer
- Meter
- TTL through stopped-down lens: CdS with over/under lamps (11e, 11el), silicon photodiodes with coloured diodes (11si); no meter on the 11f
- Country
- Switzerland
Where sources disagree
- End of the company
- 1990 (English Wikipedia: bankruptcy declared)
- 1991 (Pacific Rim Camera: closure)
Better supported: Unresolved
Declaration and closure a year apart, most likely.
What reviewers say
- Setadel Studios, 'The Watch Makers Camera' — Alpa 11si with the Kern 50mm f/1.9 (blog) — "So solid you could use it as a hammer and risk damaging the nail before you would break the camera," and the Kern's detail and colour contrast are wonderful. The release sits on the front beside the lens, the layout confuses the hand — "I don't know whose hands this camera was designed for but it was not mine."
History
The 11e of 1971 took the 10d and replaced the meter needle with two lamps, one for over- and one for under-exposure, lit in the finder and repeated on the top deck: the transistor age arriving at a factory that still cast and hand-fitted its bodies. The 11el of 1972 lit both lamps for a correct exposure; the 11si of 1976 replaced the CdS cells with silicon photodiodes and the lamps with coloured diodes, and was the most refined camera Pignons ever built and the last. Production dwindled through the 1980s. The final bodies, around 1990, carry serials in the 64,000s — some forty thousand cameras in forty-six years — and Pignons declared bankruptcy that year. Chinon-built Si2000 and Si3000 SLRs carried the name at the end and fit none of the lenses; they are not Alpas in any sense this page uses, and are not here.
The regular models are small: 1,228 11e, 1,163 11el, 1,288 11si — the last including 160 gold-plated, twelve veneered in wood, twelve ‘Golden Jubilee’ and 36 with pin-register backs. The technical variants outnumber them. The finderless 11a, a fixed-focus single-speed ‘post camera’ for photographing utility meters, ran to 2,354; the 11m Mercure and 11r were microfilm and document cameras; the 11z was a half-frame with a single 1/60 speed for electronic flash; the 11es, 11f and 11s were made in tens. Setadel Studios’ account of an 11si with the Kern 50mm f/1.9 is the reviewers’ consensus in one line: a camera you could use as a hammer, with glass that renders colour beautifully, and controls laid out for hands that were not the reviewer’s.
This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.
Photographs
_35mm_SLR_Camera,_Made_In_Switzerland,_Circa_1971_-_1975_(30446314871).jpg)
Live listings
Asking price, USD: a median of $400 across 12 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-11 (middle half $70–$2,300). Tracked since 2026-09-06, 4 days: up 101% from $200.
By day
| Date | Median | Middle half | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-11 | $400 | $70–$2,300 | 12 |
| 2026-09-09 | $400 | $70–$2,300 | 12 |
| 2026-09-08 | $200 | $20–$1,000 | 14 |
| 2026-09-06 | $200 | $20–$1,000 | 15 |
Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.
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- ALPA 11e w/Kern 1.9f 50mm; Schneider 3.5f 135mm; Helios 2f 55mm. case; +++extras
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- Alpa 11e camera w. Kern-Macro-Switar 1.8/50 AR lens
- Alpa 11e camera w. Kern-Macro-Switar 1,8/50 AR lens
- Alpa 11e camera w. Kern-Macro-Switar 1,8/50 AR lens
- Alpa 11Z 35mm SLR Film Camera Body Half Frame
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Listings updated 2026-09-11. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.