Alpa 9d
Pignons · Alpa mount · 24×36mm on 35mm film · 1965
Also known as: Alpa Alpa Reflex 9d · Alpa Alpa 9d · Alpa Alpa 9f · Alpa 9d · Alpa 9f · Alpa Reflex 9d · Alpa 9d · Alpa 9f · 9d · 9f
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpa 9d (1965–69) | Alpa | 1965–1969 | — | 3,710: 665 black, 63 green, 28 red, the rest chrome; a handful in 18×24 half-frame and 17×22.5 mm (Pacific Rim Camera). Serials 46230–52399 |
| Alpa 9f (1965–67) | Alpa | 1965–1967 | — | 157, 17 in black; serials 46201–46500 |
- 1964 appears as the introduction in several collector accounts and 1965 in Pacific Rim Camera's transcription of the records; the entry follows the records.
- The half-frame 9ds are counted only as 'a small number'. They, and the 27 half-frame 10ds, are the reason Alpa turns up in half-frame lists; none has its own page here.
How to tell them apart
- The crinkle-black prism box sitting on a chrome body
- Meter cells in the prism, reading through the lens, in 1965 — earlier than the Pentax Spotmatic's production and with an eyepiece-compensating second cell nobody else had
- Red and green bodies exist: 28 and 63 of them
Alpa 9d (1965–69):
- Separate black crinkle-finish prism housing on top of the body — the 10d integrates it
- Two CdS cells: one reads the light through the lens, the second subtracts the light entering the eyepiece, so the reading holds with no eye at the finder
- Lever wind; 90° prism; M-sync and FP-bulb sockets so flash bulbs work to 1/1000; ASA 12–6400; one 1.35 V cell
Alpa 9f (1965–67):
- The 9d without the meter
Specifications
- Format
- 24×36mm on 35mm film
- Finder
- 90° pentaprism reflex finder, split-image spot, meter needle · no rangefinder image
- Shutter
- Horizontal cloth focal-plane · 1 s – 1/1000 and B · flash sync X and M; FP sockets for focal-plane bulbs to 1/1000 · self-timer
- Meter
- TTL CdS, two cells in the prism (one compensating for eyepiece light), match-needle; ASA 12–6400; 1.35 V mercury cell
- Country
- Switzerland
Where sources disagree
- First
- 1965 (Pacific Rim Camera, from Pignons' records)
- 1964 (collection-appareils.fr and several dealers)
Better supported: 1965
A year apart; the records are the maker's.
What reviewers say
No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.
History
Pignons was a small firm, and in 1965 it did something the big ones had not: it put cadmium-sulphide cells inside the pentaprism and read the exposure through the lens. The 9d’s meter has two cells, one reading the screen and a second facing the eyepiece to subtract the stray light that enters there, so the needle is honest with no eye at the finder — a refinement that took the industry another decade. The prism sits on the chrome body as a separate black crinkle-finish housing; the shutter is the cloth 1–1/1000 of every Alpa, with M and FP sockets that let flash bulbs synchronise at any speed. The 9f, 157 made, is the same camera without the meter.
The records give 3,710 9ds between 1965 and 1969, of which 665 black, 63 green and 28 red, plus a handful with half-frame and 17×22.5 mm gates, and serials from 46230 to 52399 with a few earlier bodies mixed in. No extended review of the 9d has been found; Casual Photophile’s account of its successor, the 10d, describes the same shutter, meter and lenses.
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
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Live listings
Asking price, USD: a median of $1,100 across 10 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-11 (middle half $390–$3,000). Tracked since 2026-09-06, 4 days: up 182% from $390.
By day
| Date | Median | Middle half | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-11 | $1,100 | $390–$3,000 | 10 |
| 2026-09-09 | $1,100 | $390–$3,000 | 9 |
| 2026-09-08 | $420 | $39–$1,300 | 11 |
| 2026-09-06 | $390 | $25–$1,300 | 12 |
Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.
- Alpa 9d and 9f Camera Supplement by Jacob Deschin
- Alpa camera back only for Alpa 9D camera
- Rare Alpa 9D dummy camera.
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- [ A MINT ] Alpa Reflex 9d SLR Camera w/ P.Angenieux 28mm f/3.5 Lens Japan #3129
- Alpa Reflex 9d Camera Body Lens Set Schneider Alpa-Curtagon 35mm F2.8 Serial 492
- Alpa Reflex 9d (Black) w/ Kern-Macro-Switar AR 50mm f/1.8 Lens + Manual
- Alpa Reflex 9D w/ 50mm F/1.8 AR Kern-Macro-Switar all BLACK w/ Box - Rare !
- Alpa 9d Camera w/ Macro-Switar 50mm F1.8 Lens -Rare Black- [EXC-]
- Alpa 9d Camera w/ Macro-Switar 50mm F1.8 Lens -Rare Black- [EXC-]
- Alpa Reflex 9D Body AS-IS - FOR PARTS OR REPAIR - Read Description
- Alpa 9D Reflex Body AS-IS, FOR PARTS
- Alpa Reflex 9d 35mm SLR Camera Body SOLD AS-IS
- Manuali Alpa Reflex 9d 10d Cataloghi Marvin Torino + Certificati Leica R8
- 🔥 RARE Pignons Alpa Reflex 9D leather case 🔥
- Alpa REFLEX 9d Spiegelreflexkamera
- Alpa Reflex 9d SLR analog mit Schneider Alpa - Xenon 1,9 - 50mm
- [ NEUWERTIG] Alpa Reflex 9d Spiegelreflexkamera mit P.Angenieux Objektiv 28...
- Alpa Reflex 9d with Kern-Macro-Switar 1,8/50mm
- Alpa Reflex 9d Gehäuse Body mit Kern Aarau SWITAR 1,8/50 AR
Show 4 more listings
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Listings updated 2026-09-11. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.