Old Delft Alfinar 38mm f/3.5 (and 35mm f/3.5)
Old Delft · Alpa · 1950 · 4 elements in 3 groups (38mm; The Lens DB)
Also known as: Old Delft Alfinar 38mm f/3.5 · Old Delft Alfinar 3.5cm f/3.5 · Oude Delft Alfinar 35mm · Alfinar 3.5/38 Alpa · Alfinar 1:3.5 f=3.5cm
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfinar 3.5cm f/3.5 | Alpa | 1950 | — | Unpublished |
| Alfinar 38mm f/3.5 | Alpa | 1952 | — | 604 (a dealer's count via search; unconfirmed) |
- 35 or 38: the same lens re-marked, or two lenses? Unresolved, and stated as such. The 604 is a dealer's figure for the 38mm alone.
- Old Delft's 'Minor' 37mm f/3.5 for the Alpa Reflex (c.1948) is a third marking in the same range; it is mentioned here and has no page.
- Alfinar 35 vs 38: One design, re-marked from 3.5cm to 38mm in the early 1950s (the simplest reading of the auction records) · Two designs (implied by the different markings and the separate 'Minor' 37mm) — No diagram or Old Delft document reached distinguishes them.
How to tell them apart
- OLD DELFT ALFINAR with either 3.5cm or 38mm on the bezel; the moderate wide-angle of the Old Delft Alpa set
- Alfinar 3.5cm f/3.5: The earlier marking; a c.1950 example for the Alpa Reflex sold at the 40th Leitz Photographica auction (camera-wiki).
- Alfinar 38mm f/3.5: The Alnea-catalogue marking: four elements in three groups, 70 g, ten blades, focus to 0.6 m, 42 mm hood, 1952 (The Lens DB). Whether the 35 and 38 are one design re-marked or two is unresolved — see the note.
Specifications
- Formula
- 4 elements in 3 groups (38mm; The Lens DB)
- Construction
- 4 elements / 3 groups
- Aperture range
- f/3.5
- Min. focus
- 0.6 m
- Weight
- 70 g
- Years manufactured
- 1950–1956
- Country
- Netherlands
What reviewers say
No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.
History
Old Delft’s Alfinar was the Alpa’s moderate wide-angle before the retrofocus era: an f/3.5 marked 3.5cm on examples from about 1950 and 38mm in the Alnea-era catalogue, which lists it at 24 inches close focus and leaves the construction blank. Whether the change from 35 to 38 is a re-marking of one design or a second optic is not settled by any source reached, and the two are carried here as variants of one page with that said plainly; if a diagram surfaces showing two designs, the 38 gets its own page. A dealer’s tally gives 604 of the 38mm. Old Delft also sold a 37mm f/3.5 ‘Minor’ for the Alpa Reflex around 1948 (Westlicht, via camera-wiki), which may be the same glass under a third name. No review exists.
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.
Example photos
Sample photo wanted — shot with a Old Delft Alfinar 38mm f/3.5 (and 35mm f/3.5)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
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