Schneider Alpa PA-Curtagon 35mm f/4
Schneider-Kreuznach · Alpa · 1967 · Retrofocus shift lens, 7 elements in 6 groups
Also known as: Schneider Alpa PA-Curtagon 35mm f/4 · Alpa PA-Curtagon 4/35 · PA Curtagon 35mm Alpa · Schneider PA-Curtagon Alpa
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpa PA-Curtagon 35mm f/4 | Alpa | 1967 | — | Unpublished |
- The introduction year is the PA-Curtagon's general date; The Lens DB gives none for the Alpa version.
How to tell them apart
- PA-CURTAGON 1:4/35 with a shift knob — the only perspective-control lens ever offered for the Alpa
- Alpa PA-Curtagon 35mm f/4: Seven elements in six groups, 280 g, 52 mm filter, five blades, focus to 0.3 m (The Lens DB). Perspective adjustment by shifting the lens off-axis. Pignons' catalogue: 'photograph a high building without converging lines, so that it does not appear to be collapsing.'
Specifications
- Formula
- Retrofocus shift lens, 7 elements in 6 groups
- Construction
- 7 elements / 6 groups
- Aperture range
- f/4
- Min. focus
- 0.3 m
- Weight
- 280 g
- Years manufactured
- 1967
- Country
- Germany
What reviewers say
No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.
History
The PA-Curtagon — PA for perspective adjustment — is Schneider’s shifting 35mm, sold for several SLR mounts in the late 1960s and, in the Alpa bayonet, the only perspective-control lens the system ever had. Seven elements in six groups, f/4, 280 grams, a 52 mm filter and a close focus of 30 centimetres; the whole optic slides off-axis so that a tall building can be photographed with the camera level and its verticals parallel, which Pignons’ catalogue explained in exactly those terms. The 1967 date is the lens’s general introduction, not documented for the Alpa version. Production is unpublished and no review of the Alpa-mount lens has been found.
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 Schneider Alpa PA-Curtagon 35mm f/4? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
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Listings updated 2026-09-05. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.