The most expensive CHINON SLR

[Pancolart]

Seems plastic body, nothing special but....
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Alpa-Si-3000-mit-Auto-Alpa-1-7-x-50mm-Spiegelreflex-SLR-Nice-Condition/311857070194

Perhaps now you will respect more good old PK Chinon (AGFA, Revuenon) 1.7/50 and 1.4/50mm

This also looks similar to RICOH XR10 camera to me, which puts CHINON and RICOH in cooperation at that time, perhaps even lenses.

[blotafton]

So that's a genuine rebadge?

[Pancolart]

http://www.alpareflex.com/Cameras/Si3000.htm

[memetph]

It is all about the lens . There is a 50 1.7 which is actually an Alpa lens. If I remember correctly you can find it even under Chinon branding as a Chinon Macro 50 1.7 (PK mount) and it should not be confused with the genuine Chinon. It has 27cmMFD.

[Pancolart]

[TAo2]

Alpa didn't make lenses. Kern, Schneider and a few others supplied them (often with ALPA-branded beauty rings). Alpa tried tae solve cash-flow problems by having Chinon build a copy of the Memotron ? (iirc). The Chinon is a straightforward Chinon lens as Pancolart said above.

[memetph]

I don't know if that lens is a Kern or a Schneider or a standard Chinon but there people who buy this macro Chinon 50 1.7 PK more than 200 $ as the standard verion is worth apbout 25 $. They say itvis an "Alpa" lens.

[lenslove]

[TAo2]

http://www.alpareflex.com/Cameras/Si3000.htm

This is not tae say, that this is not a very good lens in its own right. Ah know a couple of folk who own auto-Chinons and they reckon they are extremely good lenses (especially the older ones - reputedly with Tomioka glass in them).

[memetph]

[TAo2]

OK,

ah'll repeat. Alpa didn't make lenses. Can't be any clearer. Even in their older cameras, all the lenses were outsourced. Some lenses were re-badged with ALPA (as ah said before) but were all 3rd. party lenses. Ah've seen this particular camera and lens go for €60/70 . IMO this is greatly overpriced but if ye collect them then the buyer's willingness tae pay is all that matters. This is a Chinon lens.

[memetph]

[luisalegria]

Chinon cameras and also at least some of their lenses seem to have been actually made by Cosina (the inevitable Cosina!).

The Chinon company seems to have been responsible for their metering technology but otherwise contracted out everything else.

[paulhofseth]

At least until their cash position became precarious, all lenses engraved Alpa (Alfinon, Alfinar, Alos, Alpa Kinoptik, Alpa Angenieux, Alpa Schneider and so on came in through the Pignons Alpa-factory in Ballaguies, were equipped with a fixed Alpa mount and tested there before being delivered. According to the Alpa historiographer, mr. Thewes, some Zeiss\Rollei prototypes were rejected, but I found the two of those I have to be perfectly adequate.

The later Takumars were not equipped with Alpa mounts, but fitted in M42 adapters like the last crop of reasonably rare Chinon optics. No facts on whether these were individually tested at Ballaguies. A perticularly interesting lens is the Chinon mount ApoChromatic Macro-Switar. No more mounts made in Aarau, so the lens innards were fitted in macro-focussing M42 mounts and given an adapter.

p.

[TAo2]

Chinon made everything but the lens elements. They never had a glass making facility. Elements were bought in. Some say that Chinon and Cosina collaborated in producing camera bodies but as usual, so many folk have vested interests in preserving history/myths that the whole story will never be known...kinda like every other camera company

PS when Chinon started, it was making lens tubes and parts for other manufacturers, as their reputation grew they expanded intae other fields.