Alpa SI 2000 review User manual

www.butkus.us
                                                                 35UM SLR AUTOMATIC
          AI   si2000
TYPE: 35mm ryelcvcl rlnglc-lcnr  rcfrer.     top is diecast while the Chinon's is pressed  55mm f/1.4 Auto-Alpa and a 50mm l/1.7
LEI{S: 55mn 111.4 ot 50mm l/1.7 Auto    metal, lhe Alpa's memory hold is controlled  Macro Auto-Alpa, both Japanese-made
Alpa ln lrbrcheutcablc lcrury-thread   by a vertically sliding switch instead of a   and both multicoated. The latter continues
rnounl, alopstof/lE,locur  tro 19In. (f/1.4).   push button, and there are minor cosmetic    the time-honored Alpa tradition of offering
SHUTTER: Elcctronlcelly-tlmcd Copal    difier6nces  in the windlever end, shutter-   a high-speed normal lens with near-macro
Sqntr SE rrbl-bl.d. focal planc wltfr   speed dial and self-timer lever. In addition,    capabilities (it'll get you down to 1:3, or
.0..d| I to 1/2000 toc. plur B, FP, x.      the Alpa sports mushroom-shaped neck-   about 10'lz in. from the film plane). Finally,
VlEWlt{G: Nor}lnt!rchengpablc !y}lcv.l    strap lugs lor slide.on, spring-loaded  fast-  The Alpa Group (Alpa's U.S. distributor)
prlrm wl0r cmbd mlcroprlrm, llnc-foctr-   eners while the Chinon has conventional    asserts that "every Alpa Si2000 is subject
I'ng collar, full-tocudng lcilen.                lugs, and the Alpa's exposure-compensa-   to rigid Sriss quality-control procedures
OTIIER FEATURES: Slllcon blur ccllr on    tion scale (under the rewind knob; + 2 stop   betore being exported." In short, what Alpa
cllhcr ddc of rycplccc mrarurc ccnbr-   range) consists ot white-on-black arrows.   has done is to gild the lily, and as we've ob-
wdghbd ane d iocurlng rctrcn et lhoot-     Are there other differences? Well, yes.   served in our test report, the camera ryas
lng +artm ior auiomdc crpoourc (apor-   Standard lenses for the Alpa Si2000 are a   quite a nice lily to begin with.
Ucprfmrd) confol, rhutirr rpccdl,ourr rd udltripoaura errer vlrlblc In
llndor, orpcur.hold hrtlon, cxpoou?c-
dlutnont  dlal, ptovlrlon lor Inbn{onel
dot6b erpoourr!, thullcr-rllsatc  lock,
hd tlroo, Ylc{rrdl cttploc. bllnd.
PRIGE: t50il wl|h 55mrn t/1.4 Auto Alpa,
3!t79.50 ultr 50mm l/1.7 facro Auto Alpa.
TANUFACTURER: Plgnonr S.A., Bal-
.huas, Sultrcdend.
IIFOBTER: T.AG. Plrotogruphlc, Inc.,
Wcdbury, t{Y 11590.
PHYSICAL DltEllSlONS: 5% In. wlde, {
In. hlgh,31t In. drcp. WEIGHT: 2 lb. 5 ot.

  This solid, auto-€xposure, screw-thr€ad
SLR is a good choice for photographers
who have alwayt admired the Alpa's pan-
ache, but w6re put off by its hefty prics. Al-
though the Japanesa'made Si2000 is ad-
mittedly less sxotic than the 1  'l si (which is
 $lll made In Switerland, and still abounds                                                    Digitally signed by mike butkus
                                                                                                                DN:                                                                                                                  cn=mike butkus,ln all sorts ot tascinating featuros-see    mike                                                                                                                     o=orphancameras,
page 1 24), the lormer is quicker and almost    butkus              email=mike@butkus.org,Date: 2020.01.08 20:31:59ou=29,c=US-05'00'as adaptable.
  Aside lrom the prestigious name en-
graved onto its casl-alloy top, and its much
lower list price, p€rhaps the nicest thing
about Alpa's latest is that  it provides full ex-                                             1. Shutter-rel€ase  lock. 2. Exposure-    Film speed/exposure compensation in-posure automation with any .existing                                                hold switch. 3. Multi-exposure  control.   dex. 7. Auto/Manual diaphragm con-single-pin Praklica-thread  lens. Since this                                                        f. Eyepiece'blind  lever. 5. ASA dial. 6.     trol. 8. Shufter-speed index.category includas literally thousands of dif-
lorent optics both old and new, the Si2000
fits neatly into many sxisting photographic
systems including (with an adaptor) Alpa's
own. Other usslul features include a con-
tol for dellberate multiple exposures, an
exposure-lock switch for holding exposure
readings, a viewfinder eyepiece blind, and
a grssn met€r-on light in lhe lower eye-
piece b€zel which go€9 on when you press
the shutter release part way down. This lat-
ter action alsostopslhe lensdown to shoot-
ing aperture (darkening the finder image at
smaller aportures) and activales the shut-
ter-speed readout needle which then
points to the camera-selecled shutter-
speed index (2 to 1 /2000 sec.).
   Basically, then, lh€ Alpa Si2000 can be
tormed an inStanlaneous slopdown-me-
toring camora. Sharpeyed Mooenr read-
srs mey recall that, early last yoar, we
tgsted another camora with ldentical speci-
fications,, the Chinon CE ll Memotron
("Modern Tests," Feb. 1977, page 104). ls
the Alpa reelly a lightly Europeanized Chi-
non? Well, yes and no. The Alpa's elegant
                                                                                                                                    103