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Switar and Macro-Switar 1.8/50 and 1.9/50 |
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| Picture courtesy Nekogahora Camera Collection
, Tokio |
In the back row from the left to the right:
Macro Switar 50/1.9 for Surgical 81, normal
Macro Switar 50/1.9 and Macro Switar 50/1.9 specially made for the
gold plated model.
In the front row from the left to the right:
Kern Aarau Switar with automatic diaphragm, black painted Macro
Switar 50/1.8 and normal Macro Switar 50/1.8.
From 1951 onwards, the 50mm lens MADE IN SWlTZERLAND of Kern
Aarau - made exclusively for ALPA - played a special role. The 1:1.8
Switar introduced that year was replaced after 1958 by the Macro-Switar
with Visifocus depth of field indicator which in turn was given
a reduced largest stop of 1:1.9 in 1968. Kern Aarau had thrown away
all the relevant tools, so a lens mounting by Chinon of Japan was
used after 1982 for the last Macro-Switars. |
These lenses are still so exceptional that they are sometimes adapted
to be used on other cameras
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Tom
Abrahamsson had an Alpa Macro-Switar 1.9/50 adapted to a Leica
M6 with rangefinder coupling
The Kern Aarau
company was taken over in 1988 by Leica Geosystems.
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