Switar

scanned by Voxphoto  (Image rights)

The Switar was a camera lens type, well constructed and made by Kern in Switzerland, as well for Bolex 16mm film cameras as for classic Alpa SLR cameras. The lenses for the latter cameras had an aperture actuator driven by the shutter button elongation attached to the lens barrel. Many of the 16mm (or all?) lenses were made for the C-mount.

The ad shown right includes a small "look into an Alpa" which includes a longitudinal section of the Kern Switar 50mm f/1.8 - five lens groups are visible. The ad lauds its image & color rendition. An almost similar construction may have been Kern's Pizar lens.

The lenses were available as Switar, for the Alpa also as Kern-Macro-Switar, for 16mm film also as Vario Switar. Some Macro Switars had a focusing ring that was rotatable up to twice around the lens barrel.

Of course the Switars are mentioned in the wiki because they gave very sharp images. The Alpa ad shown right says that the Kern Switar 50mm f/1.8 has apochromatic characteristics.

Nowadays the lens legends for 16mm film made by Kern or Kern-Paillard are no cheap collectibles for those who like to have their antique but sharp imaging characteristics on modern small-sensored digital system cameras with C-mount adapter, especially for video creation based on classic film optics.

Kern-Macro-Switar lens for an Alpa camera image by S. Katz (Image rights)

Links

Kern-Macro-Switars on oldfastglass.com [1] Info about 50/1,9 kern macro switar on Leica Forum [2]