C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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slr-35mm
The Alpa 9d (1965) is a 35mm single-lens reflex camera from Pignons S.A. of Ballaigues, Switzerland. It is a direct successor to the unmetered Alpa 6, adding a self-powered selenium exposure meter in a curved cell housing mounted on the front face of the pentaprism housing — a configuration that maintains the camera's compact profile while providing integrated metering without battery dependency.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Labs in our directory that process 35mm film.
Before you buy used
About this camera
The Alpa 9d reintroduced integrated metering to the Swiss prestige SLR line — a self-powered selenium cell delivering exposure guidance without the need for a battery.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm (24×36mm) |
| Mount | Alpa bayonet |
| Years | 1965–1971 |
| Shutter | Horizontal fabric focal-plane: 1s – 1/1000s + B |
| Flash sync | 1/25s (X-sync) |
| Meter | Selenium, match-needle, self-powered |
| Meter EV range | EV 4–18 (ISO 12–3200) |
| Viewfinder | Pentaprism, 97% coverage, 0.9× magnification |
| Battery | None (selenium self-powered) |
| Production | Small series (Pignons precision manufacture) |
The Alpa 9d was designed to answer a common criticism of the Alpa 6: that professional photographers expected a camera of this price to include an integrated meter. Pignons responded by adopting the self-powered selenium cell — then at its technical maturity — rather than the CdS cells that required batteries, in keeping with the company's philosophy of building cameras that required minimal ancillary equipment to function.
The "d" suffix in Alpa nomenclature typically denoted the metered variant of a given generation: the 9d sits alongside the unmetered 9 in the Alpa lineup. The 9d was manufactured in small quantities through approximately 1971, when it was superseded by the Alpa 10d — a CdS-metered variant — and eventually the Alpa 11ei (1976), which introduced electronic shutter control.
Total production across all Alpa models was modest; Pignons never sought volume and the premium pricing meant these cameras sold to a select audience.
The Alpa 9d is significant for combining Pignons' uncompromising build quality with practical integrated metering in a package that requires no batteries. For photographers who want a Swiss precision SLR with the finest available optics (Kern Switar, Macro-Switar) and an integrated meter, the 9d is the most accessible fully mechanical option.
Like all Alpa cameras, it commands substantially higher prices than comparable Leica or Nikon equipment of the period, reflecting both rarity and the exceptional quality of the lens system available for it.
The Alpa bayonet accepts the same lens family as the Alpa 6:
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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