ALPA + Portraiture
Most people who are familiar with the ALPA camera system associate ALPA with architectural photography. But ALPA have a huge selection of lenses in their arsenal that range from extreme wide angle for architecture, to longer lenses used for portraiture, and to even longer lenses used for various telephoto photographic applications.
These are the most popular ALPA lenses used for portraiture:
1) 4.0/60mm Linos/Rodenstock Apo-Symmar HR in Copal 0,
Without any doubt, this is an excellent lens. It may be a bit short for portraits, but this is an advantage as you don't have a rangefinder with the ALPA; this lens is usable at f 4, but at this large usable f-stop (f 4) the depth of field is not very large; the image circle of this lens is 70mm in diameter at all f-stops which limits it's usability for architecture. However, for portraiture (where no shift is used), this lens is quite functional; min. focusing distance: 70 cm.
2) 5.6/70mm Linos/Rodenstock Apo-Symmar in Copal 0,
This is a brand new lens which is considered an excellent lens. The image circle is 100mm in diameter at all f-stops; 70mm focal length is pretty close to the limit for use without any kind of a rangefinder. On the other hand, at e.g., f 8 or f 11 the depth of field is large enough for focusing by "guesstimation"; min. focusing distance: 80 cm.
3) 5.6/120mm Schneider-Kreuznach 5.6/120mm Apo-Digitar N in Copal 0,
This is another excellent lens but it is very long for portraiture. It offers just a short depth of field for portrait use without a tripod, a live-display (optional for the Aptus 75) and a laptop, OR with a groundglass; the image circle is 110mm at f 11; min. focusing distance: 120 cm which could be reduced by using the soon-to-be-released, 6.5mm ALPA macro-adapter.
4) The following solutions might also be of interest. (Of course the question of taste and of the photographer's ability to guess distances must be taken into consideration):
5.6/72mm Schneider-Kreuznach Apo-Digitar L, Copal 0
image circle at f 11: 90mm; min. focusing distance: 110 cm which could be reduced by using the soon-to-be-released, 6.5mm ALPA macro adapter.
4.0/80mm Schneider-Kreuznach Apo-Digitar N, Copal 0
image circle at f 11: 90mm; min. focusing distance: 120 cm which could be reduced by using the soon-to-be-released, 6.5mm ALPA macro adapter.
4.5/90mm Schneider-Kreuznach Apo-Digitar N, Copal 0
image circle at f 11: 90mm; min. focusing distance: 150 cm which could be reduced by using the soon-to-be-released, 6.5mm ALPA macro adapter.
5.6/100mm Schneider-Kreuznach Apo-Digitar N, Copal 0
image circle at f 11: 100mm; min. focusing distance: 180 cm which could be reduced by using the soon-to-be-released, 6.5mm ALPA macro adapter.
4.0/100mm Linos/Rodenstock Apo-Sironar HR, Copal 0
image circle at all f-stops: 70mm; min. focusing distance: 180 cm which could be reduced by using the soon-to-be-released, 6.5mm ALPA macro adapter.