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Of course, sophisticated professional camera photography has also been working digitally for a long time. ALPA was one of the most important pioneers in this process. The Swiss camera system ultimately offered the precision from the very beginning that the digital backs - almost in contrast to the roll film - only began to require over time. But until now, the actual technical/view cameras used the old mechanical Copal shutter, although its production was discontinued years ago.Operating eShutterNow also here the electronics take over. With the eShutter 250, Rodenstock and Sinar have developed a modern leaf shutter for view camera lenses as a successor, while Phase One and Hasselblad backs now allow access to the built-in electronic “rolling” shutter. Only when it comes to the photographic use outside of the studio, the ingenuity of the manufacturers has so far been rather limited. There were hardly practical solutions from the laptop to the huge control unit dangling down from the tripod. With the ALPA Silex Mk II this will change for the better now.

Here the trigger sits where it should be - on the side of the body, close to the hand grip - and the complete package with a robust housing made of two solid, milled aluminium halves is pleasantly compact, although even the 48V power supply for the eShutter has been integrated. In addition, this grip with brains can be rotated using the supplied Arri rosette adapters and the camera and back functions are always optimally visible.

Advantages eShutterThe Copal shutter has been mourned a lot, but anyone who has ever worked with the eShutter will no longer want to do without it. Precise shutter speed setting, low vibration shutter operation, accurate repeatability, operation from the Silex control unit without having to open the shutter on the lens - photography with tilt, shift and stitch does not need to be cumbersome at all. And as long as the electronic shutters are not yet "global", there is no way around the electromagnetic shutter for flash photography.ALPA Silex Mk II on ALPA 12 MAX and HR Alpagon 4.0/32 mm with eShutter 250

Silex - the grip with brainsHasselblad H, Canon EF, Contax 645, Nikon E and Rollei lenses can also be controlled in this way. This is not only of interest for digital photography. Despite the electronic interfaces, the autonomous Silex offers the opportunity to make these lenses with built-in shutter as well as Rodenstock's professional lenses for analogue photography up to the 6x9 format fit for the future. Whether digital or analog - the Swiss precision tool will remain future-proof, not least through free firmware updates. Finally, the electronic (rolling) shutter of modern backs will certainly become even faster and triggering the eShutter directly from the LiveView without a rolling shutter is only a matter of time. Then the compact view camera becomes even more mobile.ALPA Silex Mk II on ALPA 12 TC controlling a Hasselblad HC 4.5/300 mm

The Sound of Silex is the future.Price and AvailabilityThe ALPA Silex Mk II control unit is now available at a net price of CHF 3,897 (ex works Switzerland) from local ALPA dealers and ALPA in Zurich. Owners of the ALPA Silex Mk I can upgrade their units for CHF 685 (ex works Switzerland) to Silex Mk II.Product Pages[/en/article/alpa-silex-mk-ii|ALPA Silex Mk II][/en/article/alpa-silex-modification-mk-i|Hardware Upgrade Silex Mk I > Mk II]LinksCapture Integration Blog: ALPA SILEX MK II - The Technical Camera PowerhouseALPA Silex Mk II at Work

Behind the scenes © ALPA/Ralph Rosenbauer