Any Minox Shooters Here?

T

Tuolumne

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Are any of you RFF afficianados Minox users? I just bought a Minox B on a lark off eBay and was delighted with the camera. The Model B is all mechanical and has a CdS cell in the meter that also works (when it still does) without a battery. A real mechanical jewel that seems to be bargain priced even when in very nice condition. The film is still available from a few distributors, and for the do-it-your-selfer, you can cut your own film from any 35mm film you like to use and develop it yourself. A real classic camera with that James Bond panache!

T.
 
I have a model C. Haven't used it much since I disliked having to send my film to NYC to be processed.

However, I have a tank and reel coming (thanks JeremyZ) - so I'll likely start shooting again.
 
I guess I am a Minox aficionado. I have and use A, B, LX and ECX Minoxes, using a flatbed slitter and a daylight developing tank. There is no end of pleasure to be had fiddling with those little jewels!
BTW, if your local one hour lab is friendly and understanding, they can use some cardboard masking and print C41 Minox negatives in the minilab machine. Not the best resolution, but useful any way. Some examples here:
http://nelsonfoto.com/v/showthread.php?t=3303&highlight=minox

BTW number 2: The B has a selenium meter. If yours has a CdS, then you have the coveted BL
 
micromontenegro said:
I guess I am a Minox aficionado. I have and use A, B, LX and ECX Minoxes, using a flatbed slitter and a daylight developing tank. There is no end of pleasure to be had fiddling with those little jewels!
BTW, if your local one hour lab is friendly and understanding, they can use some cardboard masking and print C41 Minox negatives in the minilab machine. Not the best resolution, but useful any way. Some examples here:
http://nelsonfoto.com/v/showthread.php?t=3303&highlight=minox

BTW number 2: The B has a selenium meter. If yours has a CdS, then you have the coveted BL
Click to expand...

MicroM,
Sounds like you are just the guy I want to talk to. A simple question - How do you open those tiny Minox cassettes to load film into them? I was struggling with an old one this morning and couldn't get it to pop open. Are there any books or manuals on these Minox arcana?

T.
 
I was hooked on these things a few years ago, but with two young kids and an ever shrinking apartment, they don't see much use anymore. In fact, last month I packed up my wet darkroom.

If you still have a wet darkroom, I'd suggest getting the minox enlarger. Its fantastic - similar in quality to the Focomats. I have the minox mask for my focomat, but could never get the same results as with the minox enlarger.

There are some yahoo groups on the subject, with a great deal of good information, if your interested. Just search for minox under the yahoo groups.
 
Well done on the Minox B : no digital that pocket friendly yet 🙂

I have used mine a lot with T400CN and SG800 films - amazing 5x7 prints.
Tried Copex in the summer 8x10s were almost grain-less. The spy A4 photocopy to A4 print is no myth - the lens is up to it.

But medium fast films and shooting indoors are where the tiny camera excels.

I use ( in order of most use ) AX, AXs, ECX , BL , TLX . Smaller is better 🙂

You need to print optically to get best quality from the camera - 4000dpi scanners are just not up to the job. Look out of the CE Rokkor-X 30mm enlarger lens.

The plastic cassettes normally open very easily with finger pressure: the caps are just held in by a small plastic slot ( cap) and tab ( on the cassette base ).
 
Is the f3.5 lens rated the same way as an f3.5 35mm lens? In other words, if I want to use an external light meter, does f3.5 on the external light meter mean the same thing as f3.5 on the Minox's own internal light meter? I read somewhere that the f3.5 Minox lens was really an f12.5 lens in the 35mm format. That confused me.

T.
 
Maybe that was referencing the increased apparent depth of field due to the smaller media? I don't know.

I would assume for using an external meter, yes - the 3.5 is a 3.5.
 
i have been looking into these cameras myself. the minox ones, the yashica atoron, the rollei 16, etc.- they are all quite adorable. i definitely find i have strong aesthetic reponses to vintage cameras. today i am bidding on an atoron on ebay from a great seller who i have met personally (he runs a repair shop near me.) also am bidding on a rollei 16. but the minox spy cams have the most appeal for me. getting the atoron is going to be practice for the minox. i need to do more research on them still.

the film cost and processing are indeed a bit off-putting. i live near adorama and B&H so that is more convenient. very much wish i had learned my way around the dark room though. i might just have to.

the cameraquest article helped me create a list of which mini spy cams and mini RFs i wanted most and why. i have a little spread sheet right next to me.

though i don't have any real life experience with these cameras as of yet, i will soon. will be bookmarking this thread. if anyone has any great links on these cameras i would love to see.

good luck with your new baby.
 
Tuolumne, there are two kinds of Minox cassettes. The older, metal ones are simply taped together. The newer plastics have tiny tabs in the outside edges which you must depress with, lets say, a very small screwdriver to let the lids out. I usually dissamble the film side first (flat on both sides), letting the take up lid on until I load film, and then, with the lights on, dissamble the take up side (the one with an indentation) and tape the film leader to the spool.
Yes, the Minox lens is actually 3.5, but is enormous DOF due to short focal lengh inspires comparisions as the one you mention. But for exposure settings, it is a 3.5 all the way.
 
micromontenegro said:
Dragonx, I really like http://www.subclub.org/ Not the easiest navigation, but tons of info!
Click to expand...
cute site. thank you, morning coffee material. i like the vintage photos.

csouvannarath said:
I have a Minox MB that I have with me all the time loaded with fuji sensia 400. It's my constant companion.
Click to expand...
csouvannareth-can you describe the ins and outs of your camera? additionally, have you found a more inexpensive way to use your baby?
i have been fixated on a few small vintage cameras lately, and after hearing some cons of some of the lenses of those in question, i am ready to devote all of my search energies to a spy cam. i love the focal length and of course the look/novelty, but i don't have the dark room skillset nor setup, so i am concerned about cost.
plus, i am worried about special spy cam issues that i may not be coming across online. please share your experience.
 
I have a Minox ML that an overly serious though pleasant German camera store owner on 54th and Lexington in Manhattan sold me in the mid-80s claiming that it would replace my Nikon FE2 as my camera of choice, such was the quality of the lens, its light meter, its precision construction, etc. Unbelievably, he was right - whenever I went on holiday for the next 10 years until I bought a Contax G1. I suddenly found myself with a small scale focus, fixed length camera taking absolutely great shots, especially on slide film without having to lug around a large system. I still have the camera and enjoy using it on occasion - 20 years later without a hitch!
 
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