Minox 8x11 - Photos

[mh2000]

Nice photos, Godfrey! I couldn't help not really smiling at the oddment animal! 🙂

My recent Minox shoot with TMX in Tmax was sadly not as satisfying as I hoped it would be (either chemical prints or a copy setup for digital)... too much grain and not great tonality. Could probably work on developing tweaks or something... but at the moment thinking I'll stick to the much more forgiving 35mm or 120 formats. Just got my Leica IIIf fully service and it is a similar joy for me to shoot as my silver Minox!

 

[James Evidon]

Minox: Fun to handle, limited purpose and still great fr the right purpose

Minox: Fun to handle, limited purpose and still great fr the right purpose

I have owned a Minox B for as long as most of you have been alive. I bought it used in fine shape because as a kid, I was in love with all of the film noire WWII spy movies that used the original smaller Riga Minox.

To make a long story much shorter I was very disappointed in the photos and quality as a carry around camera, but still amazed that such a tiny neg could produce anything useful. As I looked at thread starter Godfrey's images, one could see where the Minox really shines. Compare the shots of people, balloons and the like to the shots of one dimensional shop signs. It is the one dimensional subjects that the Minox was designed to photograph. Despite the many years that have past, the Minox still shines for the purpose for which it was designed; document copying. Like James Bond, I too like my Martini's shaken and not stirred.😎

 

[maddoc]

A very interesting aspect, never thought about it until now. I will check.

As I looked at thread starter Godfrey's images, one could see where the Minox really shines. Compare the shots of people, balloons and the like to the shots of one dimensional shop signs. It is the one dimensional subjects that the Minox was designed to photograph. Despite the many years that have past, the Minox still shines for the purpose for which it was designed; document copying. Like James Bond, I too like my Martini's shaken and not stirred.😎

 

[PRJ]

 

[Godfrey]

The flaw in your hypothesis, James, is that the Minox was actually not designed for document copying at all. It was bent to that purpose in the post-WWII, Cold War time period, and used occasionally as a spy camera ever since (or until such time as any film camera was continued to be used for such work...) simply because it is small and reasonably easy to conceal.

But the camera was really designed by Walter Zapp to be a vest-pocket sized general purpose camera to make small prints rather than carrying the bulk and weight of the studio cameras that he was bidden to do as a photographer's assistant. He says as much himself in the 90th Anniversary video interview made with him and delivered with the limited edition Minox CLX special edition cameras.

I think this photo of my photographer friend Linda shows that a Minox can make superb photographs of people and other three dimensional subjects, if I get the focus and exposure right of course. 🙂

​

G

 

[Sergey Kozlov]

...The flaw in your hypothesis, James, is that the Minox was actually not designed for document copying at all...

I think this photo of my photographer friend Linda shows that a Minox can make superb photographs of people and other three dimensional subjects...
G

Excellent portrait! It is the example, that not the camera, who is making picture.
I also have some good portraits from Minox, but, after shooting with 5 Minox cameras from my collection for 5 years, I can say that the best results MInox gives at close focus.

Veniamin Feb2017 by Sergey Kozlov, on Flickr

Minox IIIs Plants #11 by Sergey Kozlov, on Flickr

But I tried even landscapes!

Eastbourne 1 by Sergey Kozlov, on Flickr

 

[JeffS7444]

Couple of pics I shot in 1976 using my dad's Minox C:

 

[mthomas]

Eight exposures I found on a Minox roll I exposed in Nov-Dec 2019 ...

Thanks Godfrey. I don't post much but this thread really excites me!
Marc

 

[Pál_K]

Some of my best portraits ever were made with my Minox B. They’re, sharp, contrasty, and more importantly, my subjects are relaxed and enjoying being photographed. I think this little camera intrigued them.

I took it to work and would ask, “Hey, can I take your picture?” Often I’d have to give a 20 second description of what this camera is, as almost everyone thought it was a digital camera. Only one friend from Eastern Europe knew exactly what it was. The photos I made of them truly surprised me with their genuineness and quality. I made extra prints for everyone and handed them out later.