new German camera with 15mm lens

[FrankS]

This isn't GAS, and I haven't gone back on my pledge that I'm through with aquiring new cameras, this was a completely kind of different camera - a Minox B (sub-mini), and it was a super deal that I couldn't pass up. I got a call today from an antique shop that I've left my name with, indicating an interest in cameras. It's mint, metal, mechanical, and manual, with a built-in meter. The wierd thing about it is, about 4 years ago, I bought a box of photo stuff at a garage sale for the light meter that was in it. Included in the box were several boxed Minox accessories that I just stored away because I knew they had some value, just not to me at that time. Well the time has now come, and these accessories all fit the camera I just bought today. Life is funny. Sometimes the coincidences are just too wierd. (Accessories are: binocular attachment, right-angle viewer attachment, tripod attachment, negative viewer, and flash cube attachment.) This is just the perfect camera to have with you if you have to have a camera with you and you have no room to have a camera with you. Are there any other sub-mini Minox owners on this forum?

 

[einolu]

Post some pictures of the camera with "everything" on it, seems interesting.

 

[Tim]

Are there any other sub-mini Minox owners on this forum?

Me!!!

A Minox-III and a Minox-B. Haven't used them in a while, although I used them quite a lot at one stage. Might have to get them out again......

 

[Sonnar Brian]

No Minox, but an old Minolta-16. Have not used it in a long time, but still have several casettes for it. I also have a Tessina. Gotta start using that one. Load it up with B&W and scan the results. It is a neat little camera that gives ~1/2 frame results.

 

[Tim]

hmmmmm, You've got me interested again. Went scouting around, I even have a cartridge of Minopan-25 in the fridge. And I have found my Minox daylight developing tank lurking in the back of the camera cupboard. May just have to have a play.

 

[FrankS]

Tim, have you got any negatives or prints scanned to post? I have no idea what to expect.

einolu, if I attach all the accessories at once, it would be 1/2 the size of a Leica CL!

 

[einolu]

einolu, if I attach all the accessories at once, it would be 1/2 the size of a Leica CL!

Heh, thats why I think it would make for a lovely (+funny) photo. The only minox cameras I have seen are the leica copies that always looked pretty cool to me.

 

[Stephen G]

No Minox for me...was admiring it at the most recent camera show, but my wallet said Minolta 16, so I walked out with a submini..just not a Minox. My results have been very mixed so far..still in the gear exploration/experimentation phase with the Minolta before it goes into working rotation.

 

[thmk]

I have a Minox MX but the first film is not finished, yet... since nearly 2 years. I do not have a darkroom for printing and the commercial labs are a bit expensive. Probably I will never use it again. Anyone interested? Comes with flash, ND filter and manual for 50 Euro plus shipping.

 

[o0dano0o]

I've been messing around with a minolta 16qt for a few weeks.

Here are some images I took in London last week:
http://www.pbase.com/dsquires/london_2005_16mm

 

[FrankS]

This "camera" is so small, it's freaky. It's almost not real.

 

[FrankS]

Here's a picture of the whole kit and kaboodle.

A bit weird that I had these accessories, isn't it?

 

[Tim]

Tim, have you got any negatives or prints scanned to post? I have no idea what to expect.

Frank, I do have somewhere. Although they are not the best scans, I scanned some of the negs using the film holder in my Nikon Coolscan - and the neg wasn't totally flat. I have some prints round here somewhere too - if I can find them I'll scan one of them in.

What you can expect from a Minox is surprisingly good - they actually have one of the highest resolving lenses ev er fitted to a camera. Yes, even better than Leica or Zeiss optics. It's easier to do on a small scale..... And the film plane is curved, too, to get the absolute best resolution. All in all they are an amazing piece of technology, the quality and workmanship of the cameras is superb. There's still a version available new, the Minox LX? I think? Bloody expensive though........

You can get a decent 4x5 print out of a Minox neg. Not really much bigger tho. But considering the fact that it fits in a pocket, then it allows you to effortlessly carry a camera all the time - which is what Walter Zapp was getting at.

Yours looks nice, even got the case and meaauring chain! They quite often are missing that, the chain gets lost and the case falls apart. Never saw the point of all the accessories (at least from a practical point of view), seems to me to defeat the point of the camera.

Lemme go hunting thru boxes of negs and prints.......

 

[FrankS]

Tim, have you devleoped your own B+W film? Can this be done without the dedicated Minox film developing tank?

 

[back alley]

my name is bond, frank bond.

looks cool frank, very spy looking.

joe

 

[Tim]

Tim, have you devleoped your own B+W film? Can this be done without the dedicated Minox film developing tank?

Frank...

Yes. Dunno. But I guess while technically possible it would be quite difficult - how you going to spool that little film? unless you could get a spool for super-8 or something.
I mean, anything's possible, but I suspect it would not be easy.

Still looking for those negs and prints. They're here somewhere - but then, so is half the junk of the Western World!

Joe, joking aside, Minox's were used for espionage......

 

[thmk]

There is a modified JOBO spool available at several dealers here in Germany. Price is 29,95 Euro (e.g. here: http://www.8x11film.com/spur/navengl.html). www.fotoimpex.de is another source for it. There has also been a thread about dealers for Minox accessories here: http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=003HAv
I never tried this spool. The best solution is probably the Minox Daylight Development Tank, but it is hard to find and really expensive. I saw one for 119 Euro.

Edit: Just found out that JandC sells the spool for 49,90 US$ (http://www.jandcphoto.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=80)

 

[FrankS]

my name is bond, frank bond.

joe

Joe: Sounds better than Duane!


For developing, I've been thinking about using a tube or pipe with a diameter large enough for the film to be suspended vertically with a weight at the bottom of the film. There would be a light-tight baffle at either end, with a stopper or valve at the bottom, so the set-up could be used like the daylight development tank. The tube/pipe needs to be about 20 inches long to accommodate the length of 36 esposures on the film. A tube/pipe with too large a diameter would be wasteful of chemistry so finding the right diameter is important. I'm thinking 1/2 or 3/4 " plumbing water pipe in copper or PCV.

Remember, you heard it here first, and if anyone goes on to patent this idea, I want a piece of the action.

 

[Tim]

Found some shots, taken with outdated print film.......
This is the 8 x 11 neg scanned, then reduced to approx 800 x 600 and cut to medium quality. This shot is a bit washed out (entirely my fault) but you can get some idea of what these things are capable of. Maybe not Leica quality, but for the size, not bad, not bad at all.
Frank, if you PM me with your email address I'll send you the 2900dpi scan of this neg (it's 1.2mb)

 

[FrankS]

Pretty good. Thanks, Tim. It's franksbmw @ hotmail.com (remove the spaces)