Picked up a Minox 35ML for under $20! Any advice?

[kdemas]

I was cruising through my local camera shop to snag a little film and I saw a cool litltle 35ML in their used case (with a case and manual). When I saw it was under $20 I snagged it for fun.

I got a battery today, popped it in and, viola, it seems to work like a charm. It's in EXC+ condition and I can hardly wait to run some film through it in the coming days.

If anyone uses one of these little buggers and has some helpful tips I would love to hear from you.

It's always fun to find a bargain!

Kent

PS- My sister has a little GT way back in the day so it was fun to find a photographic cousin.

 

[JoeFriday]

having owned one a few years back, my first advice is to put in really cheap film.. because even if it seems like it works, there's no guarantee. Run a couple rolls through it over a day or two just to test its reliability. If you got a good one, congrats. They're very fun cameras for street shooting!

 

[BTMarcais]

What Brett said. I went through a couple that ended up being basically unrepairable.
(and NO, you probably can't repair one yourself easily. don't ask how I know, but there's lots of tiny parts packed in there... :-/ )

But when they work...they're great. Sharp lens, tiny, and lots of fun!
I still like my Rollei 35 more, but the Minox ML was my 2nd favorite for the tiny 35's.

(oh, and fwiw, the repair guy we use @ lookingglass can usually fix'em if the camera's busted, just did one for one of the other employees.)

-Brian

 

[pvdhaar]

With the 35mm Minoxes, the click you hear when you press the shutter release is not the shutter. It's a release that allows you to advance to the next frame. The shutter is an electro-magnetical one that's completely inaudible.

You have to look through the lens to see whether the shutter really works. When it doesn't work, something that's quite common with older Minoxes, the shutter needs to be cleaned. Taking a Minox apart (like Brian already mentioned) requires some skill, it's easy to misplace parts or incorrectly re-assemble even if you keep notes along the way..

 

[kdemas]

Thanks for the tips guys, I appreciate it! I'll let you know how the test roll goes in a couple days.