Minox: The Lost Subminiature Leica?

[Connie7]

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This may be a somewhat lengthy post so apologies in advance but since joining I have only posted a few bewilderingly stupid questions which no doubt made many of you long-time experts throw your eyes to heaven. I have valued your advice on those dumb requests. I came to the forum when a colleague gave me a somewhat battered M6 and two wonderful lenses. I took some photographs, enrolled on the forum and was immediately introduced to the screw Leica. The first lockdown arrived, I was bored, had a little more disposable income since not travelling to work and it seemed as though overnight I had a desk covered in 11 screw cameras and a substantial number of both Leica and soviet lenses. I had also made some excellent connections both here and in recommended Leica outlets. I have thought long about why I prefer the screw cameras over the Ms and can only surmise that it is the connection with the mechanics of the object and the apparent simplicity of negotiating a complex process. Then there is the minimalist beauty of the cameras and the steady evolution which can be mapped by handling them. Such is that connection that I have realised I have no real interest in seeing the photographs I have taken and would be content to spend hours ‘taking’ images with no film in the cameras. Conversely, I will not buy a camera which does not, or cannot, take images. My other lifetime interests are mechanical watches and vintage motorcycles which of course indicates a pattern, making old mechanics live in a technologically immersed environment where nothing exists except in a digital simulation of the real.

 

Which brings me to the Minox. I was, over the last years since discovering this forum, continually drawn to the subminiature possibly because my first ever camera, bought from pocket money when 14, was a Pentax 110. I fell out with photography when at university, hating digital even though I ultimately taught media production in a university for many years. So the Minox called but, given my earlier point about not buying cameras which could not work, was not for purchase. But of course you know where this is going. I discovered that not only is the film available but that, thanks to Walter Zapp, it can be developed in daylight and even enlarged at home with the Minox enlarger which I have now of course also bought. Indeed I will confess to having managed to buy all that Minox had to offer, in their original boxes, (except of course the outlandish special editions which interest me not anyway) and have just placed a deposit on a very beautiful Riga. I have done this for a total price less than a decent used M camera and am completely absorbed in the genius of these small cameras for the people. I still wonder why this is but I am coming to the view that the Minox is the subminiature camera Leica did not make and that it is the connection between the object and the operator which is the key to all of our obsessions with these small objects of desire, a connection which transcends their operation, however, and allows us pleasure even when they sit idle on a shelf or desk. The only equivalent I can muster is Robert Pirsig’s philosophies on two-wheeled life in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and I hope to see some one from this forum write the equivalent tome for the camera; are you listening Willeica?. So finally a query: Is the Minox the lost subminiature Leica, or am I merely looking for a justification for more spending now that my Leica screw habit is under a modicum of control?

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[LocalHero1953]

I had almost forgotten about the Minox until the other day. A friend who knew my photographic interests asked me to look at a camera that belonged to her late husband, and tell her if it was worth keeping. It turned out to be a Minox and its flash. I couldn't identify which model on the spot, but subsequently I reckon it was a Minox B. As far as I could tell without running film through it, it was all in order. I advised her not to get rid of it casually.

Edited May 3, 2022 by LocalHero1953

[Rona!d]

Well, it´s a completely different thing.

These I shot with my Minox B and although the negative is pretty small, it´s capable for some nice prints (see attached camera vs print size)

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[prk60091]

I had so much fun with them...at one point in time I shot with all models  (my dad owned a mom & pop camera store) I had free reign of the used cameras.  

there was a black electric metering camera - I think it was a yashica atoron that was very sleek..

 

[edstock]

I just saw this post, and realize this may be a late posting, I'm going ahead. I purchased, last year, a Minox digital classic camera M3. It has a Minox Minoctar 10:3 mm digital lens. The top plate is engraved Ernst Leitz, Wetzlar. And of course it is made in China. The view finder is small but very clean and clear. Images are recorded on the internal memory, which is limited. The  USB port is located on the side.This was the last model Minox produced.

[spydrxx]

As a kid in the 1950-60s I was fascinated by the Minox "spy cameras", but never got one. My mother had a Goertz Minicord which I occasionally used. 35mm cameras became my passion and I had at one time a half frame Olympus Pen F, which had some critically sharp lenses to accompany it. I had seen the beautiful subminiature Tessina, but discovered it was a bit too fiddly for my tastes. Fast forward 45 years and I came across a much newer Minox model which took 35mm films, and experimented with it over a summer. By the time I could splurge on a 1960s Minox model B I decided that my cellphone which was always with me did a better job, so never experienced the old "spy camera" personally.  Long story short...I still admire the old Minoxes, but have lost the desire to own and use one. Your story made me laugh, because many of us get sucked into our favorite brands and models...and we inhabit these pages daily.😁

[Matlock]

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I have a few Minox cameras including a 1941 Riga 1 and a 2010 digital version, the DCS, which I can't recommend. The film versions are capable of very high quality photos. For a while Minox was handled by Leica.

[alan mcfall]

The Minox has a most interesting history. I too was long ago Zapp....ed  by the Minox bug, and now have 163 including all models and even a few gold ones. Also, every enlarger and projector from the Riga enlargers to the Hollyslide projector.  There are many other accessories to collect also, and repairmen you will get to know personally ( DAG, Minox Doc).  For those interested in the history and the cameras, I suggest the three books in the photo, by Young, Heckmann and Moses.

PS.  of course there are minox forums and other subminiture forums if you get that into them

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Edited May 3, 2022 by alan mcfall
more text

[Matlock]

The first and the last. Riga 1 1941 and DCS 2010. Leica CL with Vario-Elmar-R. (Sorry the DCS is out of focus. Quick grab shot)

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Edited May 4, 2022 by Matlock

[C. Bulon]

Had some problems with slide film in the Minox-C.
Because slide film is thinner than B&W film or color negative film, the Minox-C's friction wheel did not transport it reliably, resulting in partially overlapping photos.
To be on the safe side, after each shot I released a blank shot with the lens darkened by hand, which doubled the film costs.

[jaapv]

i like miniature cameras. I had a Pentax 110 set, lenses, flash, a nice box for the set,  in the far past and it was real fun. A bit like "honey, I shrunk your camera gear"  The results were not half bad either. 

[Ambro51]

The Jilona Midget Model III from 1954 uses 17.5mm roll film, has a 3 element Anastigmat, adjustable f stops and shutter speeds.    Pretty high quality and a chunky heavy little thing.  Quite good as an imagemaker......a shrunken Leica?

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[thrid]

I've always been fascinated by the Minox cameras. Little mechanical marvels.

When I was a kid there was talk of the German 'spy camera' that one of my uncles had liberated during the war, but it was buried somewhere in the attic, along with who knows what else. So, it became this mythological object and I used to day dream about what may be on the undeveloped film...

A few years ago I picked up a Minox LX, the developing tank and all important film slitter to cut 135 down to Minox 8x11.

I've shot TMAX 100 in mine and the results are unique. Obviously it's even smaller than half frame, but it has a unique look courtesy of the Minox lens.

8x11 is pretty close to Super16mm motion picture film and that can be projected in a movie theater. So, it is surprising to see just how big of an enlargement can be made. I think that originally the target was 5x7 prints, with 8x10 at the upper limit. Stocks like TMAX100 have probably raised the acceptable enlargement size considerably since the camera came out in the 1930's

There actually is a Minox 8x11 film holder for the Hasselblad X5 film scanner. I'm pretty sure someone supports 8x11 for camera scanning.
 

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Edited August 4, 2023 by thrid