Re: Minilux

[Godfrey DiGiorgi <ramarren@apple.com>]

>Michael R. Friedberg:
>fconley asked about experiences with the Minilux, While I haven't tried the
>new black model, I did treat myself to the regular Titanium one for Xmas and
>thought I would share my experiences with the group.
[ snip ... many interesting observations about the Minilux 
           and its competitors ]

I owned a Nikon 35Ti for a couple of years. While it took many excellent
images for me, I ultimately found its controls to be incredibly 
frustrating
and too easy to forget how to use correctly. The AF capabilities of 
the Nikon are supposedly very precise, but I found them to be very finicky
as well and very easy to fool, so I used the scale focusing feature a lot.
The lens results are prototypically Nikon in color and contrast, very 
different from the balance of Leica lenses, so if you love one you'll 
likely be turned off by the other.

After getting too frustrated with the Nikon, I sold it and went for a
Rollei 35 Classic which returns me much better results. However, I 
missed the automation and manual overrides of the 35Ti for some purposes,
and the Leica Minizoom (which takes an excellent picture) just doesn't
have enough control of focus and aperture to really satisfy me.

So I considered again these luxo P&S cameras and made my decision just
after xmas ... the Minilux was high on the list but didn't make the cut
due to the inability to carry a filter for my B&W photography. I decided
that the Contax TVS was about the best alternative candidate for me, 
bought
one and have now put three rolls of film through it. I'm very happy I did
so, even though it was a somewhat expensive purchase. I bought mine in 
mint condition, used, from Tamarkin for $950, which is about $250 off the 
new price, and a couple hundred more than the Minilux on special sale.
Contax also offers a matched lenshood, filters, a semi hard case and 
an accessory flash bracket with built in slave trigger which are very 
well 
thought out and of the highest quality. Worth it in my estimation.

The two biggest things that seperate the TVS from the Minilux are the 
ability to use the autofocus confirmation signals when manually focusing 
the camera and the ability to use 30.5mm filters (same size as the 
Rollei 35s, by the way, a happy accident). There are a couple of other
nice details that are very handy as well, and the only downside that
I've found so far is to be expected: the relatively slow speed of the
lens means that I tend to use my monopod more when I'm street shooting 
with the flash turned off (a settable default) and I tend to use higher
speed film.

It seems to me that if lens speed is a major criteria for you, the 
fixed focal length Minilux or Contax T2 are probably the two top 
competitors. The Contax T2 again has focus confirmation on manual
focus, a very nice feature, and I'm undecided which one has the better
control layout with regard to the aperture control. 

I don't think any of this class of camera has any significant lens flaw
to worry about. Nikon 28/35Ti, Minolta TC-1, Contax T2/TVS, Leica Minilux,
Konica Hexar and the new Ricoh GR-1 all have excellent optics. Different,
yes, but all will take an excellent picture. Most of my picture taking
finds me happier with a 35-40mm lens, but I have found several very good
uses for the 28mm end of the TVS range now, likewise for the 56mm end. 

The Rollei 35 Classic is indeed a currently available new camera but the
price is hideously high even compared with any of the above, and it's a 
completely manual, mechanical camera so it's not directly comparable 
with them. It still my favorite 35mm camera, and I tend to carry both 
the Contax TVS and the Rollei 35 Classic with me when I travel, they
complement each other well. 

I hope this information provides some more insight to people looking at
a Minilux so they can decide for themself which is more suitable to their
needs and desires. I have no real bias in which one of these cameras is
better or worse, they're all darn good, so it's more a matter of which one
fits your usage and ideas best.

Godfrey