[Leica] Re: Lluis's Minox

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

Lluis,

A Minox is a delightful pocket pet, but if you like big images, don't  
abandon your Leica.

Using ASA25 film a Minox negative can be enlarged about 20x before  
the detail suffers. The slow film speed is practical because the  
Minox lens aperture is fixed at f3.5. Using much faster film in  
daylight leads to over exposure. Of course some users maintain that  
they can get far greater magnification in enlargements but I find  
that their assertions must be taken with a grain of salt.

Using normal film and developing and a Minox enlarger, I found that I  
could reliably produce decent quality 5 x 7 inch prints. Grain was  
obvious on 8 x 10 prints. Of course film is better now than it used  
to be so I suppose the larger size if possible if you use meticulous  
care. Some Leicaphiles claim that you can produce mural sized prints  
from a Leica negative too but I've never been able to get a decent  
print larger than 16 x 20 with my typical newspaper honed darkroom  
technique.

Minox used to claim that critical sharpness could be obtained in a  
Minox print of ANY size provided it was viewed from the appropriate  
distance. At photo shows Minox often displayed 3 x 4 foot prints  
enlarged from the tiny negative. The catch was that the prints had to  
be viewed from behind a velvet rope placed 6 feet from the wall.

Larry Z