[Leica] Minox - It don't get no respect.

[lrzeitlin at gmail.com (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

The Minox is a camera that gets very little respect except from subminiature
addicts. Among that group it is regarded as the Leica of tiny cameras. Not
too strange since Minox was, for a time, owned by Leica.


The Minox was invented in 1936 by Walter Zapp, a German living in Riga,
Latvia. That's the town my mother came from. Apparently their families were
friends since she spoke of him as "that crazy inventor." Zapp intended the
Minox to be the smallest practical camera, one that could be carried at all
times in a watch pocket. The design of the Minox closely emulated that of
the human eye. The focal length of the lens and the aperture (f3.5) are the
same. The film size, 8x11 mm, is about the size of the human retina and is
curved to minimize distortion. Industrial designers from Zapp's time on have
marveled at the cleverness and usability of the Minox packaging.
Unfortunately the format required too much care in processing to produce
acceptable results and the camera never gained much popularity with the
general public although it was certainly embraced by spy agencies the world
over.


I own four of these little marvels, including an original Riga stainless
steel model and a Minox B with its built in light meter. Film is getting
very hard to obtain and is very expensive. Most Minox owners slit their own
from wider film stock.


Despite the very small image size, acceptable results can be obtained if you
are careful. I carried one for years as a consultant and snapped pictures
of interesting or important scenes to refresh my memory. Few ever objected,
or even noticed that I was taking pictures. I guess that's why the spies
liked it.


Here are some random Minox pictures that were on my computer. I have many
more but scanning is a hassle. The pictures have all the dust marks of the
originals.

Me with my Minox (a recent photo)

<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Larry+Z+and+Minox.JPG.html>

Comparison of Minox III and Leica M3

<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Leica+M3+and+Minox.JPG.html>

Another Minox, Leica size comparison

<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Leica+M3+and+Minox+1.JPG.html>

One of the few Minox color pictures I ever took

<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Karen+in+the+rain.jpg.html>

A snap from one of my industrial consulting visits

<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Boxmaker.jpg.html>

Picture of wife and son from 46 years ago

<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Maggie+and+Mike_+1964.jpg.html>

Antique car show

<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Old+car+1.jpg.html>

<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Old+car+2.jpg.html>


I'll be the first to admit that these are not great pictures but they show
what can be done with a camera the size of a package of chewing gum.


Larry Z