When the Minox 35 EL was
introduced several years ago, it quickly became a rather popular camera,
primarily because of its small size. Part
of this was due to the lens which could be totally retracted into the camera,
including a hinged cover which could also functioned as a lens shade when the camera was help upside down.
It was never confirmed, but
this principle looks very much like the Leica H prototype from several years
prior to the introduction of the Minox.
Rumors were that the Minox was actually designed by Leitz. But they never marketed the camera and the
design was turned over to Minox. Nothing
official has ever been made public about this rumor.
The Minox was a very capable
camera, however, it had the disadvantage of having no manual operation other
than manipulating the film speed settings.
However, the camera could be converted to offer manual shutter
speeds. The work was done by DAG, the
custom repair shop of Don Goldberg in Wisconsin. Don is a service veteran with Minox and
Leica. He has worked at the Minox
factory in Giessen as well as at Leitz/Leica in Wetzlar. His excellent work has earned him a very good
reputation among Minox and Leica owners alike.
Don explained that
unfortunately, only the earlier Minox 35 EL cameras can be easily
converted. He felt that the later models
can be converted as well, but the different electronics in these cameras would
make the cost significantly higher.
Apparently the early ELs
shared much of their electronics with the Minox C, which did offer manual
shutter speeds. Taking advantage of that
heritage, it was possible to utilize the manual shutter speed circuitry of the
Minox C in order to equip the EL with the shutter speed dial of the Minox
C. With little modification, this can be
substituted for the rewind crank of the EL.
Operation is very simple. The shutter speed dial must be set at the
desired speed, and the aperture ring turned until the lightmeter needle points
to the selected speed. Only 1/1000 sec.
cannot be achieved, simply because the shutter of the EL is not capable of that
high a speed.
In order to facilitate film rewinding,
Don used the baseplate lock of a Leica M camera, which he installed in the
bottom of the EL back, thus adding a bit of Leica to the Minox. Any other rewind would have worked as well,
but he decided on the Leica part because of its easy availability at his
shop. There was also the advantage of
the rewind being almost flush with the camera base, thus avoiding an increase
in size of this small camera.
Don Goldberg can be contacted
at:
DAG Camera Repair Service
2128 Vintage Drive
Oregon WI 53575 USA
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You say Leitz never marketed the camera but perhaps you mean they didn't market it very well? When it first came out it was certainly advertised as a Leitz product. I bought mine in September 1979. The early ones had a fault with the "paint" which blistered, as mine did. It also started to double expose. I waited until the 12 month warranty was nearly up and took it back to the dealer (Vic Odden) in August 1978. According to the note I wrote at time "Leitz agreed to replace it in November 1978" ? I still have it and use it occasionally.
ReplyDeleteAre you talking about the Minox? It was introduced by Minox which, at the time, had no connection to Leitz at all. If, as you claim, the Minox was marketed as a Leitz product, I would like to see anything about that. I was in the camera retail business at that time. I have never seen anything at all that made any connection between Minox and Leitz, other than the rumors I wrote about in the article.
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