Everyone should get a Minox Camera

The pen and the dust on the camera are there for scale….

The Minox camera is very interesting. A while back; if you were caught carrying one you were assumed to be a spy. Because you probably were. The camera model above even made an appearance in a Bond film. In “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” James is seen using one to take clandestine shots to a background of suitably tense music. The chain attached to the camera has little lumps in it (you can see them above) which correspond to distance settings on the super sharp lens. One of the lumps is pre-set to take perfectly focused pictures of A4 documents if you hold the camera that distance from the page. However, you can also use the camera to take pictures of less secret things and they come out surprisingly well. I’ve just added a Minox to my camera collection because I’ve always fancied one and I look great in a tuxedo.

Minox cameras first appeared in the 1930s and continued to be made up until just after the turn of the century. The Minox B (the one above) has a mechanical shutter and a little light meter you can use to set the exposure. Later ones had battery powered meters and shutters. It might look a very exclusive and expensive thing, but you can pick the cameras up quite cheaply because they were made over many years and there are lots about. Taking pictures is fun, you open and close the camera to wind the film on, and the shutter makes a very satisfying whirring sound when you press the tiny release button.

The camera takes tiny pictures onto film loaded into a cartridge that fits inside. My camera came with a roll of 20 year old film which I took out on Sunday to take some shots. Every single one came out completely black, which I hope is a comment on the age of the film and not on the camera or my technique. To process the pictures I printed a spiral film holder for use in my developing tank at home.

I also printed a piece of “test film” that I could use to practice loading the spiral

Minox film isn’t made any more. But there are folks out there who are refilling cartridges and selling them. I’ve ordered a bunch of films from here. They also do processing and scanning if you just want to live out your spy dreams and not spend any time in the darkroom.

I really like the camera. I find the whole design ethic and the way it is used very pleasing. You get the impression that the designer (a chap with the wonderful name of Walter Zapp) thought extremely hard about the best way of doing everything when he set out to make it. I know that the pictures it makes will not be super high quality (even when I manage to get some that come out) and I’ll have to set the exposure and focus myself. But that adds to the appeal to me. The shots will be plenty good enough for small prints and screen viewing. There is a huge range of accessories available, including an awesome home developing tank and a lovely little tripod.

If you like owning devices that are just nice to have around, actually do something and have a properly interesting history you should try to find a way to get yourself a Minox. If you shop around it won’t cost you much more than a triple A video game and I think you’ll find it very pleasing. One tip if you do decide to splash out: the selenium light meters in the B model degrade, particularly if the camera has spent a lot of time in the light. So if you are making a purchase you should make sure that you have a working one.