Test Driving the Minox 35 GT

This beautiful camera turned up about a fortnight ago, and I decided I'd get a proper 6 volt battery for it instead of using a series of 1.5 volt button cells rolled up in cardboard with tinfoil plugs, as I've done in the past with my other Minox cameras. I could find only one local supplier of the 4LR43 cell I wanted, and the asking price made my hair stand on end, so I tracked down a supplier in the UK and landed one down here in New Zealand for about a quarter the price. I fitted the battery and the camera fired up perfectly, something of a relief as these little cameras commonly suffer from problems with the electronic shutters and the metering system. So, here it is, the Minox 35 GT, circa 1981.

 

Minox 35 GT

 

 

I have a couple of the slightly earlier Minox 35 ELs, and the GT is basically the same camera with minor improvements, the most useful being the addition of an exposure compensation "Backlight Button" that drops the shutter speed back one stop. Otherwise, the cameras are much the same; point and shoot cameras with zone focusing and aperture priority exposure with stepless shutter speeds ranging from 1/500th down to about 20 seconds, depending on the film speed. The meter switches on when the front is opened and the double-action film wind operated, and switches off when the shutter is tripped. It's incredibly light, being manufactured from Makrolon, a very tough reinforced plastic, and is literally palm-sized when folded. The 35mm Color-Minotar f/2.8 lens is four-element Tessar design and it's astonishingly good, on a par with many of my top 35mm SLR lenses. Nicely coated, very sharp and contrasty, it handles difficult lighting situations with aplomb.

 

I might try to put together a more comprehensive dossier on these fascinating little cameras at a later date, but for now I thought I'd post some samples from a test film I ran yesterday afternoon. There are no works of art, just my banal local subjects, but the camera turned in 24 faultless negatives of sublime quality, leaving me in my familiar Minox-induced state of satisfaction mixed with astonishment . The film was Ilford FP4 Plus, developed in PMK Pyro.

 

Courtyard

 

 

Bikes

 

 

Surf"s Up

 

 

Pallets

 

 

Cahoots

 

 

Wrought

 

 

Salon

 

 

Chrysler Valiant

 

Great shots with the Minox 35 GT. Sharp like the Olympus XA, but without the noticeable vignetting that the XA has. Thanks for sharing.

Great as usual. I have read that some Minox bodies were a little translucent, leading to fogged rolls of film. Have you ever encountered this?

Thanks, that's ANOTHER camera I'm lusting after!

 

Great shots as usual.

Great as usual. I have read that some Minox bodies were a little translucent, leading to fogged rolls of film. Have you ever encountered this?

No, I haven't noticed any such issues, Charles.

Thanks, nice work with it.

 

I have one of these, but I haven't been able to get it to work yet.

You say banal.... hardly!! Excellent work. You sure got a a lot out of the dated plymouth stationwagon.. Excelle** abuse of the glare I must say"" And surdfn' with a picnic basket! You Rock Rick D.

 

Please do more... my rolls are full of light leaks uneven spacing and torn sprocket holes ... I feel blessed when my roll is as you described above... It's been a bad summer in this regard for me... So you mentioned a combined Rollei 35 post... very cool!!

That Valiant looks a lot sportier than the American market Valiants that Plymouth sold. The American market ones often went with a small engine for better fuel economy for the thrifty motorist during a time that gasoline was still inexpensive. For some reason a lot of them were olive green. Hence the saying, "in front of every line of slow moving traffic is a little old lady driving an olive green Valiant." And yes, I've seen it. Now I liked the sportier Duster version of the car. Even with the small 318 V8 it had ample power.

I had one of these ages ago. Sharp lense, but no rangefinder so you have to guess to focus.

I have a Minox GT and a Minox 35ML