is Minox B with a complan F3.5 lens a good camera?

Hi Martin , and everyone else that's had/used this camera,

 

I'm also interested in the type of film this camera uses,and if it's

really difficult to find nowadays? if not , where and how much for a

cartridge of B&W (tri x) ? color 400 asa? i know of professional

labs here in Hk that'll process/develop these miniature negs.

 

is it a robust camera? i know it's tiny, is this an old

model? TIA , paul c.

paul, Minox B with complan f3.5 is an excellent camera, infact, complan 15mm/f3.5 is sharper then the Minox 15mm/f3.5 lens of later

models.<p>

 

Minox B is an all mechanical high precision and robust camera.<p>

 

You can buy Minopan 25, Minopan 100 and Minopan 400,

Minocolor 100, Minocolor Pro 100 etc. (The Minopan film is actually

Agfa APX film.

"<cite>Minox B is an all mechanical high precision and robust camera.</cite>"

<P>

What are not robust are the light meter cells. Many of the cameras on the used market have been stored outside of their cases and so meters no longer correctly function. The community has yet to find a widespread solution to fix these.

<P>

"<cite>You can buy Minopan 25, Minopan 100 and Minopan 400, Minocolor 100, Minocolor Pro 100 etc. (The Minopan film is actually Agfa APX film.</cite>"

<P>

The film market in Europe and North America has been greatly expanded over the past year and now includes (in addtion to those):

<UL>

<LI>Ilford Delta 100

<LI>Kodak TMY (TMax 400 Professional)

<LI>Agfa Copex

<LI>Kodak Imagelink HQ

<LI>Agfachrome RSX II colour reveral (Slide film) [NEW]

</UL>

Made in a joint venture by MINOX GmbH and <A HREF="http://www.8x11film.com/">8x11film.com</A>. They are available directly from <A HREF="http://www.8x11film.com/">8x11film.com</A> and selected dealers throughout Europe and North America (J&C/FotoImpex USA).

<P>

And exclusive to J&C/FotoImpex (Germany and US) some new Adox KB-14 films are right now en route to their shelves..

<P>

There has <STRONG><U>NEVER</U></STRONG> been as large a selection of quality MINOX factory loaded films as there are today!

I love my Minox B. Luckily, whoever owned it before me kept it in the leather case, so the

meter is still accurate (almost as accurate as my EOS-1n). It's hit or miss sometimes, but

you could ask the seller to check it for you.

 

The Complan is perhaps the sharpest lens ever built into a camera sold to consumers. The

tiny negatives need it. I shoot mostly with 400 speed B&W film, buy would love to run

some Velvia through it just for kicks.

 

Martin: Have you used Velvia in your Minox? If so, I would love to see an example.

The only thing I would add to the above is that it is a small, small camera. Untill you get used to using something that small keep the chain attached to your clothing or wrap it around your wrist. There are many Minox's out there with dings and dents attesting to how easy it is to knock one out of your pocket.

Andrew, I never shoot any color film nor slide in my small cameras, ie, Minox 8x11 and Wirgin Edixa 16, because no one process them in Toronto. I shoot color/slide with my Minox 35ML, which is only twice as heavy as Minox TLX, but offers several times the film area, I can take the film to local labs and get prints back in one hour, it is a good deal.

Shooting B&W in Minox 35 is another story, no local lab process conventional silver based B&W; special labs in Toronto do process B&W, but at higher cost and one week to ten days turn around; so I much prefer to shoot B&W in my Minox IIIs/B/C/TLX, Wirgin Edixa 16, Leica IIIc, develop myself and can get prints within one hour

how much should this little Minox B in EX+ condition cost?

 

i mean , in your opinion, what price range should this Minox B w/ Complan F3.5 15mm lens,working meter,in top shape , be? US$ 100-200?

 

thanks again , pc

paul, it is in that range. You may also check out http://www.swssec.com, they sell CLAed Minox.

"<cite>how much should this little Minox B in EX+ condition cost?</cite>"

<P>

Depends upon from where and with what modalities but the prices have dropped significantly within the past few years and has reached new lows. In today's market $100 USD for a used B is towards the high side. The price seems to be converging in the mean for a good clean B to the $50 USD ballpark with some special rare versions or, of course, those in mint collectors condition with originally packaging etc. demanding higher prices-- to significantly more. In this grand sell-out of photography and "<cite>haul the darkroom to the trash</cite>" the market for nearly all photographia including status symbols of by-gone eras in the brand of MINOX, Leitz, Hasselblad etc. have found their shares dropping like stones tossed from a bridge into the ocean.. and whatever little buoyancy in eBay prices seems to be driven by speculative demand to feed East Asian markets, especially PR China, Japan and South Korea....

ok , thanks again, just wanted to have an idea . pc