mike_s10

<p>Yes, as the other posters have said, it's a Minox Riga, yes it's collectible, as are the other components.<br>

However, it's a camera, it was made to take photo's, unless you want the money it would fetch, (search previous eBay auctions to see the average market price), then load up the film, take it out and use and enjoy it.<br>

I own and have previously owned several collectible cameras, each and every one is and was used, it's waht they're made for.<br>

As for the film, it'll not be worth much less once exposed to sell the cassette and tin, these are the things a collector looks for, it could even be re-spooled once developed if you wish.<br>

You could rig up a template to scan your negatives, i do with my Konica Minolta scanner and have had some success scanning strips on my flatbed also.<br>

Check out this site for submini info, you'll be able to check production dates and model info.<br>

http://www.submin.com/<br>

Please do your camera a favour and sell it to someone who might get some pleasure in using it or use it yourself, don't let it sit on a shelf gathering dust.</p>

<p>http://www.submin.com/8x11/collection/minox/minox_serial.htm</p>

<p>This should have the info you require, don't be dissapointed if it doesn't fit as many many of the submini's have been later anodised / coloured for personal aesthetic reasons and resale reasons too, (just like the countless Zorki's which have been Leica'd), the difference is it's still a Minox<br>

No note of a black IIIs, not noted until the B in 62 although the IIIs was still in production until 63-ish</p>

<p>Nice, thanks for sharing them.<br>

Do you have pictures of the camera? it's not a model i'm familiar with</p>

<p>I'm always astounded by the clarity and sharpness from the fabulous minotar lens.<br>

Lovely pictures in a difficult situation and very good control of grain.<br>

Thanks for sharing them.</p>

Most people slate the size of the 350D, 400D, 450D or whatever you odd colonials call them over there.

However, i've had the 350 and 400 and size wise for a regular carry around they are just fine, trust me the 20D, 30D, 40D do get quite hefty after a while, i personally prefer the build of the XXD series but then I previously shot with an EOS1, (which I still use), no reason you can't with yours.

Lens - if it's the 50mm f1.8 MKII, they cost £80 new, don't count on a big chunk from Ebay, they're plentiful new on there as well as cheap second hand, if the MKI (metal mount), it'll fetch more, i'd say, keep it, use it, it's an astounding lens and by far the best value for money lens I have ever owned of any camera, this is great for informal portraits on a crop or full frame.

If it's the f1.2 (can't imagine so at the price), and you don't need it, sell it it'll fetch a decent price as it's horrendously expensive new.

Buying second hand, well, like used cars it's hit and miss, if you don't trust yourself or a friend to spot a good one don't risk it.

One final note that may well ont help you, I still prefer the look of Ilfords FP4 and HP5 for anything i'm shooting in B&W over digital, even with PS work.

So tempting after reading the title to say get them to stand in a line and use a high powered hunting rifle with full metal jacket bullets, but that would be childish wouldn't it.

I would recommend googling and printing some samples of family portraits, take them to the family and ask them what they want to see, what you like may not be what they like and vice versa.

I've seen people gush over shots I would frankly be embarrassed to call my own and then i've seen images which are very interesting only to be rubbished because presumably they were 'not formulaic'?

Discuss with samples in advance, make sure everyone is comfortable with the final ideas and treat it like fun, take lots of shots, bracket if shooting jpeg, don't stress over the technical stuff and you'll be guaranteed to have some winning shots.

If you'd be happy to pay air fare from Scotland to Toronto i'll sbout out some locations for you :)

You will need to connect your card to the PC, so yes, a card reader is essential, they cost such a small amount any serious photographer should have one solely for the time saved in file transfer.

Google file recovery, some are free completely, some are free trial and you have to purchase to retrieve the 'retrieved' data etc etc

The one thing that will bugger it all up is if you've recorded any info to the the formatted card since the format in camera.

i.e. if you've taken one pic that can destroy the underlying data to a non recoverable status, however, there are no guarantees even if not, Hope you succesfully recover them

The first response is unjustified, I understand what you're saying, as a mechanic of longstanding I can say with certainty if you don't have (at least) the confidence in yourself and your skills don't touch it.

Do bear in mind you're paying someone with the experience to dissassemble a lens and tighten a screw then put it back together again so it looks fine and works, if it were simply tightening a screw that you could do yourself.

You're also guaranteeing you won't wind up with a piece of trash afterwards, if they damage it they repair or replace it.

Options as I see are

1. Take to a store and get a definitive quote or very near ballpark figure, decide if worth the fix or replace with another form Ebay or store bought?

2. is the unit still warrantied? if so problem solved, it gets fixed free, (in the UK we have a thing called the sale of goods act which covers your rights as a purchaser and seller and does not necessarily tie in the same as a 12 month warranty, I assume in the US you have something similar, seek advice and see if this can help)

3. Try to find a keen amateur or someone who has stripped a lens before to do it for you, prepare to wind up with a more useless lens than you already have or a pile of tubes, glass and electronics, if it happens you'll be less dissapointed.

Finally, if shooting something important look at hiring a decent quality equivalent spec lens and if you like it weigh up the cost of upgrading against the shoots and pay you're getting, (assuming this is a paid shoot?)

Hope this helps.

You can use manual exposure over the A setting of the C but it is limited overall to the A and B series.

However the important hting is that the shutter is still electronically controlled so if theres no power or a feed problem you cannot use the camera regardless of where it's set as the elctronic innards tell the curtains how and when to fire rather than the clockwork mechanism found in earlier models.

Unless you are adept at tiny circuitry i wouldn't touch the innards myself.

With a new battery in pushing the lever (forward or back I don't recall which) should light the top LED, this works as a battery check.

It might be worth your while picking up a cheaper Minox EC and using just to see if you get the bug, if so then go ahead and get the C CLA'd and fixed.

Although my favourite is my IIIs with the B a close second I have an EC which I use purely as it's so simple, small, light, unobtrusive and takes great pics best of all they can be had of Ebay etc for peanuts.

It's a sort of hi (high) key type shot, not pushed as far as some.

Google hi key for various online tutorials

Another addition.

If you truly and seriously want a Minox to shoot with work on the principal that you will have a CLA done and factor this into the cost, I think it was about 200 GBP last I checked.

If you simply want to try one get a cheapie and see how it goes

Allegedly the newer ones are more reliable, personally i've had a variety of old and new(er) GT, ML(my fave and still not a good one) etc and they all had shutter issues to a lesser or greater degree.

Simple fact is these cameras like many others dislike being neglected and shoved in a drawer, if they're not used they get dust inside which causes electromagnet probs and so on, battery conductivity decreases if stored with batteries in as is common.

Having decided to not bother, ( kept one GT which work more often than it errors because I love the clarity of the lens), I decided to give the much lauded Oly XA a bash, I've had 5 or 6, metering is often erratic and cannot be entirely trusted, closest in metering I kept, but regardless of what XA users say and one on here in particular who is a big fan of all the Minox's and XA cameras I've used the lens is not a patch on the Minotar, they all blow the XA away in clarity and sharpness, note this is subjective but in my experience and side by side comparison that's the way things go.

Long and short, I rarely use either now and use a digi compact instead unless i'm out with my A or B.

For a carry round all purpose the XA is great, watch for metering innaccuracies and foam deterioration, I got one fom Ebay which was allegedly 'excellent' and the seller turned very nasty when I queried the knackered foam and 3 stop innaccurate meter.

So to stop waffling I think they're much of a muchness, ironically if you can find a more regularly used Minox you'll likely get a good one, my GT has battle scars but works far better than any 'clean' camera i've had.

If you can swallow the hefty CLA price Minox charge, (very good guarantee though), you'll be guaranteed a good working camera for the next two years at least, use it like it was meant to be and even longer and the pictures you get will be reward enough.

The very first thing to check is the battery compartment, if theres corrosion you have problems, as this will have started creeping inside the camera electronics, the C onwards use electronically controlled shutters, (one reason I much prefer the A and B series).

If it's clean, (never ever store anything electronic with the battery, get used ton removing it if you even suspect you might leave in the cupboard for any length of time), get a new battery or Minox adapter tube and 4 (LR44?) button batteries, if the lights still don't work all may not be lost, check the shutter, point it at a bright light in A mode, high ISO rating, it should flick open and closed too quickly to see, then cover the photocell window at the front and do the same, it should flick open and hold for a few seconds before the second shutter blade closes.#

This at least would indicate it's doing the right thing, the LED's can fail and presumably are too costly or problematic to replace as many 'specialists' sell them with non working LED's.

If the shutter misbehaves then a service or CLA is required, if the terminals are furry likewise.

Additionally if you explain in further detail what your images look like possibly scan and post a couple then some of the Minoxers here may be able to further diagnose your minox malady

Cheers,

Mike

How big are the bride and groom?

Supersize wedding perhaps?

Only possibilities are

1. Dark slide not fully removed

2. Lens cap on, (don't laugh, it happens more often than you'd credit)

3. Shutter not firing correctly, (is the RB shutter mechanical or electronic? can't recall I sold mine years ago)

4. shutter failure, (happened on my Bronica ETRS, was getting the same thing and thought I was at fault by not removing the darkslide but the problem got gradually worse)

Shoot a couple of rolls with everything checked, darkslide out etc and have them dev'ed and see, if the problem re-occurs get it serviced ASAP

Paul Ron,

There are a couple issues to address first before tossing it the trash.

 

I didn't mention throwing it away!

 

What prism finder are you using? The newer prism ahs a light meter that adjusts the exposure, the older non-metered has no effect on your camera.

 

I'm not, it's an unmetered WLF!

 

Also there is the fact you don't use it much anymore... oxidation? Contacts on teh lens can be dirty and will need a bit of toutching up with a pencil eraser. Also do the battery contacts sicne your old battery may have been leaking to cause enough oxidaation to make poor contsct on the new battery.

 

As in OP, I've cleaned everything visible and the battery tray is spotless as I always store battery cameras sans battery when I store them.

 

Besides all that and still the fact you don't use it... it may be lazy form storage. THis is a professioanl camera, not some old K-car junker. You're driving a Ferrari that needs to be taken on the open road every so often or it will die of lonelyness.

 

So yeah go digital and insult your old camera s, then expect em to preform like they were new?

 

 

No! I never stated That I insulted or mistreated my camera or thought of it in a lesser way than anything else, it was working perfectly before storage, (in a clean dry consistently tempered environment sans battery), It's an 'old' camera and no, I don't expect it to perform like a new one, are you maybe suggesting that it got upset as I use digital day to day?

 

What i would expect however, is a response which doesn't presume contempt or ignorance of the subject in hand, doesn't have clearly insulting overtones and for preference actually answers the question I put forward, allow me to put it in laymans terms that you might better understand.

I want to repair my camera!

I don't use it enough to justify an expensive repair bill!

I am quite competent mechanically with stripping, cleaning servicing and rebuilding cameras, (I worked on watches as a hobby and have worked professionally as a mechanic for many years), I have stripped and performed minor repairs on other manual cameras.

Ergo, I wish to effect servicing and repair myself!

I have no intention of throwing my perfectly nice ETRS in the rubbish receptacle anytime soon.

So if anyone has a link or information to anyone with experience of assembly / servicing and diagrams I'd be very grateful.

Paul Ron, I'd appreciate if you didn't respond as clearly your interest does not lay in helping photographers.

[end quote]

 

Jeff, thanks for the response, the lens / shutter did occur to me but cheap as the lenses are they are still not that cheap if the fault lies elsewhere, also as stated the mirror seems to be faulty and not flipping clear, i'm suspecting something worn internally rather than a lens shutter issue as they tend to be quite robust and mine has been very well cared for in use, I also considered the darkslide as a candidate, after the first roll I shot a second with the darkslide in the bag hoping that the first instance was my own error in leaving the darkslide partway in, unfortunately it wasn't.

 

Cheers

Step 1:

Use an old minox 36exp roll to measure length, if you want to get techy then get a board with indents that show you teh cutting range for different exposures or a guillotine type assembly as I've seen some minox users utilise.

Step 2:

Darkroom / cupboard etc

Wear cotton gloves, (can be gotten from chemist), Tightly spool the cut strip between thumb and forefinger of one hand and wrapping with the other, place this into the spool-less side of the snap lid cassette you have waiting threading the loose end 0.5inch-ish into the felt light trap so that it protrudes toward the other spool, snap the lid on, turn on the lights, stop sweating, have a cuppa etc, (it gets easier and less panic stricken each time)

Step 3:

In the light, unsnap the spool side, tape the loose end of the film to the spool with scotch tape, (I use this for all my bulk load, it sticks well and removes easily and cleanly), thread the film through the felt trap again and replace the snap on lid, done.

Load into the camera and enjoy.

n.b. if this is a new slitter i'd heartily recommend sacrificing a strip by dragging it through by hand after step 2, this ensures that it rolls through evenly and cleanly, my first home made slitter didn't and jammed on me halfway through a roll whilst out.

Aahh,

Looking at the link, (i knew the name rang a bell), these are a people I got my film slitters for the minox from.

At least i know they're good and reliable

It is a Minolta 16, I used the term Minox clone for people unfamiliar with them so that they would be aware that the camera and cassette design followed the same guidelines, i'm a longstanding Minox user having owned and used most of the 8mm subminis from EC to LX.

I have several Minox cassettes with clips for reusability so it seems i'll be right at home with the 16mm versions, thanks for the name.

Mike

I have a rarely used ETRS, (which used to be regularly used in an amateur capacity until I went back to SLR's

with digital).

I was recently given some PanF and decided to dust it off and take some landscapes, I noticed on shooting that

often the shutter sound waasn't right and when developed there were several blank frames, I exchanged the

battery, (although the shutter seemed not to be firing correctly anyway), and this had no effect and having

cleaned as much as is visible it has not helped.

The shutter seems to not fire correctly and after several test fires it seems the mirror has given up the ghost also.

Does anyone have any ideas on the cause / issue and can anyone point me in the direction of an exloded parts view

or assembly instructions.

I'm quite competent with the dissambly and reassembly of old mechanical cameras, before anyone throws a panic

response, Praktica, Zenit, Zorki etc and much as I like this camera I don't use it enough to spend a fortune on

professional repair especially when another can be had on Ebay for little, (comparitively speaking)

Thanks,

Mike

I use both and have flown with the 200 as carry on.

I used the 200 due to weight issues as the 300 encourages filling to capacity and it gets very uncomfortable, The 300 really needs a (detachable) secondary strap whn fully loaded and travelling and walking would quickly become intolerable.

The 200 carries body + 17-40 f4L, 90mm macro, 70-200 f2.8 and 500 flash + charger, batteries, filters etc and this was just tolerable, on it's second use however I took the 70-200 lens case in the suitcase and used this fastened to my belt to carry the big lens relieving a bit of pressure on my back.

aside from this the 200 stowed under seat nicely and the 300 should do too but a bit of a squeeze on some planes, as for carry on it should sail through the size requirements, if unsure check the flight operators website they should have a requirements page telling the size requirements.

I recently, (being an avid Minox user and enthusiast) acquired a 16mm Minox clone, much rougher and readier but I

still want to use and try it.

Any ideas where I can get decent quality cassettes for self loading or pre loaded?

Exactly the same with the EOS1, the camera is set up with the facility to reposiition the film as near as exactly.

I've had a very very slight shift once during the time that I have changed rolls mid shoot. This was to the effect of leaving a tiny gap wider between negs.

Make sure that you enable the CF to leave film leader out, using a retreiver is easy but repeated use can scratch the first portion of the film.

I received a lovely clean Minox LX today and as soon as i've prepped another

cassette intend to get out and take some test shots.

I have about three rolls still to process.

I think you could say i've really gotten the submini bug by now.

Will try and get the B, C and LX rolls processed soon and get some scans on here.

Cheers,

Mike

I take it you do have a bulk loader, a watson or similar?

Basically as per the 1st response, you'll have a tin which is taped closed, inside is a light tight bag, inside which is the reel, familiarise yourself with the loader and it's instructions if you have any before you go into the darkroom to load it, don't remove the holding tape on the film reel until you are just about to put it into the loader, make sure that it's all laid out in easy to find order before shutting the light off.

Once loaded you can load the film canisters in daylight although I prefer to do mine in the darkroom as an added precation.

Mike