Which Minox Camera Should You buy?
When someone wants to get into Minox photography the first question that comes up is, "which Minox should I buy?" Here is my answer:
Buy an EC. It is the smallest and lightest Minox camera ever made and is capable of taking fantastic photos (so long as your subject is between 4-18 feet). This is the only camera that you can truly say goes unnoticed in your pocket and pretty much epitomizes the whole Minox experience, but being an essentially auto-everything camera it is perfect for taking quick candid snapshots of your friends and family... and that is really what I think Minox is all about. This is probably the best starter Minox for most people. The downside is that it is fixed focus and has a relatively slow f5.6 lens.
Ok, seriously...
So you think the EC is too limiting and you want to do serious photography with your Minox, then which camera should you buy? The T/LX cameras are great shooters, but do not exude the Minox mystique shared by all the older cameras which carry on the 1930's styling of original Riga so I have less interest in them, but that is a choice that I have to leave up to you. The Riga and Minox II cameras are both too expensive for most people to consider buying as users, and further, the Riga's lens is not terribly sharp (a 3-element design) and in the Minox II the film scrapes across the rear lens element and often scratches you film. In my eyes, these features make both these cameras unsuitable as primary user cameras. This leaves the III/s, B, BL and C as your only options. Below I rank them in the order that I think they should be considered:
1. Minox BL, this is probably the ultimate Minox. It is essentially a Minox B with the addition of an accurate Gossen Cds meter similar to those found in the revered Rollei 35's. The only down side is that they routinely sell for $500-1000 (for these prices you can easily get a nice mint example group of a IIIs, B, C and an EC!). The BL's are fairly scarce since they were only produced for two years (1972-73) in a production run of less that 18,000 units total. The BL comes with the Minox lens and a ND filter only. I do not own a BL, but always have my eye out for a nice one that is inexpensively priced).
2. Minox B is probably the best choice as an all around shooter since they are plentiful and relatively cheap (about $150-200 for a really nice example). The B is equipped with a coupled selenium meter which, although not terribly accurate (they are slow and easily tricked), are usable for film speeds up to 400ASA. Although the addition of the meter meant that Minox had to grow the B in size from its predecessor, the IIIs, it is still nicely proportioned and quite comfortable to pocket. The downside to the B is the selenium meter. Many have gone dead already and it may be hard to find one that is still accurate. All selenium meters die with age, the average lasting about 30 years which means that the meters in all Minox B's are approaching the end of their useful lives (the B was produced between 1958-72). The good news is that in many cases the meters can be fixed or adjusted by an expert repairman like DAG or at Minox. The B is also the last Minox to be fitted with the famous Complan lens. It comes with built-in ND and green filters, the ND filter being automatically compensated for by the meter and a mark is provided for exposure adjustment for the green filter. The latest model B's have a honeycomb grid over the selenium cell as opposed to a straight grid, with the later style generally commanding a pricing premium.
3. Minox III/s, both the III and the IIIs are direct descendants from Walter Zapp's original vision of his remarkable camera, first expressed as the Minox Riga. When Zapp set out to design his revolutionary new camera he started with a small block of wood and carved it down until it felt comfortable in his hand. After setting the size he then came up with a workable design that fit in that allowable envelope, requiring proprietary film cassettes and non-standard film loads; a rather risky venture, but look how successful and long-lived it became! The Minox III and IIIs are both both fully mechanical cameras and thus are very reliable. The big difference between the III and IIIs is that the IIIs has a PC flash synch. The IIIs is also generally much cheaper on the used market since they are much more plentiful (~18,000 III's were produced compared to ~90,000 IIIs's). The III and early IIIs's come with built-in orange and green filters while the later IIIs's come with a ND and green filter. I personally love my IIIs.
4. Minox C, the Minox C is seriously large compared to the other Minox choices, so large in fact that pocketability really starts to become an issue. What the C has going for it is its automatically controlled shutter (historically, the first to be put in any camera). The pay-back for the large size is that the camera's Cds automatic metering system is very accurate. If you develop your own photos you will literally save hours in the darkroom developing film from the C over those from the IIIs (guess exposed) and to a lesser degree the B. The C comes equipped with the new computer designed Minox lens and a ND filter only. I do use my C a lot in spite of its awkward size.
Honorable mentions...
Ok, all the cameras above are made by Minox, are there any other makes? The answer is yes and the two that I feel should be given honorable mentions are the Yashica Atoron Electro and the Acmel MD. The Atoron Electro has electronic shutter contol and a focusing lens that is reported to be in the same league as the Minox cameras listed above. The fit and finish of the Atoron Electro is not up to Minox standards, but it is still nice and has the added feature of being a very affordable black "spy camera" (remember that any black Minox camera carries a premium price tag for collectors appeal). The Atoron Electo is also smaller than the Minox C and can often be found for less than $100 (a nice price for such a nice camera). The Acmel MD is a small black plastic camera from Japan which comes with a focusing f4.8 four element Tessar derived lens and an electronically controlled shutter. The overall fit and finish of the camera are a bit crude compared to the very slick EC (it feels cheap and has painted on numbers that will certainly wear off after moderate use), but with the focusing lens real results are reported to be on par or superior to those of the EC. My preference would be the EC, but I am also keeping my eyes open for a good deal on a MD.
One word of caution, Minox is marketing a low-end Acmel nameplated the Minox MX. In my opinion it should be completely avoided since it only has a fixed shutter speed of 1/125 (variable aperture of f3.8-11) and an inferior 3 element focusing lens and for all of this Minox charges you the same price that an Acmel MD can be had for. In my opinion, Minox chose to OEM this model Acmel instead of the MD because it feared cutting into EC sales.
How to pick a used Minox camera...
After you have decided on which model is right for you (only you can ultimately decide this), you will have to actually find one. Shutterbug is a good starting point as is www.ebay.com and other online sources (see www.subclub.org classifieds etc.). When you are ready to purchase make sure that you will be able to run a test roll of film through your new camera before committing to the sale (if you aren't set up to develop the film yourself be sure to have a MPL mailer ready from www.minoxlab.com). My best advice in this selection is to hold out for a camera that is as close to mint as possible, this is because a mint camera has probably not been abused at all (many Minox cameras just end up sitting in draws for years and years) and further, when your camera needs service (which all fine cameras do need at some point in time) you will have no hesitation investing this additional money into a camera that you are proud to carry. Other than the BL, near mint examples of all the Minox cameras listed above can be found for the price of an intermediate level modern point and shoot camera so in my mind they are quite a bargain.