Minox 35mm any good?

[GoodOldNorm]

Whats the story with Minox 35mm cameras? I have done a little research online, some people say they are unreliable, constructed of fragile plastic etc., others say great lens, no flash and shutters that are liable to fail. I would like to hear from anyone who has one of these cameras.Which model is the most desirable? I keep seeing them for sale on evilbay and if I could get one for less than £30 I may risk a punt.

[Collas]

The late Vic Blackman used to rave about them in the AP of the early 1980s. Small, pocketable and with excellent lenses. The Rollei 35 was also in a similar vein.

Nick

[ymgandy]

Super little cameras, excellent lens & mine which has been used over about 12 years has never faltered. The small platform that the lens opens onto makes an excellent sunshade when the camera is turned upside down.

[Luis]

I bought mine new (GT-S), 1998 or 2000 as very late. It saw a fair amount of action. Worked flawlessly till now, it still works ok but looks like now it need a bit of care showing some strange behaviors. good little cameras in any case. Early models were more fragile.

[pentaxpete]

I was GIVEN a Minox 35GT by a Gent a couple ofv years ago and the battery was the now-illegal 'Mercury' type but with help from several Photo Forums I found a company selling replacements and then a branch of 'Maplins' opened in Brentwood High Street and THEY had replacement battery -- mine had had NO faults so far -- I have done several 16x12" darkroom prints on Ilford Multigrade IV Glossy with outdated Ilford Delta 100 film and many C41 outdated films I processed myself which are on Flickr -- it is loaded at the moment with outdated C41 film In use for 'Candids' in Shopping Malls -- see my photos here on this link --- ( and I have a 35GT 'Album' here on FADU) so have a look please ---

https://www.flickr.com/search/?w=258...q=Minox%2035GT

[GeorgS]

I've used a 35ML for some years and really liked the lens and also the built-quality. This one was for sure not built out of cheap plastic, it felt much better than most consumer point-and-shoot-cameras.
Setting the aperture and distance required a bot attention, since everything is so close together on a camera of this size.
Btw, I've read somewhere that the 35ML was the camera with the fastest shutter-response, even MUCH faster than a Leica M6.
Georg

[B&W Neil]

I purchased one from a well respected Exeter camera dealer back in the 80s, it was a Minox GT IIRC. The lens was superb and it was a great little camera to carry around in your pocket. My example was in excellent condition and every thing worked apart fine from the occasional film transport problem. It went in for a warranty repair several times as I wanted to keep the camera but in the end the constant unreliability with the film transport system got to me and I asked for a refund.

Maybe I was unlucky?

I now pocket an Olympus XA if I want to carry something easy to put in a pocket. They are bullet proof but the light seals do often need replacing - this is an easy job.

Neil.