The
Minox 35 series was invented by the father of the original Minox
cameras, Walter Zapp, with the help of a designer, Prof. Richard
Fischer. They chose a new material for the body, fiber-reinfoced
Makrolon. At its launch in 1974 it became the world's smallest 135 film
camera, a title it kept until 1996 when the Minolta TC1 came out. The
series ended in 2002.
Karl-Heinz Lange, a camera engineer with close ties to Balda, was
involved in the development of the Minox 35, as Balda produced the shells and other parts for
Minox. For some Minox models they did the assembly as well, sometime
completely, sometimes partially.
The Minox GT was launched in 1981. It's fully manual. Its main features are:
35mm F2.8 lens, min. focus 0,9m Aperture
priority (2.8-16), electronic shutter, 30sec*.-1/500, speed indication
1-1/500 in the viewerfinder window *shorter with higher ISO.
There are reports that this model can make long exposures up to 30 min.
Size 100x61x31, Weight 200 gr. battery included 25-800 ISO, backlight compensation, self-timer, hot shoe, cable release socket
Front closed. Back side. Seen
from above. Rewind lever, self-timer and hot shoe, battery test button
and backlight switch, shutter button, cable release socket, exposure
counter. Seen from below. Film compartment opening lever, ISO setting, tripod socket, rewind unlock button. Camera
open, lens extended. Self-timer lamp, viewfinder and battery
compartment (1 PX 27 battery, to be replaced by a S27PX silver oxyde
battery)* see also last paragraph below Camera
with flash attached. Shutter speed automatically sets to 1/125. Takes 2
AAA batteries. The FA35 fits the GT and has a guide number of 14 (m/ISO
100). Film compartment open.
A nice original genuine leather case.
Could
also be used as half case. And yes, that is another GT camera. I gave
away the first one and regretted it. So this is my new one.
The
GT model is a good compromise. It has a better shutter than the earlier
models and a clearer design than the later models. Extremely
lightweight, yet quite sturdy. *The battery problem has been solved.
There is now a 6v 4LR43 Alkaline battery which fits right into the
compartment, it is cheap and it works well.
