I love the concept behind the Minox 35GL series of miniature ‘pocket’ cameras. They are full-size 35MM cameras, but they are made so small that you can actually fit them in your pocket. This means you are always able to carry a camera, as opposed to your Canon or Minolta SLR’s. As we all know, the camera you carry makes the shot as opposed to the camera you leave at home.
I can’t always carry my film camera of choice, my Minolta X570, or even my digital SonyA5000, because I can’t always carry a bag or have them around my shoulder. So the Minox 35GL could fill that void so easily…
That is if it worked.
Now when I say “if it worked” I mean if it worked for me. This camera is a work of art. It is well designed, “slim” (for a 35MM) and it looks fantastic. But it does have two serious drawbacks.
The first problem that I have with the Minox is the film advance. I consistently have put in film only to have it ‘bunch up’ after just 5 shots. I really don’t want to waste film in this manner as film is expensive. I’ve been told on Facebook and other groups that this does happen on a range of “sometimes” to “often”. It’s not this particular camera, its all of the Minox line. But let’s just say if that was the only problem I would invest more time and learn exactly how to spool correctly — it’s my fault — and move forward. But there is another serious problem, again for me.
The second serious problem is ‘zone’ focusing. Lot’s of people love it, street shooters swear by it, but I hate it. Pure hate. I want to look thru my viewfinder and know that my image is in focus. It’s that serious. So a camera with zoom focusing is unacceptable for me. And the Minox is a zone focus camera.
So, I’m selling this camera on eBay (Find a Minox on eBay – click here). I hope that someone who reads this article will find the Minox 35GL adorable and give it the love it truly deserves. Now, I’m back to looking for a tiny 35MM pocket camera. Leave me your suggestions.
I’ve never tried a Minox but I hear you on the Zone focusing thing – I’ve never liked it either. The only small (none auto compact) 35mm camera I’ve used is the Olympus 35RC. It’s about the size of the trip, but is in fact a true rangefinder. I have full Manual and (IIRC) shutter speed priority AE.
I’ll have to look it up on eBay