Minox 35 PL User manual

MINOXGmbH,Postfach6020,D-6300Giessen1
WestGermany
482e
Modificationsreserved· PrintedinGermany
VIII/83
Owner'smanual

Thisdetailedinstructionmanualwill
helpyoutomakethemostofyour
Minox35PL.Themostimportanttext
sectionsareprintedinboldtype.
Referencestoparts,controlsor
camerasignalsarefollowedbya
numeralinbrackets;Thisisthenum-
berofthatpartintheannotatedillu-
strationsonpages4 and5.
Mosthandlingstepsworkwithouta
filminthecamera.Sogetfamiliarwith
yourcamerabytryingitoutbefore
actuallytakingpictures.
ManyoperationsoftheMinox35PL
arecontrolledelectronically.The
camerathereforeonlyworkswitha
battery.
Despiteitssmalldimensionsthe
Minox35PLisafull-frame24x36mm
miniaturecameraandtakesany
standard35mm(No.135)cartridge.
Annotatedcameraviews
Frontview
Rearview
Handlingthecamera
Thebattery
Insertingthebattery
Batterycheck
Openingandclosingthecamera
Theviewfinder
Holdingitright
Releasing
Advancingthefilm
Theframecounter
Settingthefilmspeed
Daylightexposures
Programautomation
Theslow-speedwarning
Thebacklightswitch
Flashexposures
Thesefltimer
Thedistancesetting
Loadingthefilm
Unloadingthefilm
Careofthecamera
Accessories
Specialcomputerflashunits
MinoxFC35
MinoxTC35
Theever-readycase
Thebeltandwristpouch
Thepockettripod
Push-onfilters
Theskylightfilter
Theneutraldensityfilter
Technicaldata

1Framecounter
2Shutterrelease
3Batterycheckbutton
4Backlightswitch
5Hotshoe
6Slow-speedwarningLED
7BatterycheckLED
8Filmrewindcrank
9SefltimerLED
10Viewfinder
11Batterycompartment
12Aperturering
13Distancescale
14Lens
15CdScell
16Frontcover
17Viewfindereyepiece
18Selftimerswitch
19Filmtransportlever
20Take-upspool
21Rewindrelease
22Tripodbush
23Filmspeedscale
24Backcoverlock
25Filmchamber

CertainfunctionsoftheMinox35
PL.suchastheshutterandautomatic
exposuresettings,arecontrolled
electronically.Thecameratherefore
onlyworkswithabattery.Itrequiresa
5.6voltmercuryoxidebattery,for
instance:
DuracellPX27
VartaV 27PX
orequivalents.
Openthefrontcover(16).
Unscrewthebatterycompartment
cover(11)anticlockwise,withacoinif
necessary.
Insertthebatterysothatthe+ end
facestheinsideofthecompartment
cover,alsomarkedwitha + sign.
Replacethecoverandscrewtight
again.
Aclickonpressingthereleasedoes
notnecessarilyindicatecorrectoper-
ationoftheelectronicshutter.So
checkthebattery.
Openthefrontcover(16),fully
advancethefilmtransportlever(19)
-seepage12- andcheckasfollows:
Fullydepressthesmallrectangul-
arbatterycheckbutton(3)between
thehotshoeandthegreenrelease
button.Iftheleft-handgreenLED(7)
infrontofthehotshoelightsup,the
batteryisOK.
IfthegreenLED(7)failstolightthe
batteryisexhaustedorwasinserted
thewrongwayaround.
IfthegreenLED(7)goesdimwithin
2-3seconds,thebatteryisnearly
exhausted- soreplaceitassoonas
possible.
Thebatterycheckdoesnotindicate
howmuchlongerthebatterywilllast.
Tobeonthesafeside,replacethebat-
teryoncea yearbya newone,evenif
thebatterycheckisstillpositive.
Apparentearlyfailureofthebattery
mayinfactbeduetoa poorcontact.
Removethebatteryfromthecamera,
firmlyrubdownbothcontactfaces
witha roughclothandreplace.

Neverkeepspentortoooldbatter-
iesinthecamera.Alsoremovethe
batteryifyoudonotexpecttousethe
cameraforsometime.
Note:Thebatteryusedherecon-
tainsmercurycompoundsthatcould
posea healthrisk.Soneverthrow
usedbatteriesona fire;alsokeep
themoutofthereachofsmallchild-
ren.Photodealersusuallyaccept
spentbatteriesfordisposal.
TopreparetheMinox35PLfor
shooting,fullypulldownthefront
cover(16).Aftershootingpushthe
coverupagainagainstthecamera
body.
Openingthefrontcoverautomati-
callyextendsthelens(14),closingthe
coverretractsit.
Theclosedcoveralsocoversthe
viewfinder,blocksthereleaseand
switchesoffallelectriccircuits.
Withthecameraclosedyoucanstill
advancethefilm(page12)orrewind
anexposedfilm(page24).
Thebrightframeinthefinder(17)
outlinesthefieldofview.
Incertainlightconditionsa red
signalappearsinthefinderbelowthe
brightframeattheright.Thisisthe
slow-speedwarningsignal(page16).
Theclosedfrontcover(16)also
blocksthefinderview.Sowhenyou
seenothingthroughthefinderyou
mustopenthecover.

Thepictureattheleftshowsa con-
venientcameraholdforhorizontal
shots,theillustrationoppositeasuit-
ableholdforuprightviews.
Tominimisetheriskofcamera
shakeholdyour35PLsteadywhile
you shoot
Keepyourfingersclearofthelens
(14)andoftheCdScell(15).Preferably
pressyourfingersflatagainstthe
frontofthecamerabody.
Onceyouhaveframedtheviewyou
wantinthebright-linefinderframe,
gentlydepressthegreenrelease
button(2).Thattriggerstheshutterto
takethepicture.
Onpressingtherelease,theself-
timerLED(9)brieflylightsuponthe
camerafront.Duringtheexposurethe
redslowspeedwarningLEDlightsup
onthecameratop(6)andinthefinder
atthebottomright.Thisredsignal
remainslituntiltheshuttercloses- a
usefulindicationduringlongtime
exposureswiththecameramounted
onatripod.

Pullthefilmtransportlever(19)-at
thetoprightofthecameraback-
fullyouttotherightandforward.
Repeatthis.
Ifyoufailedtopulltheleverfullyfor-
wardeithertime,pulloncemore.
Ifyouhaveloadedthefilmanditis
advancingcorrectly,theknobwith
therewindcrank(8)atthetopleftof
thecameraalsorotatesasyouoper-
atethetransportlever.Sodonot
obstructthisknobasyouwind.
Alightdotontherewindcrank(8)
showsupthismovement.
Whenthewholefilmisexposed,the
transportlevernolongerswingsout
fullyandthereleaseisblocked.
Youcanadvancethefilmwiththe
frontcoveropenorclosed.
Theframecounter(1)- thewhite
windowatthefarrightofthecamera
top–tellsyouhowmanypicturesyou
havetakenonthefilm.
Theframecounterreturnstoits
startpositionwhenyouremovethe
camerabacktochangethefilm(see
page24)orassoonasyouthenpress
therelease(2).
EveryfilmpackagecarriesanASA
speedrating(andoftenDIN).
Tosettheautomaticexposurepro-
gramofthe35PLforthefilmspeed,
turnthedial(23)inthecamerabase
totheappropriateASA(orDIN)
ratingofthefilm.
Thedialengagesateveryspeed
setting.Theunmarkeddotsbetween

thearrowheadsIndicateinterme-
diatespeeds,forinstance64and80
ASAbetween50and100ASA.
ASAspeedfiguresaremarkedIn
red,DINfiguresingreen.
Ifyouhavesettoohighafilmspeed,
yourpictureswillbeunderexposed;
toolowaspeedsettingyieldsoverex-
posedshots.
Programautomation
Forallshotswithoutflashsetthe
whitearrowheadonthelensmount
(12)toA (automaticcontrol).
AtthisA settingthecameraauto-
maticallyselectsa correctaperture
andshutterspeedcombinationforthe
subjectbrightnessandfilmspeed.
Thef-stops,forinstance2.8- 4 -
5.6etc.ontheaperturering(12)are
onlyusedforflashshots(page18).If
youaccidentallysettheringtoan
aperturefigureinsteadoftoA,day-
lightandothershotswithoutflash-
e.g.brightinteriorslitbyartificiallight
-may bewronglyexposed.
Theelectronicprogramofthe
Minox35PLyieldsaperture/speed
combinationsfromf/16tof/2.8and
from1/500to4secondsat100ASA(up
to15secondsat25ASAorupto1
secondat400ASA).

Theslow-speedwarning
Ifthecameraisreadytoshoot
(frontcoveropen,filmadvanced)at
anexposuretimelongerthanabout
1/30second,a redflashingsignal
warnsoflikelycamerashakewith
hand-heldshots.
Theredsignalflashesclearlyon
topofthecamera(6)andalsointhe
finder(atthebottomright).Thereit
appearsweakertoavoidglareinthe
finderimage.
TheautomaticcontroloftheMinox
35PLcanalsogenerateexposures
muchlongerthan1/30second.The
redflashingsignalisthusnot an
underexposurewarningbutonlya
recommendationtousea flashunit
(pages27to29)whenphotographing
movingsubjects(e.g.people)in-
doors.Or-forstaticsubjects-mount
thecameraonatripod(page32).
Theslow-speedwarningusesbat-
terypower.Soclosethefrontcover
whenyouputawayyourMinox35PL.
Thebacklightswitch
Ifyoupushthebacklightswitch(4)
-thesmallrectangularbuttonnextto
thehotshoe– fullyforward,thisauto-
maticallydoublestheexposure.
Aredwindowwith2xinwhite
remindsyouthatyouhaveswitched
onthebacklightswitch.
Apartfromlighteningshadowsin
backlitsubjects,usethebacklight
switchalsoforoutdoorviewswhere
predominantsnoworabrightskyarea
couldcausethemetertosetinsuffi-
cientexposure.

ThehotshoeoftheMinox35PL
takesanyelectronicflashunitwitha
centrecontactinthefoot- aswellas
theMinoxTC35andFC35computer
flashunitswhicharespecially
matchedtotheMinox35.
Pushtheblackblankingplateout
ofthehotshoetowardstherear.Fully
pushthefootoftheflashunitintothe
shoe.
Thisdisengagestheautomatic
exposurecontroloftheMinox35PL
andsetsafixedshutterspeedof1/90
second.
Donottakeflashshotswiththe
aperturering(12)settoA (automa-
tic).Forflashshotsselectoneofthe
markedaperturesbetweenf/2.8and
f/16(includingintermediatevalues)
-checktheinstructionsoftheflash
used.
Withsomeelectronicflashunits
(notwiththespecialMinoxflashes)
youmustoperatethefilmtransportof
the35PLimmediatelyaftereveryflash
shot.Forunlesstheshutteristension-
ed,suchflashunitseitherfailtogivea
readysignalforthenextflashor(more
rarely)mayautomaticallytriggerthe
nextflashafterrecycling.(Thisisnota
faultbutafeatureoftheelectroniccir-
cuit.)
Pushdownthesmallslidingswitch
(18)attherightofthefindereyepiece
touncovera redwindowwithT
(timer)inwhite.Thisdelaystheshut-
terreleasebyabout12secondsafter
youhavepressedthegreenrelease
button(orreleasedwitha cable
release).
AredflashingLEDonthecamera
front(9)signalsthattheselftimeris
runningbuttheexposurehasnotyet
started.Theflashingratedoubles
after4 secondsandagainafter8
secondsofthedelayperiod.

Estimatetheapproximatedis-
tancetothemainsubjectandsetthis
onthedistancescale(13).Inviewof
theconsiderabledepthoffieldofthe
35mmlensa reallyaccuratesetting
isonlynecessaryatneardistancesof
around3 to4 ftor0.9to1 m.
Fora usefulsnapshotzonesetthe
scaletothegreendotbetween10
and20ftorbetween3 and5 m;in
goodlightthisthencoversevery-
thingfromabout6to60ftor2to20m.
Forlandscapeswithoutnearfore-
groundsetthescaleto°° (infinity).
Neverloadthecameraindirect
sunlight-atleastdoitintheshadeof
yourbody.
Turnthebackcoverlockinglever
(24)inthecamerabasetouncover
therecessedreddot,thenpulloffthe
backfrombelow(illustrationa).
Insertthefilmcartridgeinthefilm
chamber(25)totheleftofthefilm
track,withthefilmleaderpointingto
theright
Turnthetake-upspool(20)withthe
rightthumbtobringthebroadslotof
thespoolcoretothetop.
Nowpresstherewindrelease(21)
attherightinthecamerabasetolock

thetake-upspool.Pushthefilmlead-
erunderneaththemetalsleeveasfar
asitwillgo(illustrationb),thenletgo
oftherewindreleasebutton.
Openthecamera'sfrontcoverso
thatyoucanoperatethereleasebut-
ton.
Alternatelyadvancethefilmand
releaseuntil:
Thefullfilmwidthisdrawnwith
bothperformationrowsacross
thefilmtrackandliesflatagainstit
(arrowinillustrationc);and
Onetoothofthesprocketwheel
(attherightbelowthefilmgate)
engagesa perforationholeofthe
film(circledinillustrationc).
Replacethecamerabackbypush-
ingitonandlockbyturningtheback
lockinthecamerabasetocoverthe
reddotagain(illustrationd).
Advancethefilm,releasetheshut-
ter,advanceoncemore.Checkthat
therewindcrank(8)attheleftinthe
cameratoprotates- watchthelight
dot.Theframecounter(1)isnowat0.
Setthefilmspeedonthescalein
thecamerabase(page13).
Duringshootingyoucanstillcheck
thatthefilmisadvancingcorrectly:
Wheneveryouworkthefilmtransport
lever,therewindcrankwiththelight
dotmustrotate,too.

Afterthelastexposure(No.36,24,
20or12ontheframecounter,
dependingonthefilmlength)you
mustrewindthefilmintoitscart-
ridge:
Unfoldtherewindcrankendwith
thelightdot(8,inthecameratopat
theleft),presstherewindrelease
button(21,intherecessinthe
camerabaseattheright)andletgo.
Rewindthefilmbyturningtherewind
crankclockwise.
Thefilmisfullyrewoundwhenthe
crankstartsturningmorefreely.
Afterrewindingremovethe
camerabackandwithdrawthecart-
ridgefromthecamera.
Iftheframecounter(1)doesnot
returntoitsstartpositiononremoving
theback,releasetheshutteronce.
Howevertheframecounterautomati-
callyresetsitselfduringloadingatthe
latestwhenyouhavepushedthefilm
endintothetake-upspoolandad-
vancedthefilmandreleasedtheshut-
terbeforeclosingtheback(seepage
22).
Periodicallycleanthefrontlensele-
ment,theouterfinderwindowsurfa-
cesandthecurvedwindowinfrontof
theCdScell.Removeanydustwitha
softbrush,airblowerorspeciallens
cleaningtissue-theseareobtainable
fromphotodealers.Donotuselens
cleaningfluids.
Immediatelyremovefingerprints
fromthefrontlens;suchmarksgreatly
reducedefinition.
Whenchangingfilm,checkthatthe
backofthelensandthecamerainter-
iorarealsocleananddust-free.

ThematchedMinoxFC35
computerflash
TheMinoxFC35electronicflashis
thesmallerofthetwocomputer
flashesdesignedfortheMinox35
cameras.Itis3 x 5.5x 7.5cm(1.2x
2.2x3in.)largeandweighs130g (4.6
oz).ThemetricguideNo.for100 ASAis
18(59infeet).
Youhavetwoapertureoptionswith
twoworkingrangesofthecomputer
control:Atthe"green"settingthe
flashcoverssubjectsupto4.5m or
15ft.Attheredsettingthelimitis3.2m
(10ft)butthedepthoffieldisgreater,
foratanygivenfilmspeedyouuseone
stopsmallerthanwiththegreenset-
ting.
Ifyouswitchofftheautomaticcon-
trolofthePC35youcancovergreater
distanceswithhigh-speedfilms,e.g.
upto13mor40ftwith400ASA.
Recyclingtime:Approx.10se-
conds.Batteries:2 sizeAAAalkaline
manganesecells.Capacityapprox.60
to80flashesperbatteryset.(Alldata
basedonDIN19011specifications.)

ThematchedMinoxTC35
computerflash
TheTC35isthemorepowerfulof
thetwoMinox35flashunitsandoffers
additionalfeatures.
TheguideNo.(inaccordancewith
DIN19011)is26(m)or95(ft)at100
ASA.Threeapertureoptionswithran-
gesupto9,6.5and 3.25 m (30, 21and
10½ft).LEDsonascaleshowavailable
rangesandworkingapertures;in
manualmode(rangewith400ASAup
toabout18mor60ft)thisservesasan
aperturecalculator.
Incomputer(automaticflashdura-
tioncontrol)mode,andespeciallyat
neartomediumdistances,thethyris-
torseriescircuitprovidesfastrecycl-
ing(1to10seconds)anda high
capacity(about80to500flashes)per
batterysetof4sizeAAAalkalineman-
ganesecells.Aneconomycircuit
automaticallyswitchesofftheunit
whennotinuseforlongerperiods,so
savingbatteries.
AtestbuttonandgreenLEDprovide
abatterycheck.
Forbounceflashingtheflash
reflectortiltsupto90°in15°steps.On
triggeringa testflash,a built-inauto
checkcontrolshowsbyagreenorred
signalwhethertheflashpowerissuffi-
cientforthesubjectinquestion.
Forstorageinitsleathercaseorfor
carryingina jacketpocketswingthe
reflectorup;theunitisthennothicker
thanthecamera.Itis10cm(3.9in.)
wide,6.5cm(2.6in.)highwiththe
reflectorpointingforwardor9.1cm
(3.6in.)tiltedupthrough90°.Itweighs
188g (6.6oz)withbatteries.

Theever-readycase
Theblackleatherever-readycase
oftheMinox35PLiscloselytailoredto
thecamerasothatitisnobiggerthana
softzippouch.Butyoucanshoot
muchfasterwithit.
Aneyeletattheleftandrightofthe
ever-readycasetakesthewriststrap
supplied;fititatwhicheversideyou
findmoreconvenientforhandling.
The90cm(3ft)neckstrap–anoption-
alextraaccessory- attachestoboth
eyeletsforcarryingthecameraround
theneck.
Youcanremovethetopoftheever-
readycasealtogether.Ifyoucarrythe
Minox35PLslungaroundyourneck
inthebottomsectionofthecase,with
thecamerafrontopenandthefilter
andlenshoodinplace,youcanwalk
aroundandbeinstantlyreadytoshoot
(seeillustrationpage33).
Thebeltandwristpouch
Thissmartelegantcaseisapieceof
luxuryleatherworkintop-qualitysoft
burgundyredNaskapileather.Itis
totallyunlikeanyever-readycase:It
ideallymatchessmartleisurewear
andyoucancarryiteitherslung
aroundyourwrist orfixedtoyourbelt
(upto4cmor1 ½ in.wide).Whenused
asabeltcase,removetheleatherwrist
strapwithitsbrasssnaphook.
ForshootingyouremovetheMinox
35PLfromthecase.Thesidesare
ingeniouslytailoredsothattheclosed
casefitssnuglyaroundtheMinox,yet
youcangetintotheopencasewiththe
fingerstogripthecameraeasilyand
securelyfrombothsides.

TheMinoxpockettripodisa very
handycamerastand-notmuchlarger
thana pencilwhenclosedbutvery
rigidasatableandwallsupport–even
onroughsurfaces.Itcanalsoserveas
achestpodforhorizontalshotswith
theMinox35PL.TheMinoxpocket
tripodincludesa cablerelease-
indispensablefortripodshots.
Screwthetripodscrewintothe
bushinthecamerabase.Donotscrew
thecameratootightlyontothetripod
buttighten insteadthelargemilled
plateofthetripodagainstthecamera
body.
Screwthecablereleaseintothe
threadnexttothereleasebutton.
Push-onfilters
withcollapsiblelenshood
andleathercase
TheMinox35PLtakesonlyMinox
filtersmarkedeither"Minox35GT"or
"Minox35GT/PL/PE".Minoxfilters
notsomarkedareintendedforthe
olderELandGLmodelsanddonotfit
theMinox35PL.
The skylight filter
Thisreducesanybluecastliableto
ariseincolourslidestakenbybrilliant
blueskylight.Indaylightthefilteralso
absorbsultravioletraysthatcould-
withanyfilm- impairdefinition.
The 4 x neutral density filter
Thisreducesthelightcoming
throughthelenstoone-quarterandis
recommendedforshotsinbrightsun-
lightonhighspeedfilm(400ASA).
Thepockettripod

Type: Minox35PLminiaturecamera.
Minox code Nos.:
10.721withdistancescaleinmetres
10.722withdistancescaleinfeet
Picture size: 24x 36mm.
Film: Standard35mmcartridge
(No. 135).
Lens:35mmMinoxColor-Minotar
f/2.8,focusingrangefrominfinityto
0.9mor3ft.Thelensretractsautoma-
ticallyonclosingthefrontcover.
Automatic exposurecontrol: Electron-
icprogramcontrol(withaperturering
settoA)from1/500secondatf/16to4
secondsatf/2.8with100ASA.
Longestreliabletimedependsonfilm
speed,e.g.15secondswith25ASA
downto1secondwith400ASA.
Slow-speed warning: Withexposure
timeslongerthan1/30seconda red
LEDblinksontopofthecamera;also
visibleinthefinderviaafibre-optical
lightguide.
Backlight switch: Doublestheexpos-
ure.
Release:Softrelease,blockediffront
coverisnotfullyopen.
Cable release socket: Nexttorelease
buttonincameratop.
Selftimer: Electronic,approx.12
secondsdelay.RedflashingLEDon
camerafrontduringdelaytime;flash-
ingfrequencyincreasesinthree
steps.
Viewfinder: Bright-framedirectfinder
withslowspeedwarningsignal.
Frame counter: Countsforward,
returnstostartpositiononremoving
camerabackandreleasingshutter.
Flashcontact: Hotshoe,Xsynchronis-
ed,automatictimeswitchingto1/90
second.
Tripod bush: in.
Battery: OneVartaV 27PX,Duracell
PX27orequivalent(5.6volts).
Battery check: Checkbutton,green
LED signal.
Camera body: Glassfibre-reinforced
Makrolon.
Size:(Widthxheightxdepth):10x6.1x
3.1cm (3.9 x 2.4x1.2 in.)
Weight:Approx.190g withoutor200g
withbattery(6.7or7.1ozrespect-
ively).
Made by: MINOXGmbH,
Postfach6020,D-6300Giessen1,
WestGermany.