Minox LX User manual

MINOX LX Owner's Manual

Inevitably you will find some technical terms in
this booklet. So before you start reading the
Manual, fold out this and the last page. Then
you can see at a glance which particular dial,
window or other part of the Minox LX the text
refers to.

.--...J IiiIiIIi ~ :::- ----- --- Flash socket
Overexposure signal (red)
__ __ + -,
Long time signal (yellow) ---- ---1Ii .e
IH +--i --- Battery check signal (green)
Meter cell (Silicon blue cell)
Check switch --------- M"'''' J11
__________ Filter slide
Shutter speed dial ___ ____ Hi
_______ Viewfinder window
Exposure counter_ _
_____ --+ --.I!I1IIb.
Distance ""c"" ------ - - --';H f;;-4
_________ Lens window
Release key _________ -+t- --'

Contents
Minox LX operation
Loading thefilm 20
The battery 2 Unloading 22
In serting the battery 2
Fl ash shots 23
Batterytest 3 Automaticflash exposure 23
Opening the camera 4 The Minox FL 4 with flash cubes 23
The three "eyes" 5 Automatic ranges with flash cubes 24
Holding it steady 6 Electronicflash 24
Taking the picture 7
The ever -r eadycase 26
Thepush-pull rapid wind 8 Care
of M in ox LX
27
Settingthefilm speed 9
Automatic daylight exposure 10
Minox accessories
Long time signal
11
Minox8 x 11mmfilms 28
Overexposuresignal,
NDf ilter 12 Flash unit and flash accessories 28
Manual exposuresettings 13 Tripod shots 29
Focusing anddepthoffield 14 Binocularshots 30
Close-ups with the measuring chain 15 Document copying 30
No aperturesettings 16 Projection 32
The ultravioletfilter 16 Home darkroom aids 32
The bright-framefinder 17
The exposurecounter 18
Techn i cal data
33

Congratulations!
Your new Minox LX is the latesttop model ofthe famous
8 x
11 mm Minox ultraminiature camera range.
You don't need to know much Minox technique to make
good pictures.
In each section the most important
points are summed up
in bold type. For more details
read also the paragraphs below them.
The Minox
LX works even without a film -so y ou can
familiarise yourself with'Minox LX operation before y ou
start shooting.
While you can operate the Minox LX controls without a
film, it does need a battery to power the electronic shut-
ter and automatic exposure control. That's why we start
with inserting the battery
on the next page.
So now read on and get acquainted with Minox LX pho-
tography. Have fun with your Minox
LX!

The battery
The Minox LX
only funct i ons with a correct battery
(Varta 7150, Ucar EPX 27 or Mallory PX 27) in the
batterycompartment(check correctpolarity). Don't
use spent
or old batteries.
Inserting the battery
Pull the camera fully open, depressthe snap lock in
the base and pull open the
sliding cover. The bat-
tery compartment is now accessible from the ca-
mera top .
Firmly rub both battery contacts clean against
some rough fabric
(e .g. your coat sleeve).
Raise theblackbattery compartment tongue.Insert
the battery the correct way round (note polarity
marks on tongue and battery) so as to permit easy
removal by pulling the tongue.
A cl ick on pressing the release does not signify correct
shutter operation. Use the battery test to check correct
battery f
un ction and correct insertio n.
Ifa battery appearstota il too soon,t ry removi ng it,firmly
ru bbing down its cont ac ts and re- in serting it.
2

Battery test
You can check the battery with the camera closed
or open, but not released.
Push the check switch , next to the shutter speed
dial, fully towards the camera front and hold for ab-
out one second: The green signal must light up .
If the green signal l igh ts up at first b ut fades or go es out
wi thin a second, t he battery is nearly ex h aus te d. Re-
pl ace as soon as possibl e.
If the green sig n al does n ot li gh t, th e battery is fully
spent ortoo old (remove im mediately f rom th ecamer a),
or was inserted the wrong way rou n d.
Check the battery every t im e you load a film or whe n
yo u haven't used th e ca mera for a week or mor e. But
don 't check th e battery too often or for too lo ng -that
also exhausts it.
Th e ba ttery test does no t indicate how l ong it w ill sti ll
las t. Prefera bl y fit a f res h battery at least on ce a year,
even if
th e battery test still shows su ff icient power.
Re move even agood ba ttery fr om th ecamera if yo uare
li ke ly to store th e latter unused for long periods.
3
Battery test. The signal lights up green.

Opening the camera
To shoot-orto view the subject-pull the Minox LX
fully open.
The Minox
LX can shoot only when open. When you
close the camera, the lens window and viewfinder are
protected inside the body and the shutter release
is
locked. You can open the Minox LX and view through
the finder even
if yo u are not yet sure whether you want
to expose. Closing the camera without releasing it
wastes
no pictures.
4

The three "eyes"
The fr ont of the Minox LX shows- from top to bo t-
tom in the illustration-thesilicon bluecell window
(the metering cell
of the automatic exposure con-
trol), the finder window and the lens window . Take
care
not to obstruct thesethree windows with your
fingers while shooting.
Keepthe lens
window absolutelycleari -that isvital
for sharp and brilliant pictures.
If yo u cover th e meter w ind ow as you shoot, y ou get
wrong exposures.
To check whether t
he lens wi ndow is clean, sl i de in the
neu t ral de n si ty fil ter (page 12); any dirt or fi ngerprints
w ill immediately show up aga in st thedark filter. Pr efer-
ably clean the lens w in dow w it h a cl ea n rag wou nd
rou nd a matchs ti ck. Che mi st s' cotto n- tipp ed swabs are
a lso us e ful (see oage 27).
5

Holding it steady
Hold the Minox at eye level firmly, but relaxed, with
both hands. Keep the thumbs against the camera
base, the other fingers
on top. Keep the fingers
away from the front to avoid obstructing any of the
windows.
The pictures show suitable camera holds for horizontal
and upright shots.
If you cover the lens window while shooting, you will get
a shapeless shadow covering most or all ofthe picture.
If you obstruct the small meter window the exposure
becomes too long.
For the' steadiest hold, press both hands against
your head and press the camera ends against your
thumbs -as if you were trying to bend the Minox.
The Minox LX remains
in its ever-ready case for shoot-
ing. Fold overthe hinged section
olthe case flat against
the fixed section.
6

Taking the picture
Once you have framed the view as you want it
within the br ightline finder frame, gently press the
release key -without moving the camera.
Ge ntl e pressure on the release key is enoughto tri gger
the s
hu tter.
Du ring re leasing ho ld your breath an d take the camera
from your eye only after
yo u h ave h ea rd th e sh utter
close. (
Th ere are two so ft c li cks - wi th sh or t exposu re
tim es th ey sou nd like a single c li ck .)
7

The circle in the lens window means your Minox is
ready to shoot.
The push-pull rapid wind
To get your Minox LX ready for the next shot push
the camera closed and pull it open again. This ad-
vances the film and tensions the shutter. The film is
however only advanced if you have released the
shutter before closing the camera.
Always push and pull the came ra movement a ll the
way.
A small circle in the lens window indicates that the
M
in ox LX is tensioned and ready fo rshooti ng. After t he
exposure the circle disappears; so p us h the ca mera
closed and pull it open aga in for the next sho t.
When you have finished shootin g, close the Minox and
put it in your pocket.
For quick shooting sequences p
us h and pull the Minox
as fast as you like - it can stand it.
8

Setting the film speed
Set the speed of the film you are using on the film
speed scale in the camera base. Depress themilled
button and turn
it to bring the ASA or DIN speed ra-
ting of thefilm opposite the arrow index on thewin-
dow rims. (Every Minox film packing carries both
ASA and DIN values.)
To save space the scale carries figures for every
third step
only ; intermediate steps are marked by
dots (e.g. 64 and 80 ASA between 50 and 100 ASA).
Too hig h an A SA or DI N speed se tting yiel ds und erex-
posed shot s, t oo I owa setting overexposed pictur es.
Yo u can also expose deliberately for lo nger or shorter
than
in dicated by t he meter. For double the exposu re
time set t he film speed dial to ha lf th e ASA val ue or 3
DI N lower. To hal ve the time, se t t he fil msp eed to do u-
b
le th e ASA value or to 3 steps higher on the DI Nscale.
See page 28 for a list of Minox 28 x 11 mm films.
9
,
Film speed scale, set here for 80 ASA or 20 DIN.

:
Camera set to automatic daylight exposure control
Automatic daylight exposure
For
daylight shots (or artificial light other than
flash, see page
23) set the shutter speed dial to A
(automatic). This
controls the exposure automatic-
ally between 1/2000 second and about 15 seconds.
The up-to-date automatic exposure control of the
Minox
LX uses a si li con blue cell (SBe) and an elec-
tronic shutter. This provides a l ong stepless control
range with rapid and reliable response even to abrupt
lighting level changes.
The automatic system controls
the correct exposure
during the actual shot. F
or deliberate longer or shorter
exposures adjust
the film speed setting before you take
the picture (page
9).
The automatic system on the Minox LX co ntrols the
exposure time. As with all Minox ultraminiature came·
ras, the lens aperture of the LX remains constant (see
page 16).
The Minox LX reading is centre-weig ht ed : it depend ~
much more on the brightness in the centre of the vieVl
than in the corners.
10

Long time signal
In poor light you can check before you shoot
whether the exposure time is likely to be longer
than about 1/30 second:
Set the shutter speed dial to A (automatic). Point
the camera at the subject at waist level. Push the
check switch next to the speed dial fully towards
the rear of the camera.
If the yellow slow speed signal lights up with the
key fully pushed back, the exposure time is longer
than about 1/30 second. That means greater risk of
camera shake.
With times shorter than 1/30 second, the slow speed
signal still blinks before the key reaches its end position
-the "blink" ist about the length ofthe automatically set
time.
You can operate a slow speed check with the Minox
LX
closed, opened or tensioned. If you have already re-
leased (no circle in the lens window) just push the ca-
mera closed before operating the slow speed check.
You can still take pictures
in poor light: either use the
Minox pocket tripod (page 29) or shoot with flash (page
23).
To avoid excessive battery drain, operate the slow
speed check only briefly.
11
Slow speed check. The signa/lights up yel/ow.

Overexposure signal. Ifit lights up red ,slide in the neu-
tral density filter.
Sliding the NO filter into position.
Overexposure Signal, NO filter
Very bright scenes (beach or high mountain sub-
jects with brilliant sun) can on a fast
film lead to
overexposure even with 1/2000 second.
To check,pOintthe camera atthe subject,and push
the check switch next
to the shutterspeed dial fully
towards the camera back (as for the slow speed
check, page 11). If the red signal lights up, you risk
overexposure.
To avoid that , slide the neutral density (NO) filter in
front of the lens by the filter slide above the finder
window . Push this fully towards the lens windo";.
A red mark in the top right finder image corner is a
reminder that the
NO filter is in posit ion.
T he overexp osu re signal again operat es wi th the ca-
mera
cl osed or wi th th e ca mera op en , but not released.
Operate it only briefly
to save battery curre nt .
Th e n eu tr al de ns it y filt er in cr eas es th e exposure ab ou t
4 times. T
he exposu re control au tomati ca ll y al lows f or
th is when the NO fi lt er is in positi on.
12

Manual exposure settings
You can set exposure times from 1/2000 to 1/30
second manually without using the automatic ex-
posure control. In this case turn the shutter speed
dialaway
from " A" to the required time. The figures
indicate
fractions of a second (e.g. 30 = 1/30 sec-
ond).
Automatic
co ntrol sets a cont in uous ti me range. With
manual co
nt ro l yo ucan set onlyt he va lu es onthedia l. If
you happen to se t the dial between two marked times, ,
the shutter operat
es at the nearest ad jacent speed. '
Th e M in ox LX , u nl ike the previous Mi nox C, needs no
manual exposu
re settings for flash shots as the LX pro-
vides automatic flash exposure control (set the dial to
the flash symb
ol , see page 23).
13
Shutter speed set manually to 112000 second .

Snapshot setting: depth of field from 6 feet to infinity
(above) resp. from 2 metres
to infinity (below ).
Focusing and depth of field
The distance scale is calibrated in feet and inches
(e .g. 1'6" = 1 foot 6 inches) or in metres. For spe-
cific distances set the distance scale to the large
black dot.
The two smaller
dots indicate the extent of the
depth of field on the distance scale. For instance
with the snapshot setting
to the red dot (approx. 12
feet
or 4 metres) the depth of field extends from 6
feet
(2 metres) to infinity ( 00 ).
For views with no significant item nearer than 12
feet
or 4 metres from the camera, shoot at the infi-
nity ( 00 ) setting. The sharp zone then extends
backwards
from 12 feet or 4 metres (the red dot
mark).
For medium distances you can use not only the snap-
shot setting (6 feet or 2 metres to infinity) but also other
settings of extended depth of field.
Thu s at 6 feet or 2
me t res the depth extends from about 4 to 12 feet or 1 .3
to 4 metres (useful for flash shots). Halfw ay between 3
and 6feet (1and 2metres) you get asharpzone from 3
to 6 feet (1 to 2 metres ). For close-ups between 8 and
24 inches (20 and 60 cm ) use the measuring chain (s ee
next page).
14

Close-ups with the measuring chain
At close range between 8 inchesand 2feet (20 to 60
cm) you have very Iittle depth of field. So use the
measuring chain on the ever-ready case to estab-
lish the exact distance. With the chain held taut,
each bead matches an engraved distance setting
onthescale: first bead for8inches,second bead 10
inches, third bead 1 foot, fourth bead 1' /2 feet, full
chain length 2 feet (on metrically scaled cameras
20 , 24 , 30 , 40 and 60 cm respectively).
Measure the distance with the cha
in and set the di-
stance scale, then hold the appropriate chain bead
once more against
the subject to be sure of the correct
distance. As yo uthen remove your hand with the chain,
shoot without changing the distance.
If you use a ru ler or tape measure instead of the chain,
measure the distance from the front of the camera.
To mount the measuring chain directly
on the Minox LX
without the camera case you need the tripod bush
adapter for the LXmeasuring chain (Order
No. 1 81601
15

No aperture settings
The aperture of the 15 mm Minox
tl3.5 lens is fixed
at its full opening. So the camera has no aperture
scale.
The exposure is controlled only by the shutter speed. In
view of the full aperture this is always comparatively
fast. Yet you have plenty of depth offield -for instance
from about 6 feet or 2 metres to infinity at the snapshot
·setting.
The ultraviolet filter
Theglass window
in front ofthe lens is an ultraviolet ab-
sorbing filter to prevent loss of definition
in colour and
black-and-white shots -also colour casts in colour
transparencies -when the prevailing daylight contains
a lot of UV radiation.
The
UV filter does not increase the exposure time.
16