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Minox Minox EC → ← Minox C
Subminiature espionage camera · 1978-2003
The Minox LX is a
subminiature photo camera
for 8 x 11 mm film,
introduced in 1978 by Minox GmbH
in Germany towards the end of the Cold War. It is fully electronically
controlled and has a built-in Silicon Blue Cell (SBC)
exposure meter, coupled to an electronic shutter mechanism.
Like its predecessor, the Minox C, it is powered by a
PX-27 battery, without which it can not be used.
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Despite the more advanced electronics however, the LX is about 10 mm shorter
than the Minox C making it even more suitable for
espionage.
With its outer dimensions of 110 x 27 x 15 mm it is still a lot bigger than
the earlier subminiature cameras like the
Riga,
the Minox A and
Minox B.
The image on the right shows a typical Minox LX. As with the other cameras,
the speed dial and the focussing dial are on the top of the body.
The exposure counter is visible through a small window
close to the focussing dial.
A dial for setting the film speed is available
at the bottom.
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Unfortunately, the shutter release button is mounted in a different position
than on earlier models, making the Minox LX unsuitable for some existing
accessories, such as the Binocular Attachment.
Special versions of these accessories are available for the Minox LX.
As the LX is a fully electronic camera, the shutter can only be operated
when a full PX-27 battery is present.
As the camera was produced in the 'electronics era', a number of
indicator LEDs are present on the body. A slide switch, next to the speed
dial, can be activated to read the current status of the battery and the
exposure meter.
The Minox LX was produced from 1978 to 1995 and a special version of it,
the Minox TLX,
was in production from 1996 to 2003, making it the
longest lived Minox subminiature camera. In total, approx. 42,000
units were produced, which is a fairly small number compared to the
Minox B of which 384,328 units were made between 1958 and 1972.
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At the upper side of the camera are two dials. When holding the camera as
indicated in the image below, the leftmost dial is used to set the shutter
speed, between 1/30 and 1/2000 sec. Setting the dail to A enables automatic
exposure by using the built-in light sensor.
The rightmost dial is the distance setting (focussing).
The high-quality macro lens allows objects to be focussed as close as 20 cm.
Like with the other Minox spy cameras, the viewfinder moves
slightly when the speed dial is rotated, in order to compensate for parallax
errors. This makes the camera ideally suited for document photography.
To the left of the speed dial is a slide switch that can be moved up and down.
When released, it always returns to the centre position. This test-switch is
used in combination with the three status LEDs at the left (green, red and
yellow). Sliding the test-switch up activates the battery test. When the
green LED is lit, the battery is OK.
Sliding the switch down activates the exposure test (exposure set to A).
To avoid motion blur caused by slow shutter speeds, the yellow LED will be lit
when shutter speeds below 1/30 sec. are to be used. It is advisable to use
a tripod under these circumstances.
At the same time, the red LED will warn for over-exposure caused by extremely
bright ambient light. If the LED is lit, the grey filter should be placed
before the lens.
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Opening the camera in order to replace the film cartridge is simple.
First extend the camera in the usual manner, as if you want to take pictures.
Then turn the camera around
so that the bottom is up (1).
Next, extend the camera a somewhat further until a
recessed rig becomes visible
(2).
Use the nail of your thumb to
press down the recessed rig
(3).
This should unlock the camera.
Whilst pressing down the rig, slide away the body of the camera to
reveal the film cartridge
(4).
If a film is present, turn the camera upside down until the
film cartridge falls out
(5).
Take a new film
(6) from its
protective container
(7) and
place it in the camera
(8).
Then close the camera. Note that the first image is
lost as it is already exposed. Release the shutter and close/open the camera
to advance to the next position. Then release the shutter again.
The camera is now ready for taking pictures. In the images below, the camera is
loaded with a 36 exposure colour film.
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Black version of the Minox-LX
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Some Minox cameras were produced in an alternative finish.
This was generally done as a limited edition or for special OEM projects.
One example is the rare black variant of the Minox LX shown here.
As the camera is less shiny than the standard version, it's even more
suitable for covert operations.
The one shown here has serial number 2502618, which means that it was
part of the standard series, manufactuered in 1979 [1].
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1978 2500001 - 2501380 1979 2501381 - 2511354 1980 2511355 - 2520106 1981 2520107 - 2520524 1982 2520525 - 2520966 1983 2520967 - 2522465 1984 2522466 - 2523944 1985 2523945 - 2525721 1986 2525722 - 2527446 1987 2527447 - 2528314 1988 2528315 - 2530505 1989 2530506 - 2532569 1990 2532570 - 2534187 1991 2534188 - 2534787 1992 2534788 - ...
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1991 1-91 - 43-91 1992 1-92 - 75-92 1993 1-93 - ...
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In production until 1988.
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In production until 1991.
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Friday 30 April 2010. Last changed: Tuesday, 16 November 2021 - 08:03 CET.
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