Minox 35 GL User manual

The pocketableminiature       cedaiffiubieets    On  its  film speed
                                        scale you can set all speeds from 25
                                               to 800 ASA or 15 to 30 DlN, includ-
                                           ing intermediatevalues.And there are
                                     innumerable small improvementsfor
                                  more reliable failure-free operation,
                                                for instance simpler film loading.
                                   You can use your Minox 35 GL with
                                       a wide range of films: it takes any
     Minox has always been famous for   standard 35 mm cartridge lor 36,24,
    fine ultraminiaturecameras. ln 1974  20 or 12 exposures.
    the Minox 35 EL arrived as the first     Before loading a film do however
   24 x36 mm Minox camera - the smal-   get  to  know  your camera  really
    lest on the world market, and with   thoroughly. This detailed instruction
    automatic exposure control.           manualwill help you to make the most
     The Minox 35 GL you have now    of the Minox 35 GL. lf you are less
   bought is the successor of the im-   interested in the technicalities,read
   mensely successful Minox 35 EL. lt   only the main paragraphs printed in
    looks very like the previous model:   bold.
   most of the changes are internal.iFhe-   We hope you will get much fun and
   Minex 35 Gt,hasa   backlighi-switch"   many good pictures with your Minox
       t o r                              35 GL.
f - 2                     www.orphancameras.com

Contents
Main camera views:
Front view                    4   Distance and depth of field     20
Rear view                    5   Loading the film             22
Handling the carrera:               Unloading                25
The battery                   6   Flash shots                26
Fitting the battery              6
Battery test                   7                                      lmportant hints:Opening and closing the camera  9                                More about automaticThe viewfinder                                I
Hold it right                  1 0     exposure control           27
Releasing                   1 1   Care of the camera           29
Advancing the film            1 2
The frame counter             1 3   Accessories:
Setting the film speed          1 3   The skylight filter            30
Automatic exposu re control     1 4   The neutral density filter       30
  The lens aperture           1 5   The Minox FC 35 computer flash  3'l
  Automatic electronicspeeds   1 6   The ever-ready case          32
  The shutter speed indication  1 7   The belt and wrist pouch       33
  The slow speed warning      1 8   The pocket tripod            34
  The overexposure warning     1 8   The cable release and self-
  The backlight switch         1 9     timer adapter             35
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1 Filmwindinglever
 2 Framecounter
 3 Shutterrelease
ffi
 5 Batterytestbutton
 6 Flashshoe (for strobc o'
 7 Viewfinder
 8 Film rewindcrank
 9 Batterycompartment
10 Aperturescale
11 Distancescale
12 Lens
13 CdS cells
14 Frontcover
15 Filmchamber
16 Viewfinder
17 Filmtransportlever
18 Take-upspool
19 Rewindrelase
20 Tripod bush
21 ASA/DINfilm speedscale
22 Back cover lock

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The battery
  The shutter and speed indication
can only operatewith a battery.The
correcttype is a 5.6 volt mercurycell
(Yarta4027, Ucar EPX27 or Mallory
PX 27). The battery should be fresh
and must be fifted the correct way
round.

Fitting the battery
  Open the front cover and unscrew
the battery compartment cover  -
with a coin if necessary.
  Clean both battery contacts with
a rough cloth  (e.g. your jacket
sleeve), then push the battery with
the - end firct into the compartment
so that the * end faces outwards.    A click when you pressthe release
The inside of the screw cap also   does not necessarilysignify correct
carriesa * sign.                     shutter operation.So test the bat-
  Fully screw the cap in again.         tery.
6
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Batterytest

  Fully open  the  front  cover,  fully
advancethefilm (page12) and switch
off the backlight switch (page 19).
  Now fully depress the battery test
button  -  the small rectangular key
between  the  flash  shoe  and  the
orange release button. With the test
button  fully depressed,  the needle
along  the  right-hand  finder  frame
edge should swing up to the centre
(111251or beyond.


  Note:  lf the needle was already
above 1/30, it first drops down when           lf the needle does not reach the
you touch the test button, and then    '0125" mark the battery is exhausted.
swings up again for the battery test       lf the needle doesn't move at all you
indication as you fully depress the   may have inserted the battery back
test button.                                  to front
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The battery test cannot tell you how
much longer the batterywill last. Pre-
ferably replace the battery about once
a year, even  if the  battery test  is
stillOK.
  Apparent early battery failure may
in fact be a poor contact. Remove the
battery, rub down the contacts firmly
and replace.
  Remove a battery from the camera
as soon as it is spent or too old. Also
removethe battery,even if f resh,when
you are unlikely to use the camera
for a prolonged period.





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Openingand closingthe      The viewfinder
camera
  To get ready to shoot, pull the front     The  bright  frame  in  the  finder
cover open and fully down. After pic-   shows the field of view.
ture taking, flip the cover up again      Atthe right-hand edge of thefinder
against the camera body.             you can see the shutter speed scale
  Opening the front cover automati-   and meter needle (page 18).
cally extends the lens, closing the     The closed front cover also blocks
cover retracts it. So there is no lens    the finder window. So when you see
cap liable to go astray.                nothing through the viewfinder, you
  The closed cover also covers the   know you must open the cover.
finder.  blocks  the  release and
switches off all electric circuits.
  Even with the camera closed you
can stiff advance (page 22) or rewind
(page 25) the film.
  You can close the cover irrespec-
tive of the position of the distance
setting ring.


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Hold it right
               The illustration left shows the right
             camera hold for horizontal shots, the
                  illustration opposite a suitable hold
                  for upright views.
                Hold your 35 GL steady while you
                release. That reduces the risk of ca-
             mera shake.


              Keep yourf ingers clear of the lens's
              view and of the CdS cells. Preferably
              press your fingers flat against the
                             f ront    of   the   camera   body.





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Releasing
  Once you see the view You want
in the  bright frame  of the  finder'
gently press down  the orange  re-
lease button: the shutter oPens to
take the picture.



  After an exposure the release re-
mains depressed and onlY comes uP
again when you start advancing the
film. That also tells you that you don't
have to let go of the button as soon
as you have taken the Picture    in
fact keep depressing it until you are
sure the exposure is finished.
  Once you get used to that You can
also tell from the position of the but-
ton whether you have advanced thefilm or not.                       ;u
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Advancingthe film
  Pull the film transpoil lever - at
the top right of the camera back -
tully out to the right and folard.
Repeatthis once more.
   lf you've failed to pull the lever
fully foruard either time, pull once
more.




 When you have a film loaded and    The light dot on the crank helps to
it is advancingcorrectly you also see   show up this movement.
the round knob with the rewindcrank    When you have exposed the whole
(at the top left of the camera) rotat-    film, the winding lever no longer
ing as you operate the film winding   moves out  fully and the release is
lever.                                blocked.
 So don't stop this knob from mov-    You can advance the film when the
ing as you wind.                         front cover is either open or closed.
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The frame counter
  The  frame  counter  (the  white
window  at the extreme  left of the
camera top) tells you how many pic-
tures you have taken on the film.
  Provided that you have not ad,
vanced the film (even partly) after
the last exposure, the frame counter
returns to the  start when you  re-
move the camera back to change the
film (see also page 25).

Setting the film speed
  Every film package carries a speed
rating in ASA andlor DlN.
  You must set this speed figure on
the camera to ensure that the auto-
matic control of the 35 GL correctly
exposes your film.
  Set this speed on the dial in the
camera base. The dial engages at
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every ASA/DI N figure. The un marked   Automatic exposure control
dots between  the arrowheads  are
appropriate intermediate values, for
instance 64 and 80 ASA between 50
and 100 ASA  (or 19 and 20 DIN
between 18 and 21 DIN). ASA values
are marked in red, DIN in green.
  You can turn the dial  all round,
there is no mechanical stop.

    lf you have set the film sPeed too
high, your shots will be underex-
posed; if the speed is set too low, You     Your Minox 35 GL hasan electron-
get overexposed pictures.                ically controlled  shutter that auto-
                                        matically selects the exposure time
                                                for any  preset  aperture  (aperture
                                                priority system). An auxiliary CdS ex-
                                     posure  meter  shows  this  shutter
                                 speed in the finder. Wth this modern
                                   system you can shoot raPid sequen-
                                     ces without  resetting the exposure.
                               You can equally select the ideal aper-
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ture for a given depth of field or the
best shutter speed (in the finder) for
action.
  You can  equally use a simple
snapshot setting for bright light: Set
the aperture ring (the rear milled ring
of the lens barrel) to f/5.6 and leave
everything  else    apart  from  the
distance setting (page 2Ol -  to the
automatic  control. This  is fine  for
quick  and  convenient  shooting,
though  it does not make full use of
the scope of your Minox 35 GL.


The lens aperture

  You can  set any  lens aperture   f-number (2.8 or 4l a large opening.
(f-stop) f rom t/2.8 to t/16 on the aper-   The higher the f-number, the greater
ture ring on the lens barrel.            the depth of field (i.e.the deeper the
  A high f-number (for instance 11or   sharp subject zone) but the longer
16) signifies a small aperture; a low   the exposure time required.
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Automatic electronic speeds
  The electronic shutter of the Minox     With medium film speeds you get
35 GL automaticallycontrols the ex-    for instance:
posure time to allow for the subject   1/500 to 8 seconds at 100 ASA
brightness, film speed setting and   1/500 to 16 seconds at 50 ASA
preselected aperture.                You cannot disengage the auto-
  The automatic range of the 35 GL   matic exposure control of the Minox
extends from 1/500 second to at least   35 GL.
1 second at 800 ASA or 30 DlN. In
the Minox 35 GL the film speed is one
factor controllingthe automaticshut-
ter speed circuit; hence the auto-
matic control range is greatly extend-
ed with slower films.
  Thus with 25 ASA or 15 DIN film
you get automatically correct expo-
sures from 1/500 second to about
30 seconds


1 6                 www.orphancameras.com                 ,iffi,

The shutter speed indication

  The electronic shutter establishes   frame as you look through the finder.
the exposu r e time d u ri ng th e exposu re      It indicates the approximate time -
itse/f according to the prevailing light   between1/500 and 1/30 second - that
conditions.                             the camera would expose at that mo-
  But the Minox 35 GL has an addi-   menf with the selected film sPeed,
tional CdS exposure meter to show    aperture  and  prevailing  subject
you before the exposure the likelY    brightness. However, you can also
exposure time at the selected aper-   use the shutter speed indication to
ture and subject brightness.            adjust the aperture setting  -  and
  The meter of the shutter sPeed in-   hence automaticallY the exposure
dication is switched on when:          time - before shooting, for instance
Oyou open the front cover, and          for a faster speed with a sports sub-
O you have advanced the film.           ject. Look through the finder and
  The needle thus only shows the   watch how turning the aperture ring
shutter speed when the camera is   on the lens barrel also alters the ex-
ready to shoot. After an exposure the   posure time.
meter is automatically switched off to     You  can  estimate  intermediate
save battery life.                     values -  for instance 1/250 second
  The meter needle appears as a    halfway between 1/500 and 1/125; or
dark line across the right hand bright   1/60 betweenl/125 and 1/30.
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The slow speed warning
                500      When the exposure meter needle
                                   drops into the shaded area below 1/30
                                  second, the exposure time at the se-
                  125      lected aperture will be longer than                                    1/30 second (e.g. 1/2O, 1/5 or even
                                    3 seconds).With hand-held shotsyou
                 30       thensimplyriskremindscamerayoushake.to selectThe aneedlelarger
                                      aperture. lf the light is too poor for
                                           that, either use flash (page 26, 31)
Left: Exposure time approx. 1/300        or expose for longer with a tripod.ffiffiRsecond
                                 The overexposure warning
Centre: S/owspeed warning (needle
in shaded area below 1/30 second)                                                                      lf the needle moves into the shaded
                                    area above 1/500 you risk overexpo-Right: Overexposure warni ng (poi nter                                    sure even at 1/500 second. Here se-in shaded area above 1/500 second)                                           lect a smaller apefture to bring the
                                        shutter speed back to 1/500 second
                                          or slower.
1 8
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The backlight switch

   tf     push the backlight  switch
(rhe      rectangularbutton to the
dght  of       llash  shoe)  fully  for-
ward,         times are automati-
cally doubled     instance1/250 in-
stead ofll500                                  ',n A red window     "2x"   white
remindsyou that you
on the backlight switch.
 The shutterspeed          in        Backlight switch on
finder shows the   i           real ex-
posuretime.
 Use the         switch not just
for backlit         (to lightenimpor-
tant deep         but also for out-
door views)yhere a bright sky covers
a large pAfi of the picture and would
          to an excessivelyshort ex-

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Distance and depth  of field

  You can focus the Minox 35 GL on
any distance between 3 feet and
infinity (€): turn the front ring to
bringthe appropriatedistanceoppo-
site the orange arrowhead.
  Subjectsare sharpestat the focus-
ed distancebut stilladequatelysharp
(for normal enlargements)over an
extendeddistancerange.This zone
of sharpnessis knownas the depth                               Snapshotsetting from 10 feet toof field.                                               infinity at fl8. A depth of field ring behind the
distance scale indicates the avail-
able sharpzone.This alwaysextends
from the left hand mark of a given
aperture to the right hand mark of
the same aperture.
  Dots mark the index positions for
f/8 (between 11 and 5.6) and tl4
(between5.6 and the arrowhead).
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Forexample,if you turn the distance   nerous standard for depth of field by
    scale so that 20 feet is opposite the   reading the depth for the next smaller
    arrowhead, your depth of field at f/8   f-number than you have actually set.
    extends from 10 feet to infinity (see   For instance you can set f/8 as the
     illustration).                       working apedure but read the sharp
     The smaller the selected aperture   zone for  f /11 on the distance scale.
    (higher f-number) the  greater the   But keep to the indicatedactualdepth
!r   depth of field at a given distance.      zones for your set aperture if you take
     The nearerthesubject distance,the   colour transparencies or want big
    smallerthe depth of field at a given   enlargements.
    aperture.
     The depth  of  field scale of the
   35 GL is based on a circle of con-
    fusion of 0.0011inch (0.028 mm) - a
   somewhat stricter criterion than  is
    usual in miniaturephotography (nor-
   mal COC is 0.0013inch or 0.033 mm).
       lf you only want comparativelysmall
    prints (say up to 3r/z x 5 inches or
    9 x 13 cm) you can allow a more ge-
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Loading the film





  Always load the camera in subdued    with the film leader pointing to the
light - outdoors at least in the shade    right
of your body.
  Tum the back cover locking  lever    Open the camera's front cover to
to uncover the red dot then pull off   be able to operate the release but-
the back from undemeath  (illustra-    ton. Work the film transport (releas-
tion a).                               ing in-betweenif necessary)to bring
   Insert the film cartridge  in the film    the broad slot of the take-up spool
chamber to the left of the film trach     to the top. Then press the rewind
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