Minox BL User manual

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Meter button                                               Flash post

Meter field with black                   GdS meter cell window
indicator needle and
red matching pointer
                                                     Sliding lever for gray
                                                                    filter and battery test
Shutter speed dial                           Viewfinder (front window)

                                                Shutter release button

                                                   Lens window

Congratulations





With your new Minox BL you are embarking on     read on. And, before making any important
a wonderful, un-burdened kind of picture-taking.      pictures - of a trip or some special event -  it'sYour exceptionally small and precise camera can     always a good idea to shoot a cartridge of film
go with you wherever you go, to give you lots     outdoors, and with flash indoors. This will give
of pleasure.                                  you practice in camera operation and provide a
It's easy to get good pictures with the Minox BL     check on your outfit.
and this little book will show you the way. The      But NOW - why not get acquainted with the ease
most important pointers are given, brief ly, in     and pleasure of picture-taking with your Minox -bold print. lf you want to know more, simply      the camera that never stays at home.

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Opening the camera
 For plcture-taklng pull the lllnox BL open ar lar
 as lt wlll go.





 While the camera is closed, the viewlinder and
 lens windows are protected within the housing'
 and the shutter releasE is locked. lf, after open-
 ing the camera and looking through the view-
 finder, you decide not to take a picture, slmply
 close the camera again. This "pre'view" feature
 saves film: the film advance can operate only
  after you have pressed the shutter release
  button.

                                                    2

The "three eyes"
The front ol the Mlnox BL contalns (top to bottom
 In the lllustratlon) the CdS cell wlndow of the
exposure metet, thevlewllnder and lenswlndowr.
These three wlndowg musl not be obstructed
 (walcfr your flngerst). Sharpness and brllllance
 of your plctures depends to an lmportant degree
on a spotlessly clean lens wlndow.




 lf the CdS cell is covered during measuring,
you'll get a wrong exposure indication.
You can spot smudges on the lens window easily
 if you slide the gray filter (see page 13) into
place as a dark background.  lf necessary, clean
the window gently with a sott (dryt) handkercfrief
or cotton swab on a stick. Silicon-treated eye.                                               Digitally signed by mike butkus
                                                                                                    DN:                                                                                                      cn=mike butkus,glass tissues are not suited for this purpose.     mike                                                                                                        o=orphancameras,By the way: The lens window is a UV filter whicfr                                       email=mike@butkus.org,ou=29,c=US
prevents unsharpness caused by strong ultra-                                         Date: 2018.01.12 19:20:04                        butkus            -05'00'violet rays in the mountains or at th€ ocean.

3

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Hold it s-t-e-a-d-y
 Hold your Mlnox firmly, yet relaxed, wlth both
 hands. Keep your thumbs on lhe underside ol
 lhe camera, olher lingers on top, so that the
 lhree windows are unobslructed.





 These illustrations show the most practical way
 of holding your Minox for horizontal and vertical
 shots.
 lf you cover the lens window during exposure,
 your picture will show a partial or complete
 shadow.  lf you cover the window of the CdS cell
 during measuring, the measurement will be
 wrong.
You have the best hold when both hands are
 steadied against your face and you let your
 fingers press the camera ends down against the
 thumbs - as if to bend the camera.Your Minox BL can, of course, remain in its
 eveready case for picture-taking. Simply fold the
 hinged section of the case all the way up against
 the underside. (See page 26.)

Taklng the picture
When you have lramed your picture in lhe
luminous rectangle of the viewfinder, hold the
camera steady and squeeze the shutter release
button gently.





The shutter release requires only very light
pressure and, to avoid jarring the camera, place
your index finger close to the release button
even before taking the picture and "roll"  it onto
the button when you are ready to shoot, while
holding your breath. Take the camera from your
eye only after you've heard the soft clicking of
the shutter.

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                                               Telescopic rapid wind
                                                     Atter you have taken a plcture, 'close' the ca-
                                                  mera. Then, for the next plcture, you pull lt open
                                                        agaln. Wlth lhls "push-pull", the film ls advanced
                                                       for the nexl picture, the shutter re-cod<ed and
                                                    the exposure counter moved to the next number
                                                       - all aulomatlcallyl However, thls occurs only  lf,
                                                   before closlng your Mlnox, you actually took a
                                                     picture or othervlse released the shutter. Jusl
                                              be sure to close and open lhe camera all the way
                                                    every llme.Circle in lens window indicates that the
Minox is ready tor the next picture



                                            The small circle in the lens window tells you that
                                                 the shutter is wound ready for the next picture.
                                       The circle disappears after you have released
                                                    the shutter: Your signal that you must 'push-pull'
                                                      before taking the next picture.
                                                                                     lf you don't want to take a picture after opening
                                                    the camera, simply close it until the next picture
                                                     opportunity comes along.
                                                      But, if you're in a hurry to take pictures in quick
                                               succession: One-two, One-two, One-two! Go
                                              ahead - your Minox can take it.

Set the film speed
 Turn the dial on the underside of the camera lo
 the ASA number of the film whicfr you are using.
 Thls sets the exposure meter for the sensitivity
 of the film. The ASA number is shown on every
 Minox film pad<age or on the lllm anstruction
 sheet (DlN numbers do not appty In Engtish-
speaking counlries).




Inadvertent setting of too high an ASA number
 results in under-exposures; too low, in over-     Film speed dial on underside
exposures.                                            ol camera (shown set at ASA50/18 DIN)

ASA dlal settangs
The ASA dial of your Minox BL shows the values
listed below in bold type; the intermediate va-
lues are indicated by dots on the dial.
12     25        50          100         200
16326/                        125        250
20     40        80         160        3202s    50      100        200         400
I

(see page 13) and take a new exposure measute-
ment; wlth the liller ln place a posslble  1l200f.
sec. - whlcfr ls beyond the Mlnox speed scale -
aulomatlcally becomes 1/5dl sec., for exampte.

Longer exposures
At shutter speede from about 1/30 or slower,
use a trlpod or other llrm support to avold
blurred results; for Indoor shols, u8e flash.
(See page 30.)

Shutter settlng at'B'
Under unfavorable llght condlllone, when ex-
posures ol longer than 1/2 gecond may be ne-
cessary, sucfi longer exposures can be obtalned
wlth the shutter dlal set at 'B'. At thls setilng the     lndicated exposure: 1 second. Set shufter
shutter opens when you press the ehuiler releaee    speed dial to'B' - expose for one second.button and remains open untll you let the release
go.

Index mark for 1 sec. expooure
lf the exposure measuremenl -  alter matcfilng
the red pointer to the Indlcator needte - shows a    Match needle stops at'B'shulter dlal settlng at the Index mark between        lf the shutter speed dlal reacfi* 'B' belore you
'B' and 2 (1l2sec.), the requlred exposure le     can matdr the red polnter to lhe lndlcator needle,
1 second: Set the dlal at 'B' and hold lhe shutter     the necessary exposure ls longer than one 8e-
release bulton pressed down for one second.        cond and cannot be ehown by the bullt-ln meler.

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 The CdS meter in your Minox BL gives you ex-
 posure measurements over a wide range of
 picture-taking conditions. Please remember to
 keep the cell window unobstructed by a finger,
 hat brim, strands of hair, etc. Otherwise you'll
 get faulty measurements.

 Exposure should always be adjusted to the most
 important parts of a scene. The CdS cell of the
 BL exposure meter is designed for "center-
 weighted" measuring with more attention to the
 center of the picture area than to the edges or
 corners. Therefore, during exposure measure-
 ment (while you hold the meter button down) aim
 the center of the viewfinder at the most impor-
 tant area of the picture, even if  it should be
 located along the edge of the picture when you
 make the actual exposure.
  lf you want to use a faster ot. .io*",  shutter
 speed than the meter reading indicates after you
 have matched the red pointer to the indicator
 needle, you can, of course, turn the shutter
 speed dial to any other position. To cut the
 measured exposure time in half (e.9. trom 1/125
 to 1/250), turn the shutter speed dial one step to
 the left; to double the exposure time (e.9. from
 1/125 to 1/60), turn one step to the right.

                                                      12

Gray (neulral density) filter
 For very brlght scenes - beacfr In brllllant sun,
3now, llght-colored bulldlngs, etc. - and forlaster lllms, the meter Indicator needle ol your
Mlnox BL may stand In the gray zone of lhe
meter lleld: A slgnal that t/1000 sec. woutd be
too long an exposure. To adfust the exposure
under eudr condltions, slmply push the rldged
elldlng lever above the vlewfinder all the way
lowardr the lens wlndow to move the gray fllter
Into place. Take a new exposure measurement
and turn the shutter epeed dial to matdr the
brad<ets ol the red follow polnter wlth the btad<
Indlcator needle.





The gray filter increases the required exposure
by about 4 times and the CdS meter takes this
into consideration in the filtered measurement.
Thus, a possible 1/2OOO sec., for example - whicfr
is beyond the Minox shutter speed scale - auto-matically becomes 1/500 sec.

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 Battery test
 Wlth normal use, the battery supplled wlth your
 illnox BL to power lhe CdS expo3ure meter,
 lasts more than a year. lt ls advlsable, howeyel,
 to cfied< the condltlon ol the batlery from tlme
 to llme, as lollows: Tum the ehutler epeed dlal
 untll a small blad( dted( area la vlelble at the
 edge ol the meter fleld. Then push the rldged
 slldlng lever above the vlewflnder In the dlrectlon
 of the meler cell wlndow whlle you hold down
 the meler button. Durlng thle battery tesl, the
 blad< Indlcator needle should move Into the blad<
 cfted( area (or to the rlght ol lt). Othervbe, re-.
 moye the battery lmmedlately (see page 23) and
 replace  lt wllh a fresh one.



  lf you cannot obtain a fresh battery immediately,
 you can nevertheless continue to take pictures
 with your Minox BL as its shutter operation  is
 not dependent on the meter battery.
 It is also a good practice to remove the battery
 before you store the camera for extended
 periods.

Distance setting
The distance scale is calibrated lrom inlinlty (oo)
 to 8 Inches. To set, rotate the dial until the deslr-
ed dlstance ls al lhe blad< dot in the middle of
the small brad<et. The brad<et indicates the
range ol sharpness at each setting. Example:
With the scale sel at the red dot (12 tt.) you have
a unlversal snapshot selllng with sharpness from
 Infinity (oo) to 6 ft.

                                                \at
                                             Snapshot setting; range ol sharpness lrom
                                                    6lt to lnlinity o
For landscapes with no important foreground
closer than 12 ft., use the infinity (oo) setting.
The following "standard" settings are also use-
ful: With scale set at 6ft., you get sharpness
from 4 ft. to 111/z ft. - With scale set midwaybetween 3 ft. and 6 ft., sharpness extends from
3 - 6 ft., fine for medium close-ups of people. Forsubjects closer than 2 teet, always use the
measuring chain (see following page).

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 Extreme close-ups - Measuring Chain
 Al dlrtances ol2 feel or less, the range of sharp-
 nesg becomes smal!; close distances musl be
 sel carefully on the dlslance scale. Use your
 Mlnox camera chain tor measuring: With the
 cfialn held taut and al rlght angles trom camera
 to subject, the chaln beade lndicate distances of
 8, 10, 12 and 18 Inches; the full length cfialn
 measures 24 Inches.



 After measuring, set the distance on the distance
 dial of the camera. To take the picture, hold the
 chain at the appropriate bead and extend  it
 once more to the subject to re-establish the cor-
 rect distance; then S-T-A-Yat that distance,lower
 the chain and release the shutter.
 When using a measuring tape or rule instead of
 the cftain, measure the distance from the front
 of the camera.
 For occasions when you may want to use your
 Minox BL camera without the eveready case,
 your dealer can supply a safety/measuring chain
 which locks directly into the corresponding
 socket of your camera.

                                                        16

No F-slop setting
      The aperture (f-etop) ol the hlghly correcled
         lllnor 15 mm l/3.5 lour-element lens always oper-
 f       ater "wlde open" - there ls no f-rtop rcale.  I
  II





I        ff,is is another great Minox advantage: The lens I      of your Minox BL has a great range of sharp-
       ness (see Distance Setting) and always works at
;          its full f/3.5 opening!I      Exposure is controlled solely by the shutter
-!     speeds whicfr - because of the targe lens open-
         ing - are always relatively short.

         17

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                                ViewfinderrT                      The brlght lumlnour frame wllhln the vlewflnder
                              shows you the exact plcture area that wlll appeal
                               on your fllm.





                            The viewfinder image is automatically corrected,
                              at all distances, to be identical with the film
                                  image. (Parallax Compensation).
                            At extrembly close distance (L10 in.), the film
                           image is slightly smaller than the viewfinder
                             image - by about one frame-line width on all
                                    sides within the luminous rectangle.

Exposure counter
The numbers and scale llnes of the Mlnox BL
exposure counter Indlcate how many more ex-
posures you can stlll make on the fllm. Belore
you Inserl a new lllm cartrldge, the counlet must
be set to a dellnlte loadlng posltlon. (See p. 20.)





All Minox films are available in 3&exposure
cartridges, some also in 1S-exposure cartridges.
1S-exposure cartridges are used only within the
dark counter scale with white numerals.

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                              Loading with film\J                 \-,
                                 Always load - or unload - the Mlnox In subdued
                                             llghl, or In the shade; lf there ls no other shade,
                                        turn your bad< iowardg the sun.

                                 Set counter lo "loadlng" posltlon: Whlle holdlng
                           down lhe shutter release button, 'push-pull' the
                            camera unlll the exposure counter ls sel for
                                      loadlng posltlon.

                               For 36-exposure carlrldgee: set to red dot bet-
                             ween 0 and 36 (lllustratlon at near left).

                               For l5-exposure carlrldges: set to red llne bet-
                             ween 20 and 15 (lllustratlon at lar left).

                             Open camera bad<: Pull camera out. Press down
                         on crescent-shaped snaplod< on underslde ol
                              camera and sllde open the bad< cover all the
                             way until both lilm compartments are free.

                                    lnsert cartrldge: Drop lhe cartddge Inlo fllm
                               compartments and close the bad< cover untll  lt
                                 snaps shut. 'Push-pull' and release shutter twlce.

The exposure counler now slands at '36' or '15'
 depending on the original lilm loading setting.

 Set the ASA/DIN dial for the correct fllm speed.





On very rare occasions the film cartridge may
not drop flush into the camera so that the back
cover cannot be closed. (This is not your fault
nor a defect.) lt may occur if the take-up core
of the film cartridge happens to rest exactly on
the teeth of the transport wheel in the film com-
partment of the camera. Remedy: Lift out the
film cartridge and, with your fingertip, turn the
triple-tooth transport wheel in the camera film
compartment  slightly further clockwise; then re-
insert the film and close the camera back cover.

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 Un-loading
 Watc*r the exposure counter! Alter the final ex-
 posure, 'push-pull' and release the shutter twice.
 (The exposure counter then stands at the red
 dot between 0 and 36.)
 Open the camera bac*. With slight tapping of
 the camera, the cartridge will drop into your
 hand; or it may be lifled out by its brldge.





 As the exposure counter now stands at the (red
 dot) loading position for 36-exposure cartridges,
 you can insert a fresh 36-exposures film without
 further adjustments.
  lf the next film is in a 1S-exposure cartridge, set
 the exposure counter to the red line between
 20 and 15 before inserting the film (see page 20).
 Place the exposed cartridge in a film box or
 wrap it in dark paper until  it is developed.