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| The Minox, the archetypal sub-miniature camera, was invented by the engineer Walter Zapp of Riga, Latvia, in 1936. Production in Riga at VEF ran from 1937/1938 until 1944. After WWII, production was re-started in Germany from 1948. |
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Although primarily marketed as a luxury item, the Minox was also used as an espionage camera. Its close-focusing lens and small size made it perfect for covert uses such as surveillance or document copying. The Minox was used by both Axis and Allied intelligence agents during World War II. Later versions were used well into the 1980s. The Soviet spy John A. Walker Jr., whose actions against the US Navy cryptography programs represent some of the most compromising intelligence actions against the United States during the Cold War era, used a Minox C to photograph documents and ciphers. The espionage use of the Minox has been memorialized by Hollywood movies, and some Minox marketing efforts played up the "spy camera" story in an effort to boost sales.
The Minox cameras use a small cartridge of 9.5mm film, one-quarter the size of 35mm, capable of holding up to 50 frames.
Minox 9.5mm camera models
* I
* II
* III
* IIIc
* B - ultralight aluminium shell, produced from 1958 to 1972
* C - introduced in 1969, used by spy John A. Walker, Jr.
* LX - electronic
* EC
The earlier mechanical cameras are collector's items. Newer electronic versions, such as the Minox LX, remain in production yet today, essentially unchanged in general features since the 1970s.
Other products
Minox has also made a very compact plastic bodied 35 mm camera series, as well as 110 film cameras. Although not market leaders, the 35mm cameras are still produced, and well regarded. Recently, Minox introduced a line of compact binoculars and a range of digital cameras.
Company
After a management buyout in August 2001 and a reduction of Leica-held shares down to 49%, Minox is no longer a division of the Leica company.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Minox". |
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