This month we’ll be looking at a subminiature Minox camera, specifically the model B, made from 1958 to 1971. It is a classic spy camera because it is tiny (3.8″ x 1.1″ x 0.6″) and easily concealed. Subminiature refers to the tiny negative size – 8x11mm on 9.5mm film. The film comes in a tiny (46 x 19 x 10mm) cartridge that originally held between 15 and 50 exposures. The B’s exposure counter goes up to 50, but newer models’ counters only go to 36. Film is still made for these cameras in 36 exposure cartridges.

The original Minox camera, made in Riga Latvia, was introduced around 1938. It has a stainless steel body and no meter, which made it almost an inch shorter than the B. All models after the original, including the B, were made in West Germany by a new company set up after World War II. They have aluminum or plastic bodies. The B is not the first postwar model. There was a model A in Europe which was sold in the USA, with variations, as the II, III, and III-S.

The model B operates much the same as the original and all other Minox half-inch subminis. The camera opens by pulling it about a half-inch out along the long dimension. Closing it winds the film and the shutter. Opening the camera exposes the lens and viewfinder, and unlocks the shutter button. The 15mm lens has only one f stop – 3.5, wide open, but shutter speeds from 1 second to 1/1000, plus B and T. You change only the shutter speed to set the exposure, assisted by the model B’s selenium (no battery) exposure meter. You can also alter the exposure with built-in filters. The B has filters that can be brought in front of the lens with the slide of a finger. The B’s filters are Green and Neutral Density. Newer models than the B have a battery for the exposure meter and, on the newest models, for an electronic shutter.

One other adjustment to make before taking a picture is focusing the lens by turning a dial. You have a range from 8″ to infinity. As a spy camera, focusing correctly at short distances for documents was critical, so there is a two foot chain attached to the camera that (on American models) has marks at 1’6″, 1′, 10″, and 8″, which match labeled marks on the focusing dial. European models have metric marks on the chain and focus dial. The viewfinder has parallax correction – moving bright lines to show the edges of the frame, which is important when you are focusing as close as 8 inches.

There is one last thing to note. On the model B, opening the camera always advances the film. If you do not take a picture after opening the camera, and just close the camera, you create a blank shot. This was corrected in later models. The camera does need to be closed to fit back into its leather case.

As already mentioned, you can still get Minox film and use these cameras. Blue Moon Camera in Portland, Oregon sells film and also has processing services. It’s not cheap, but it can be done.