Some
Useful Resources for the Minolta Enthusiast
I've listed a few resources for the Minolta enthusiast below; while these are as updated as I can make them, please bear in mind that some information may have changed over time. This is by no means a complete listing, there are many more out there on the Internet, etc. I'll be happy to include any that you may find that are not on the list if you'll drop me a line via the home page to this site.
Clubs, Reference and
Information:
The Sub Club www.subclub.org
If there is one place on the web that comes closest to serving all the interests of any subminiature camera user (not just Minox, although there is plenty of that), this would have to be that place. There's no room to list all of the great features of this site, but some of the more notable ones include an incredible volume of reference articles on every conceivable topic, a chat room and user group listing to allow conversation world wide with fellow enthusiasts, news, swap meet area, sponsors and advertisers area for tracking down those hard to find items, etc. A wonderfully well designed, entertaining and informative site, this is an absolute must see for anyone interested in subminiature cameras and photography. Some of the links listed here were discovered at the Sub Club site, and they have many, many more.
Gerald McMullon's UK Submini page http://www.submin.com/
Gerald McMullon's subminiature camera web site remains the ultimate research facility for anything you could possible want to know about every Minolta 16mm camera and accessory ever made, and was a priceless tool for me in creating my own Minolta site. Gerald is a collector in the truly grand sense of the word, as you'll see from the many detailed photographs of not just his extended Minolta 16 collection, but his Minox, Rollei and Keiv collections as well. Whether you're in the UK or not, this excellent resource is a treasure not to be missed.
Minolta 16 Mania http://silverstone.fortunecity.com/chrysler/1000/min16.html
Descriptive, and accurate, in describing this very comprehensive site dedicated to a wide range of Minolta 16 series cameras and accessories. Packed with useful tips and data, it even includes a very nice gallery of Minolta 16 series photographs. Fellow Minolta and Minox enthusiast James Jones has created a wonderfully informative and entertaining site that is a most highly recommended stopping place in your Minolta journey!
Dan Colucci's Antique Camera Web site http://members.aol.com/dcolucci
At first glance, Dan's beautifully designed and well laid out web site seems to be devoted exclusively to handmade, wood and brass, antique view cameras of classic vintage, but don't let that fool you. Look further and find that he has thoughtfully listed a wonderfully wide range of links to sites covering cameras of all types, makes and models. Of particular note are his references to classic Nikon, Konica, Olympus, Leica, Minolta and other rangefinder cameras, links to several excellent subminiature camera reference sites, a great compendium "book store" of links to some of the most desirable photographic and camera books in publication, repair links, etc. Dan publishes a monthly newsletter on his site, and can email it to you as well if you care to sign up for it, in addition to buying and selling cameras, and providing a camera identification service. This is definitely a gold mine for the researcher, an excellent jumping off point for a wealth of information about the classics…highly recommended!
Just for Fun:
SubMini Camera Cameos www.mwbrooks.com/submini/flicks/index.html
Marcus Brooks has a wonderfully entertaining and informative site that features the cameo appearances of all sorts of subminiature cameras in a wide variety of films, TV shows and adventure book references. The listing grows on a continuous basis, so check back often. Each listing shows a picture of the camera being used in the scene where it appears, and a small description of the movie, plot line and comments. Explore the entire site, as he has much useful reference information as well…
Film and Processing Services:
Goat Hill: Minox & Minolta bulk film, cartridge reloading and more!
http://www.subclub.org/sponsors/goathil2.htm
Joe McGloin, creator of the fantastic Sub Club web site described earlier on this page, runs Goat Hill, a supplier of bulk film for Minox 9.5mm and Minolta 16mm subminiature enthusiasts at very reasonable prices. The array of colour and B&W film stock to choose from is dizzying, and he'll even load the film into cartridges, if you supply them. This is an absolutely essential service for those enthusiasts who either don't have the facilities or the time to roll their own. Payment can be as easy as a PayPal payment sent to him at XKAES@AOL.COM Payment, orders or inquiries can also be mailed to him at :
Joe McGloin
3271 S. Clay St.
Sheridan, CO 80110
USA
Joe's prices include free shipping within the USA, add 50% of the price to the order if shipping is outside the US.
The Covert Camera: Minox & Minolta cartridge reloading, film
processing and printing service!
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/thecovertcamera/index.html
David Maliniak offers a cartridge loading service for enthusiasts of Minox 9.5mm and Minolta 16mm cameras for those who don't have the time or facilities needed to roll their own, but want easy access to quality film, ready to use. Dave loads Kodak ISO 100, 200 and 400 colour print film into Minox or Minolta cartridges the customer supplies. He will also custom load other film types, inquire in advance. Covert Camera will also process the film, make the prints and reload the cartridge, all for very reasonable prices. You can email Dave at TheCovertCamera@netscape.net Payment is by personal check made out to Dave; payment, film or inquiries can be mailed to him at:
David Maliniak
P.O. Box 268
Gilbertsville, Pa. 19525-0268
A Better Photo: Minolta film processing and printing service!
"A Better Photo" is the name of this one hour film processing service in Cranbury, NJ, who have just started offering a Minolta 16mm film processing and printing service by mail. They will accept any C-41 process based colour negative print film (the vast majority of colour negative print films that are commercially processed are C-41 process based) for processing and custom printing, and return them right to your mailbox. They want you to know that while the processing and printing are machine based, the printing is strictly custom: they look at each print individually and will adjust filtration as necessary so that print quality is guaranteed.
Customers should send them the unexposed film in a 35mm canister (the black, light tight ones), with the top taped down, and clearly marked "Undeveloped Minolta 16mm Film". Do NOT send them the film in the Minolta 16mm cartridges as you will NOT get them back.
Currently, the cost is $8.22 to process and print an 18 exposure roll (Minolta 16 MG-s and QT cameras), and $8.80 to process and print a 20 exposure roll (all earlier model Minolta 16mm cameras, i.e., MG, PS, 16 II, 16 I, etc.). You do not get charged for the 4 x 5" prints that don't come out, so the actual cost may be a little less. There is a flat, 3.00 Shipping and Handling fee that must be added to the order for return shipping anywhere in America.
Reprints from negatives are 49 cents each on orders of 50 or more prints; 59 cents on orders of less than 50 prints; flat rate $3.00 return shipping and handling.
Send your film and cheque, Postal Money order or bank cashier's cheque, along with your film, to:
A Better Photo
Windsor Hights Shopping Centre
Route 130 and 571
East Windsor, NJ 08520
Tel. 609-448-8720
Blue Moon Camera and Machine http://www.bluemooncamera.com/
8417 North Lombard Street
Portland, Oregon 97203
voice: 503.978.0333
fax: 503.978.0370
Blue Moon Camera and Machine has got to be one of the greatest single resources for photographers in general, and subminiature enthusiasts in particular. These people have an incredible array of resources they can tap to quickly track down and make available to you some of the most arcane and innocuous accessories for just about any photographic device ever made. Their on hand stock of cameras, accessories and support supplies would amaze you. At a time when many photo stores are no longer stocking the 50 sheet packs of Kodak lens cleaning tissue because they don’t want to purchase a case lot of 200, Blue Moon came through, as they did with a number of odd size “snap cap” lens covers for 35mm classic compact rangefinder cameras that haven’t been made in years, to name just a few things. They have the on site ability to process, print, and enlarge both black and white or colour film, in such sizes as 110 Pocket Instamatic, 126 Instamatic, 127, 120 and 35mm film. Here are just a few of the 110 and subminiature camera support services they offer currently offer, as quoted to me by Josey:
“We can do Minox color film within three days of receiving the film. The outside is 3 1/2 x 5 inches and the photo is 2 1/8 x 3 1/8 inches. Developing of film is $2.50 and prints are .40 ea. For a 15 shot roll this is $8.50 and a 36 comes out to $16.90. Cartridges happily returned upon request.
Reprints
of the standard size are .49 ea. From
there, we jump to a 5x7 at $4.00, 8x10 at $8.00, and 11x14 at $12.50. This is
the same for 16mm negatives.
I
do not have any examples of 16mm prints, but they have a black border rather
than white. We are still refining the printing, but will happily print the
black border prints for the same price as Minox above.
We
sell factory fresh 8 x 11 color in 100 and 400 ASA and b/w in 25, 100 or 400
ASA. All films are $9.00. We are still
researching 16mm reloads at this time.
We
can do black and white: developing for a roll of Minox is $6.00. We can print these on color paper in a
slight sepia or cooler tone at the same price as color. 15 exp = $12.00 and 36
exp = $20.40.
We
do not have a way to do 16mm b/w film, but we can figure it out as demand
arises.
We
can enlarge from either Minox or Minolta film up to 16x20 in the darkroom and
standard reprints are on color paper in cool or warm tone.
We
do process and print 110 color film. We also have quite a few Instamatic type
cameras on hand as well as two Pentax 110 w/lens and one Pentax kit w/ 3
lenses, flash, winder and leather case.
We have three kinds of 110 film: Kodak, Fuji, and Solaris. Best of all, we have a Kodak 110 slide
projector. Prices for developing are
the same as the previous Minox costs.”
This is simply a partial listing of services, supplies and products – Blue Moon provides some of the friendliest and most professional contact you’ll find in photographic circles, and should be your first stop when trying to track down something you want. Although their web site is still under construction, it will be well worth looking in on every now and again to see it when it comes up: Blue Moon also has a wonderful variety of scientific items and apparatus that can best be described as “interesting and great fun!” Highly recommended.
Minolta Film Cartridge Reloading and Processing Service http://www.uslink.com/~hepcats/minfilm.html
Tim Verthein offers film reloading into your customer supplied Minolta cassettes at very reasonable prices, currently with Fuji Super G Colour print film, ISO 100, or Kodak Double X black and white film (ISO 200). More films types to select from are promised soon. He also offers C-41 colour print film processing and printing, and black and white film processing only (no printing). Film processing prices also include reloading your cartridge with a fresh load of film. Payment is by cheque, money order or cash. Film, inquiries and orders can be made to
Tim Verthein
Box 481
Bovey, Minnesota 55709
Film slitters for
reloaders:
ZipSlit!
John Birkby is a fellow subminiature enthusiast in Wales who became horrified at some of the prices he saw for ready made film slitters, so he had his company design and produce one of his own. The result is ZipSlit, a delightfully easy to use film slitter not much bigger than the "coffin box" that Minolta film cartridges come in. Available in two versions, one for 16mm film and one for 8x11mm Minox film, both use precision blades solidly and permanently mounted in a heavy injection molded plastic block that is designed to be thrown away once the blades wear out, after many, many rolls of film. The idea is that you will have saved so much on loading your own film cartridges from film slit from universally available 35mm film that you'd be able to easily afford to purchase a replacement.
One ZipSlit will cost USD $38.00, which includes shipping and handling to America; those of you who would like to order one of each can get a special price of USD $63.00 for two including the shipping and handling to America (specify which size film you want, i.e., one for 16mm, one for 8x11mm, or two 16mm, etc.). Each ZipSlit includes an extremely clear instruction sheet and a complimentary 12 exposure roll of 35mm colour print film to practice with. You may place your order with John via email, and pay by personal cheques drawn against an American bank or email it to him electronically, via PayPal.
John Birkby
Email: john.birkby@eidosnet.co.uk
Film Tech
Alltcafan Mill
Pentre Court
Llandysul
Carmarthenshire
SA44 5BD
U.K.
Sub Club
http://www.subclub.org/darkroom/splitter.htm
At some point in time you're going to want to explore custom slitting and loading your own film to take full advantage of the wide variety of films available. A film slitter is an essential part of this process, and one of the very best jumping off points for making or obtaining a good quality one of your own can be found at this extremely useful Sub Club page.
Repair and Service Facilities:
Repair Shop for Minolta Subminiatures: Essex Camera Service http://www.essexcamera.com
Essex Camera Service repairs Minolta subminiature cameras (and a lot of others, as well). As of Jan, 02, they say that a CLA (Clean, Lube and Adjust) on a Model 16 II is about $90.00. You can write to them at the address below, call or visit their web site. Please note this is not a camera sales shop, it is a repair facility only.
Essex Camera Service
100 Amor Ave.
Carlstadt, NJ 07072
Phone: (201)-933-7272
Fax: (201)-933-7647
email: info@essexcamera.com Business Hours: Mon-Fri: 9AM-6PM, Sat: 10AM-4PM
Repairing Minolta 16 II and Kiev Cameras http://www.geocities.com/markhahn2000/repair.html
If you have an eyeglass screwdriver and a modicum of patience, Mark Hahn has created an absolutely wonderfully detailed and photographically illustrated site that will walk you right through disassembling a Model 16 II or Kiev series camera, cleaning it, and putting it all back together again. I was amazed at how well done this site was: I took mine apart in less than 5 minutes, cleaned it, actually got it all back together again…and it still worked! If you're looking for a class act, you can't get much better than the casual notation that all of the illustrations were photographs taken with a Minox camera…Well done, Mark!
Batteries and Miscellaneous
Resources:
Battery Replacements for Minolta and Minox Cameras www.photobattery.com
This company sells fresh replacements for discontinued or hard to find batteries for a variety of cameras and other photographic applications. Of special interest is the silver oxide S27PX battery replacement for Minox cameras and accessories (replaces the discontinued PX27 battery used in the Model C, LX, EC cameras and FL-4 flash cube gun) and the Lithium replacement for the PX30 battery (used in the Minolta QT cameras). Order on line with major credit cards; prices include free shipping in America, $1.00 to ship to Canada, $2.00 for airmail elsewhere. Email questions to sales@photobattery.com
Criscam Mercury Battery Replacement Battery Adapter Sleeves http://www.criscam.com/mba.htm
Kanto Camera Service Company, Ltd., in Japan, makes a wonderful line of finely made battery adapter sleeves to adapt currently available common batteries for use in equipment that requires discontinued or hard to find batteries. These adapter sleeves are sold by the American distributer, Criscam, from their web site. Of particular interest is the V27PX non-voltage regulating type for Minox cameras and accessories requiring the discontinued PX27 batteries (the voltage regulating model is not recommended for Minox cameras) which uses 4 SR-43 or equivalent button cell batteries. The MR9 model will allow the use of a S76 or equivalent button cell battery in the Minolta 16 MG-S camera (or anything else that requires a PX13 or PX625 battery), and includes an integral voltage regulation circuit buried in the finely machined aluminum adapter sleeve.
Replacement selenium cell elements http://www.megatron.co.uk/
This British based company makes selenium cell elements, and can provide inexpensive, single unit quantities of custom sized elements, with or without leads in place, for those of us in need of a replacement for our exposure metres in older Minolta cameras. Many thanks to Kevin from the Sub Club user group list who kindly posted this information there…
Purchase Books:
Petra Kellers' Photo/ACR Book Service www.camerabooks.com
This California based book store caters specifically to photography enthusiasts, with an inventory of over 600 photography specific books available. A wide range of photography books covering all types of camera formats, repair manuals, general guides, and a section specifically devoted to subminiature cameras are just part of this well designed web store. Excellent prices, enthusiastic and courteous service make this another invaluable reference source for the photographer.
Craig Camera http://www.craigcamera.com/
If you're looking for a photography book or a manual for a long since out of production camera, chances are you won't do better at finding it, and at extremely reasonable prices, than here. John is a true gentleman, extremely professional and courteous, and fast…and he takes cheques, major credit cards and PayPal! Highly recommended…
P.O.BOX 1637
TORRINGTON, CT 06790
Tel. (860) 496-9791
FAX: (860) 496-0664
Email: john@craigcamera.com
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© Sep 2000 by D. Scott Young, all rights reserved