MINOX GmbH, Postfach 6020, D-6300 Giessen 1 West Germany 482 e Modifications reserved · Printed in Germany VIII/83 Owner's manual This detailed instruction manual will help you to make the most of your Minox 35 PL. The most important text sections are printed in bold type. References to parts, controls or camera signals are followed by a numeral in brackets; This is the number of that part in the annotated illustrations on pages 4 and 5. Most handling steps work without a film in the camera. So get familiar with your camera by trying it out before actually taking pictures. Many operations of the Minox 35 PL are controlled electronically. The camera therefore only works with a battery. Despite its small dimensions the Minox 35 PL is a full-frame 24 x 36 mm miniature camera and takes any standard 35 mm (No. 135) cartridge. Annotated camera views Front view Rear view Handling the camera The battery Inserting the battery Battery check Opening and closing the camera The viewfinder Holding it right Releasing Advancing the film The frame counter Setting the film speed Daylight exposures Program automation The slow-speed warning The backlight switch Flash exposures The sefltimer The distance setting Loading the film Unloading the film Care of the camera Accessories Special computer flash units Minox FC 35 Minox TC 35 The ever-ready case The belt and wrist pouch The pocket tripod Push-on filters The skylight filter The neutral density filter Technical data 1 Frame counter 2 Shutter release 3 Battery check button 4 Backlight switch 5 Hot shoe 6 Slow-speed warning LED 7 Battery check LED 8 Film rewind crank 9 Sefltimer LED 10 Viewfinder 11 Battery compartment 12 Aperture ring 13 Distance scale 14 Lens 15 CdS cell 16 Front cover 17 Viewfinder eyepiece 18 Selftimer switch 19 Film transport lever 20 Take-up spool 21 Rewind release 22 Tripod bush 23 Film speed scale 24 Back cover lock 25 Film chamber Certain functions of the Minox 35 PL. such as the shutter and automatic exposure settings, are controlled electronically. The camera therefore only works with a battery. It requires a 5.6 volt mercury oxide battery, for instance: Duracell PX 27 Varta V 27 PX or equivalents. Open the front cover (16). Unscrew the battery compartment cover (11) anticlockwise, with a coin if necessary. Insert the battery so that the + end faces the inside of the compartment cover, also marked with a + sign. Replace the cover and screw tight again. A click on pressing the release does not necessarily indicate correct operation of the electronic shutter. So check the battery. Open the front cover (16), fully advance the film transport lever (19) - see page 12 - and check as follows: Fully depress the small rectangular battery check button (3) between the hot shoe and the green release button. If the left-hand green LED (7) in front of the hot shoe lights up, the battery is OK. If the green LED (7) fails to light the battery is exhausted or was inserted the wrong way around. If the green LED (7) goes dim within 2-3 seconds, the battery is nearly exhausted - so replace it as soon as possible. The battery check does not indicate how much longer the battery will last. To be on the safe side, replace the bat- tery once a year by a new one, even if the battery check is still positive. Apparent early failure of the battery may in fact be due to a poor contact. Remove the battery from the camera, firmly rub down both contact faces with a rough cloth and replace. Never keep spent or too old batteries in the camera. Also remove the battery if you do not expect to use the camera for some time. Note: The battery used here contains mercury compounds that could pose a health risk. So never throw used batteries on a fire; also keep them out of the reach of small children. Photo dealers usually accept spent batteries for disposal. To prepare the Minox 35 PL for shooting, fully pull down the front cover (16). After shooting push the The bright frame in the finder (17) outlines the field of view. cover up again against the camera body. Opening the front cover automatically extends the lens (14), closing the cover retracts it. In certain light conditions a red signal appears in the finder below the bright frame at the right. This is the slow-speed warning signal (page 16). The closed cover also covers the viewfinder, blocks the release and switches off all electric circuits. The closed front cover (16) also blocks the finder view. So when you see nothing through the finder you must open the cover. With the camera closed you can still advance the film (page 12) or rewind an exposed film (page 24). The picture at the left shows a convenient camera hold for horizontal shots, the illustration opposite a suitable hold for upright views. To minimise the risk of camera shake hold your 35 PL steady while you shoot Once you have framed the view you want in the bright-line finder frame, gently depress the green release button (2).That triggers the shutter to take the picture. On pressing the release, the selftimer LED (9) briefly lights up on the camera front. During the exposure the red slow speed warning LED lights up on the camera top (6) and in the finder at the bottom right. This red signal Keep your fingers clear of the lens (14) and of the CdS cell (15). Preferably press your fingers flat against the front of the camera body. remains lit until the shutter closes - a useful indication during long time exposures with the camera mounted on a tripod. The frame counter (1) - the white window at the far right of the camera top ­ tells you how many pictures you have taken on the film. The frame counter returns to its start position when you remove the Pull the film transport lever (19) -at the top right of the camera back fully out to the right and forward. camera back to change the film (see page 24) or as soon as you then press the release (2). Repeat this. If you failed to pull the lever fully forward either time, pull once more. If you have loaded the film and it is advancing correctly, the knob with the rewind crank (8) at the top left of Every film package carries an ASA speed rating (and often DIN). To set the automatic exposure program of the 35 PL for the film speed, turn the dial (23) in the camera base the camera also rotates as you operate the transport lever. So do not obstruct this knob as you wind. When the whole film is exposed, the transport lever no longer swings out A light dot on the rewind crank (8) shows up this movement. fully and the release is blocked. You can advance the film with the front cover open or closed. to the appropriate ASA (or DIN) rating of the film. The dial engages at every speed setting. The unmarked dots between the arrowheads Indicate intermediate speeds, for instance 64 and 80 ASA between 50 and 100 ASA. ASA speed figures are marked In red, DIN figures in green. If you have set too high a film speed, your pictures will be underexposed; too low a speed setting yields overexposed shots. Program automation For all shots without flash set the white arrowhead on the lens mount (12) to A (automatic control). At this A setting the camera automatically selects a correct aperture and shutter speed combination for the subject brightness and film speed. The f-stops, for instance 2.8 - 4 5.6 etc. on the aperture ring (12) are only used for flash shots (page 18). If you accidentally set the ring to an aperture figure instead of to A, daylight and other shots without flash e.g. bright interiors lit by artificial light - may be wrongly exposed. The electronic program of the Minox 35 PL yields aperture/speed combinations from f/16 to f/2.8 and from 1/500 to 4 seconds at 100 ASA (up to 15 seconds at 25 ASA or up to 1 second at 400 ASA). The slow-speed warning If the camera is ready to shoot (front cover open, film advanced) at an exposure time longer than about 1/30 second, a red flashing signal The slow-speed warning uses battery power. So close the front cover when you put away your Minox 35 PL. The backlight switch If you push the backlight switch (4) -the small rectangular button next to the hot shoe ­ fully forward, this automatically doubles the exposure. A red window with 2x in white reminds you that you have switched on the backlight switch. warns of likely camera shake with hand-held shots. The red signal flashes clearly on top of the camera (6) and also in the finder (at the bottom right). There it appears weaker to avoid glare in the finder image. The automatic control of the Minox 35 PL can also generate exposures much longer than 1/30 second. The red flashing signal is thus not an underexposure warning but only a recommendation to use a flash unit (pages 27 to 29) when photographing moving subjects (e.g. people) indoors. Or - for static subjects - mount the camera on a tripod (page 32). Apart from lightening shadows in backlit subjects, use the backlight switch also for outdoor views where predominant snow or a bright sky area could cause the meter to set insufficient exposure. The hot shoe of the Minox 35 PL takes any electronic flash unit with a centre contact in the foot - as well as the Minox TC 35 and FC 35 computer flash units which are specially matched to the Minox 35. Push the black blanking plate out of the hot shoe towards the rear. Fully push the foot of the flash unit into the shoe. This disengages the automatic exposure control of the Minox 35 PL and sets a fixed shutter speed of 1/90 second. Do not take flash shots with the aperture ring (12) set to A (automatic). For flash shots select one of the marked apertures between f/2.8 and f/16 (including intermediate values) rarely) may automatically trigger the next flash after recycling. (This is not a fault but a feature of the electronic circuit.) - check the instructions of the flash used. With some electronic flash units (not with the special Minox flashes) you must operate the film transport of the 35 PL immediately after every flash shot. For unless the shutter is tensioned, such flash units either fail to give a ready signal for the next flash or (more Push down the small sliding switch (18) at the right of the finder eyepiece to uncover a red window with T (timer) in white. This delays the shutter release by about 12 seconds after you have pressed the green release button (or released with a cable release). A red flashing LED on the camera front (9) signals that the selftimer is running but the exposure has not yet started. The flashing rate doubles after 4 seconds and again after 8 seconds of the delay period. Estimate the approximate distance to the main subject and set this on the distance scale (13). In view of the considerable depth of field of the 35 mm lens a really accurate setting is only necessary at near distances of around 3 to 4 ft or 0.9 to 1 m. For a useful snapshot zone set the scale to the green dot between 10 and 20 ft or between 3 and 5 m; in good light this then covers everything from about 6 to 60 ft or 2 to 20m. Insert the film cartridge in the film chamber (25) to the left of the film Never load the camera in direct sunlight-at least do it in the shade of your body. Turn the back cover locking lever track, with the film leader pointing to the right Turn the take-up spool (20) with the (24) in the camera base to uncover For landscapes without near foreground set the scale to °° (infinity). the recessed red dot, then pull off the back from below (illustration a). right thumb to bring the broad slot of the spool core to the top. Now press the rewind release (21) at the right in the camera base to lock Replace the camera back by pushing it on and lock by turning the back lock in the camera base to cover the red dot again (illustration d). Advance the film, release the shutter, advance once more. Check that the rewind crank (8) at the left in the the take-up spool. Push the film leader underneath the metal sleeve as far as it will go (illustration b), then let go of the rewind release button. Open the camera's front cover so The full film width is drawn with both performation rows across that you can operate the release button. Alternately advance the film and release until: the film track and lies flat against it (arrow in illustration c); and One tooth of the sprocket wheel (at the right below the film gate) engages a perforation hole of the film (circled in illustration c). camera top rotates - watch the light dot. The frame counter (1) is now at 0. Set the film speed on the scale in the camera base (page 13). During shooting you can still check that the film is advancing correctly: Whenever you work the film transport lever, the rewind crank with the light dot must rotate, too. However the frame counter automatically resets itself during loading at the latest when you have pushed the film end into the take-up spool and advanced the film and released the shutter before closing the back (see page 22). Period ...