Probem with Minox 35GL

Chan Tran · Nov 12, 2013

Minox 35 GL meter doesn't move. I have battery in it. Battery check good the meter needle moves. But pointing the camera to light doesn't make the meter moves. The shutter seems to work according to the amount of light and aperture. Anyone has any idea?

RalphLambrecht · Nov 12, 2013

Chan Tran said:
Minox 35 GL meter doesn't move. I have battery in it. Battery check good the meter needle moves. But pointing the camera to light doesn't make the meter moves. The shutter seems to work according to the amount of light and aperture. Anyone has any idea?

I had the same problem with the same camera; sent it to Minox twice;then gave up on the camera;neat handy but fragile operation; still miss it.

elekm · Nov 12, 2013

Nice cameras, when they work. Of the six Minox 35 cameras that I've owned, just one has been problem-free.

zanxion72 · Nov 13, 2013

+1! I love them, I have four of them, yet none works. I am still to buy another one, but not from ebay, else if I get a non working one again that would make me five times stupid.
I will definitely get a working one, but will have to test it in person if it actually works.

Ross Chambers · Nov 13, 2013

Me too, probably old age (both of us)

This might be of help although the website looks dated

http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/page2.html

zanxion72 · Nov 13, 2013

I have sent an email to that Luton Leica stated at the top of that page. If they still repair these, I will definitely get two of my mint ones fixed! Fingers crossed!

railwayman3 · Nov 13, 2013

zanxion72 said:
I have sent an email to that Luton Leica stated at the top of that page. If they still repair these, I will definitely get two of my mint ones fixed! Fingers crossed!

If that's "CRR Luton", there is reference on the "rangefinder" forum that they aren't accepting any further repairs this year (I was looking around for a Leica projector repair).

I don't know if the official Leica company does anything with Minox, as it is many years since they were the distributors, but they may know something?

I'd be interested to know if you find a repairer, as I have a couple of the cameras, one with an erratic meter.

Trask · Nov 13, 2013

I bet Don Goldberg could fix 'em -- I know he works on Minox 8X11 cameras. See www.dagcam.com -- that's his repair parts site, and he still has a separate page for Minox 35 parts. Shoot him an email. I've always been satisfied with the work he's done on my Leicas etc.

fotch · Nov 13, 2013

Trask said:
I bet Don Goldberg could fix 'em -- I know he works on Minox 8X11 cameras. See Dead Link Removed -- that's his repair parts site, and he still has a separate page for Minox 35 parts. Shoot him an email. I've always been satisfied with the work he's done on my Leicas etc.

That link did not work, try http://www.dagcamera.com/

Jim Noel · Nov 13, 2013

I used an EL and a GL until they had a similar problem. There are two meters in the camera, not one. One operates the diaphragm and the other the visible needle. One of yours has died. I was never able to get this repaired even before the "D" days. SInce the meter operating the diaphragm is working, I suggest you cotinue to use the camera, even though it is disconcerting to nt see the needle move.

AgX · Nov 13, 2013

As an alternative you can still send cameras to Minox in Germany, they offer a repair service for out of production cameras, granted that the still have parts.

Charles Wass · Nov 13, 2013

I used the 35EL frequently for 25 years without the slightest problem. I must have been very lucky!

gone · Nov 14, 2013

Another Minox ex owner here. My EL worked for all of about 2 minutes, then the meter stopped working and the aperture would only stop down to f8 no matter how far you turned it. Thank goodness I had bought it at a camera store and not from an auction site, so I made an easy return. They were going to let me know if it had been repaired by their staff but never got back. The concept is fine, but the actual camera, that seems to be the problem. Sure was a lot of fun to play with though.

The samples from the Minox cameras look great from what I see online. There's been a lot of emulation, if you will, by other camera makers over the years. More than a few of them made Minox clones, especially the Soviets (many with non light-proof body AND aperture blades it seems). Now that's a bad concept....a Soviet knockoff of a camera that never worked right in the first place.

Chan Tran · Nov 14, 2013

It now works but so intermittent so it's kinda useless. The shutter also sometimes not work. The meter is over 3 stops off. It reads too high. Well I will put this camera as for display only. It looks great, no scratches or anything. No worn due to handling either. So it's good for display not for use.

AgX · Nov 14, 2013

Has the cause of all those problems been traced and published?

dynachrome · Nov 16, 2013

I have two 35ELs. They have sharp lenses but are difficult to use and not very well made. Even though the Rollei 35 models are larger and heavier I enjoy using them much more. Going up a little more in size to a Konica Auto S3/C35FD or Minolta Hi-Matic 7SII gives me a lot more flexibility and these cameras also have very sharp lenses.

Probem with Minox 35GL

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