Minox
The Minox, the archetypal sub-miniature camera, was invented by Walter Zapp of Riga, Latvia, in 1936. Production started in 1938. After WWII, production was re-started in Germany from 1948.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 Anthony Walker, 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.
Minox 9.5mm camera models
- I
- II
- III
- IIIc
- B
- C
- LX
- EC
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 binocluars.
Minox is now a division of the Leica company.
