"The Minox is my life."

-- Walter Zapp

THE MODEL B

D. Scott Young

Until the introduction of the Model LX in 1978, the Model B was far and away the most successful of all the subminiature cameras Minox ever built. Introduced in 1958, approximately 384, 327 were manufactured over the next 14 years.

Following on the heels of the most refined Minox to date, the IIIs, Minox, for the first time, added a built in, semi-coupled selenium cell exposure meter. The earlier successful design collaboration with Gossen, GmbH that produced the original Minosix handheld exposure meter as a companion piece to the IIIs prompted Minox to go back to Gossen to design the built in meter for the new Model B.

The success of the Model B was assured as thousands flocked to the new camera: the convenience of having an almost effortless means of accurately measuring exposure across a wide range of lighting conditions right in the camera was a significant factor in the success of the Model B. That this was accomplished with barely an inch of added length and an ounce or two of additional weight made the new camera irresistible to many.

The exposure meter was semi-coupled in the fact that the shooter held the camera to their eye, depressed and held a metering button for 2 or 3 seconds (to allow for the slower response of selenium cells) and then released the button to lock in the meter needle indication. Turning the shutter speed dial until an index mark lined up with meter needle markings set the shutter speed to the correct on for proper exposure; this system also provided full manual override for those special photographic lighting conditions.

There are two very visually distinct versions of the Model B, as based on the appearance of the selenium cell metering element itself: “1st Version” models, which have a square lattice work pattern in the selenium element meter glass, and later “2nd Version” models which had a more contemporary honeycomb pattern glass over the selenium cell element. While the selenium cells on some Model B's may have degraded over time, they can be replaced fairly easily by a qualified service technician; many Model B’s meter with an accuracy of within plus or minus 1 or 2 stops even today. As with any selenium cell meter, the key to preserving accuracy and long life is to store the meter (in this case, the camera itself) in its case to keep light from striking it when not in use: this is what degrades the selenium element over time.

The Model B came outfitted with a sliding green and neutral density filter pair, although the user now had to manually retract the filters when they were no longer needed; otherwise, they were designed to stay in place from shot to shot. The 10x Neutral Density filter was automatically compensated for during exposure measurement.

The B was the last of the models whose film counters were calibrated for 50 shot rolls: 50 shot rolls would largely be discontinued by the mid-1960's so subsequent models would be calibrated for the 36 and 15 shot rolls that replaced them.

A waist level reflex finder, a right angle finder and a Model B specific filter set incorporating a mount and yellow, orange and blue filters were accessories that greatly enhanced the appeal of the Model B as a true, pocketable system camera.