Last of Classic Compact- enjoy the beautiful rose while it last !

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Minox Photography : One Thread

Minox 35mm camera is last of its kind.

Olympus and Rollei used to make manual compact cameras such as Olympus XA series, Rollei 35. They all abandoned and flock to greener pastures. Classic camera is a tough market in today's dominant auto p&s. Minox declared bankruptcy in Jan 1 of 1989. Later rescued by Leica Camera of Solms. New products are geared more and more towards the trendy p&s and APS.

After rescued, Minox didn't make any profit for several years, only in last quarter start showing a little bit profit.

The question is not whether new money can be spent on improving the 35mm line, there is not fat profit to support much new product development.

Any one following Minox website will noticed that its site had not being update for years until now. How long can the 35mm line stand is the question.

The exequisite Minox 35 camera is the last of the last endangered species, like the Panda.

I am glad to see there are still new models like the GT-X. GT-S, although it is small incremental improvements, but it is a sign of life.

I am happy that there are still parts available whenever my Minox 35 need repair.

Enjoy the beautiful rose while it last !

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), March 15, 2000

Answers

I agree with you. I am retiring one of my Minox 35EL and recently purchased a mint but used ML version. These little beauties perform nicely most of the time and are a pleasure to carry. I'm watching the used markets for GT series and will get one.

-- Jeff Drew (jdrew@westlandbank.com), March 16, 2000.

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