AX - the last all mechanical Minox 8x11

introduction | Ur | Riga | AII | AIII | AIIIs | B | C | BL | LX | EC | AX | TLX/CLX/LX 2K/100th Anniversary | ECX | MX | Classics | accessories
chrome (m) | black (m) | gold (m) | gold II (m) | accessories

8 variations chrome/black/gold [I/II], metric/imperial

Looking like an LX without the meter the manual AX is reduced to the size of the Riga and A. Manufactured as a special, limited-edition collectible of only 500 briefly in early 1992 to celebrate some anniversary or other, the Minox AX is essentially the Minox III-s revisited. It is a hybrid of the BL and LX designs being completely mechanical and includes many of the later improvements like the newer lens and film-advance/shutter-cock interlock, and has the redesigned dials, shutter release button and tripod 1/4" thread of the Minox LX. The dial has shutter speeds marked 1 second to 1/1000 s. and has the B setting like the BL.

A limited edition of 250 gold cameras made was released in 1994 stamped AX and again, another 250, for the 60th anniversary of the Ur in 1998 engraved AX with Walter Zapp signature. An even more limited edition of only 222 black cameras was produced in 1997.

The packaging for each special edition are very different. The silver/satin camera has a large, heavy MDF pencil case type box. The gold camera comes in a heavy expensive hard wood jewellery case and the black camera got an LX style box with a new, unique style insert.

Unfortunately this camera was not mass produced: a modern Minox comparable to the Minox III-s is actually a great idea. Having no rim like a Riga, A, B, BL or C and being shorter than the LX a tight camera can be hard to open; particularly if in a hurry. Conceived explicitly as a costly short-run collectible, second owner Minox AXs are bound to be very expensive.

Last Updated on 21st July 2004