Understanding the workings of the Minox 35 shutter system by comparing it to another Masterpiece:- Maitani’s XA.
Minox 35 (1974) – 2 solenoids, 4 springs, 2 mechanical latches, 2 levers
Olympus XA (1979)- 2 solenoids, 1 mainspring, 1 mechanical latch, 1 electronic (solenoid) latch, 1 lever
Professor Fischer’s Meisterstück Minox 35 is a complex/Rube Goldberg like design while the newer Olympus XA is a more integrated design. The advantage of a simplified/integrated design/system is that fewer things can go wrong. Hence the reliability of the XA.
The XA uses gears to engage the shutter mechanism while the Minox uses a pivoting mechanism. The shutter engaging gear (beside the mainspring) in the XA is fixed while the shutter engage pivot mechanism in the Minox is a separate part and is prone to displacement.
Minox has 2 levers for each open and close shutter blades/leafs. XA has 1 lever that controls both the open & close shutter blades/leafs.
The XA has a louder shutter sound because it uses 1 mainspring for 2 jobs. The Minox is quieter.
The other significant difference between the 2 systems, is on the close solenoid operation. In the Minox the close solenoid is activated/powered to close the shutter while in the XA, the close solenoid remains activated/powered to hold the shutter open until the exposure timing circuit cuts off power to the close solenoid. This is because the XA’s close shutter latch is not mechanical (it requires electrical power to hold the latch). I personally don’t consider it as a latch but more of an extension of the close solenoid.
Hence the self timer – B mode – hack for the XA, drains it’s battery. So does frequent long exposures. This is not the case with the Minox 35.
More on this subject later…
Letsminox 