Subminiature photography is photographic technologies and techniques working with film material smaller in size than 35mm film, such as 16mm, 9.5mm, 17mm, or 17.5mm films. It is distinct from

photomicrography A micrograph or photomicrograph is a photograph or digital image taken through a microscope or similar device to show a magnified image of an object. This is opposed to a macrograph or photomacrograph, an image which is also taken on a mic ...

, photographing microscopic subjects with a camera which is not particularly small.

Definition

Subminiature — "very much reduced in size",

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

. A subminiature camera is a class of camera that is very much smaller than a "miniature camera". The term "miniature camera" was originally used to describe cameras using the 35 mm cine film as negative material for still photography; so cameras that used film smaller than 35mm were referred to as "sub-miniature"."SUBMINIATURE CAMERA A common reference to a group of cameras using formats smaller than 35 mm. "---The Focal encyclopedia of photography - Page 85T.L.GREEN Ultra miniature Camera Technique, Scope and Limitations, The Focal Press London 1965 The smallest of these are often referred to as "ultra-miniature".

Lipstick camera A hidden camera or spy camera is a camera used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another obje ...

s and other small

digital camera A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile devic ...

s are not included, because they don't use film. The smaller subminiature cameras, called ultraminiature cameras, particularly Minox, are associated with spying. In short, some people define "subminiature camera" as one that uses film smaller than 35mm (even though some of these cameras are larger than full-framed 35mm cameras), but others define it any camera that has a film format smaller than the standard 35mm format of 24x36mm (even though some of these cameras are larger than full-framed 35mm cameras).

Types

There are many subminiature cameras.

Minox Minox (pronounced ) is a manufacturer of cameras, known especially for its subminiature camera. The first product to carry the Minox name was a subminiature camera, conceived in 1922, and finally invented and produced in 1936, by Baltic German ...

, followed by Tessina, GaMi,

Rollei Rollei () was a German manufacturer of optical instruments founded in 1920 by and in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, and maker of the Rolleiflex and Rolleicord series of cameras. Later products included specialty and nostalgic type films for th ...

Yashica Yashica was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, originally active from 1949 until 2005 when its then-owner, Kyocera, ceased production. In 2008, the Yashica name reappeared on cameras produced by the Hong Kong-based MF Jebsen Group. In 2015, tra ...

Mamiya is a Japanese company that manufactures high-end cameras and other related photographic and optical equipment. With headquarters in Tokyo, it has two manufacturing plants and a workforce of over 200 people. The company was founded in May 1940 b ...

, Gemflex and

Minolta was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. Minolta Co., Ltd., which is also known simply as Minolta, was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as . It made the first integrated autofocu ...

are the best-known manufacturers. All made small, precision cameras and a few were still in production in 2006 but by 2011, only the Minox TLX model was still in production. Getting film and processing for most smaller cameras is a challenge as they are no longer manufactured or supported. Most require cutting your own film and home-processing. The best known subminiature formats are—in increasing size—Minox (8×11 mm), Kodak disc (8×11 mm), 16 mm (10×14 mm), Super 16 mm (12×17 mm),

110 film 110 is a cartridge-based film format used in still photography. It was introduced by Kodak in 1972. 110 is essentially a miniaturized version of Kodak's earlier 126 film format. Each frame is , with one registration hole. Cartridges with 12 ...

(13×17 mm), 17.5mm for HIT camera( for example TONE camera), and the

Advanced Photo System Advanced Photo System (APS) is a discontinued film format for still photography first produced in 1996. It was marketed by Eastman Kodak under the brand name Advantix, by FujiFilm under the name Nexia, by Agfa under the name Futura and by ...

(APS) with different aspect ratios on 24 mm film. While many subminiature cameras were inexpensive and poorly manufactured (thus giving the format a bad name), Minox, Gami, Edixa, Rollei,

Pentax is a brand name used primarily by the Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company Ricoh for DSLR cameras, lenses, sport optics (including binoculars and rifle scopes), and CCTV optics. The Pentax brand is also used by Hoya Corpora ...

and Minolta made quality cameras capable of producing fine results—even when enlarged. Some of these formats, or non-standard cartridges loaded with an otherwise standard ciné format, are best described as specialised (e.g., Minox); half-frame 35 mm uses standard 35 mm film; cameras such as 110 and disc were aimed at the mass market. The first subminiature single lens reflex is the Russian Narciss camera produced in 1961-65. First making an appearance in the late 19th century, often as concealed cameras, subminiature cameras became popular soon after

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

when many consumer markets required small, inexpensive cameras. Friedrich Kaftansky's Mini-flex was designed in 1931, on the market in 1933.

Walter Zapp Walter Zapp ( lv, Valters Caps; – 17 July 2003) was a Baltic German inventor. His greatest creation was the Minox subminiature camera. Biography Zapp was born in Riga, Governorate of Livonia (now Latvia). In 1932, while living in ...

's Riga Minox appeared in 1938. Kodak's introduction of the 110 camera in the 1970s and the Kodak disc camera in the 1980s brought the subminiature camera to the forefront of the photographic market. The many cheap, poorly made cameras that soon appeared drove Kodak out of the market. Sharan Rolleiflex 1

Various formats of subminiature camera have come and gone over the years as newer formats have replaced older one. In addition, many larger format cameras, especially 35 mm, become smaller in size and weight—partly due to the consumer demand for subminiature cameras—and were able to replace some subminiature formats. For example, full-frame 35 mm cameras, such as the Minox 35 and the

Olympus XA The Olympus XA was a series of 35 mm cameras manufactured and marketed by Olympus of Japan. The original XA was a rangefinder camera with a fast 35 mm f/2.8 lens, and aperture priority metering. It was one of the smallest rangefinder came ...

, were made as small as earlier half-frame subminiature cameras such as the Olympus Pen, using moderate wide-angle fixed lenses to minimise lens barrel depth. Some subminiature formats, such as the Minox and 110 formats, continue in production. Most other subminiature cameras are still usable if film can be obtained, particularly if the photographer is prepared to do the processing.

Subminiature camera film

* 16mm perforated or unperforated bulk roll film by Agfa, Kodak, Fujifilm in 100 ft to 1000 ft. * Using film slitter to slit 35mm roll film into Minox format film or 16mm film.

Subminiature photography technique

;Focusing The process of focusing a subminiature camera is the same as any other camera: * Unit focusing: the entire lens is moved back and forth relative to the film plane. Examples: Minox B, C, LX, TLX; Edixa 16, Tessina. Minox 110, Monolta 16 * Front element focusing: Rollei 16, Rollei 110. * Fixed focus, feasible with the great depth of field of short focal length lenses: Minox EC, Minox ECX. * Internal focusing is not used. The small size of the camera and film require the use of a lens with short focal length, and hence great

depth of field The depth of field (DOF) is the distance between the nearest and the furthest objects that are in acceptably sharp focus in an image captured with a camera. Factors affecting depth of field For cameras that can only focus on one object di ...

. This simplifies focusing to some extent. The simplest system is to use a lens with fixed focus set at the

hyperfocal distance In optics and photography, hyperfocal distance is a distance beyond which all objects can be brought into an "acceptable" focus. As the hyperfocal distance is the focus distance giving the maximum depth of field, it is the most desirable distan ...

. This will produce images that are acceptably sharp from infinity to some near plane (usually five to eight feet away). This system is used in most cheaper cameras. More complex systems allow variable focus, through a dial or slider. Many cameras with this system have distance markings on the control; it is up to the user to set the focus according to the distance to the subject. Most Minox cameras use this system. Some subminiature cameras include a

rangefinder A rangefinder (also rangefinding telemeter, depending on the context) is a device used to measure distances to remote objects. Originally optical devices used in surveying, they soon found applications in other fields, such as photography an ...

, for example the Minox 110. These increase the size. Autofocus or through-the-lens focusing systems are not used on subminiature cameras to reduce the size requirements. ;Macro photography Subminiature cameras are less suited to

macro photography Macro photography (or photomacrography or macrography, and sometimes macrophotography) is extreme close-up photography, usually of very small subjects and living organisms like insects, in which the size of the subject in the photograph is gre ...

than larger cameras, although the relatively large depth of field at close distances is an advantage. Where concealment is required, subminiature cameras are required; they (particularly the various Minox models) are well known as spy cameras, where they were used to photograph documents close up. Minox cameras for these purposes come with a 24-inch measuring chain attached, with markings corresponding to certain distances, to assist in focusing at these short ranges. ;Telephoto Few subminiature cameras have interchangeable lenses, which reduce the advantages of a small size system.

Telephoto A telephoto lens, in photography and cinematography, is a specific type of a long-focus lens in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length. This is achieved by incorporating a special lens group known as a ''telephoto ...

lenses for such small formats essentially do not exist, except for Steky and Gami. There have been attachments to allow cameras (generally Minox) to attach to telescopes or binoculars, but these give results of lower quality than the camera's optics can achieve. ;Developing and enlarging *Nikor or Jobo 16mm development reel *Nikor 9.2mm or Jobo 8x11 development reel *Minox daylight development tank *10x14mm, 12x17mm, 14x21mm and 8x11mm negative carrier used with 35mm enlarger. *Minox enlarger with 15mm Micro-Minox enlarging lens

Gallery

Image:Minox IIIs with film.jpg, Minox IIIs camera with a Minox 8x11 mm cartridge of film Image:Tele Minox.JPG, Minox BL with an 8x35 binocular for telephotography File:White Narciss camera.JPG, Russian KMZ Narciss 16mm SLR File:Gemflex.jpg, Gemflex twin lens reflex camera File:Minolta_110_Mk_II.jpg, Minolta 110 Zoom SLR Mk II, manufactured 1979—1982, with a Petra fisheye viewfinder File:Arsenal Kiev-30.JPG, Kiev 30 16mm subminiature camera with cassette File:MEC-16 SB.jpg, MEC-16 SB File:Meopta Mikroma.jpg, Meopta Mikroma II 16mm camera

References