Peter Zimerman's article "The Eye is a Minox" (at www.minoxlab.com site )
draw attention to the similarity between the eye and the Minox.
The center theme of PZ's article was that the focal length of the eye is about 15mm and the aperture varies between f3.5 and f5.6
hence the depth of field of human eye resembles that of Minox lens.
He went on to postulate that it was only a coinincidence.
However, I have reason to believe otherwise.
In the early thirties, when Walter Zapp began the design of Ur-Minox, he abandoned the idea of scale down Leica, and took a new path. As many invertors in history, they often turn to nature for inspiration.
What was more natural then using the human eye as a model ?
A strong evidence was the advertisement by Minox LTD in 1939 issue of Miniature Camera Magazine, in which the it was clearly stated that "The Minox has 'natural sight'. When meant the Minox resmebles human vision.
The ad went to to list two characteristics of the eye/Minox:
automatically focus from 6' to infinity;
and close focus to 8".
[Moses/Wade
Spycamera THE MINOX Story" second edition, page 15]
(The second point, that Minox close focus
to 8" resembles the eye was missed by PZ's article.}
The fact that the Minox advertisement of 1939 listed the full
set of characteristics of the eye and the Minox is a strong proof
that Walter
Zapp used the human eye as his model of Minox.
The in front of the lens shutter also closely resembles the
eyelid of human eye.
And any one wonders why there is a 'o' when you open up the
camera ? Because it resembles the iris of eye.
A Minox is your third eye
Minox sees the world as you see it.
It sees as far as your eyes see, and it sees as close as you see.
Because of this, a Minox is best for capturing what you see.
Photographically, a Minox becomes a perfect recorder of your view of the
outside world.
That is one facet of the fascination of Minox Photography.
A Minox is your third eye.
There is no other camera like it.
-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), June 15, 2000
is the Eye of Minos
In 1935 Minox camera inventor Walter Zapp finished his design of his
miniature camera. He named it MINAX.
"Min" came from 'miniature' "AX" came from Zeiss CONTAX camera.
Later Walter Zapp's friend,a Leica photographer Nixi Nylander
suggested the name MINOX
In 1935 f British archeologist Sir Arthur Evans published his four
volumes "Palace of Minos"
Sir Arthur Evans excavated the ancient Palace of Knossos at Greek
island Grete.
Minos was King of Knossos. Minoan civiliaztion represented the peak
of Aegean Civilization
Minoans were diminutive. The word 'minature' may be derived from
Minos in Greek mythology.
When I visited Palace of Knossos, it came to my mind that Minox
rhyms with Minos
and Minox and Minos is somehow connected.
Minox Freud made that connection long before
A picture of labyrinth taken with my Minox C:
The Minox 35 lens Minotar also was a derivative of Minotaur from
Greek mythology.
The Minox logo is not a mouse, it is the Eye of Minos
-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), May 28, 2002.
