GOERZ MINICORD


(1951) The Minicord was a really ground-breaking camera.  Sure, there were lots of submini cameras before the 1950's and some of them -- most notably the Minox -- were quality cameras, as well.  But the Minicord was completely different from all the predecessors.  First it was a vertically-styled submini.  The camera was the size and shape of a pack of cigarettes. This is not a small deal.  Apparently the designers felt that because the camera was so small, it could be put into a vertical design and that the vertical design was more desirable for the average photographer.  After all, the images were 10x10mm so the results are the same regardless of how the camera is held.  Goerz also opted for a twin-lens reflex design (that's right, a TLR design) instead of a common viewfinder. Ffortunately, the viewfinder produced a larger image for focusing.  To top it off, they added a super-fast (f2.0), super-quality (six element) 25mm lens.  It is rated as having one of the best submini lenses ever made -- and focuses down to 12 inches.  In 1951 it sounded unbelievable.  Shutter speeds of B, 1/10 -1/400.  Various filters were available. Double perforated film was loaded into special cassettes and produced about 40 pictures.   Built-in depth-of-field scale on the side of the lens.  The company also made an enlarger that used the camera body and lens for enlarging.  Various colors and coverings were available, and a gold-plated version with red leather is known.

COPYRIGHT @ 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 by Joe McGloin. All Rights Reserved.