James's Light Meter Collection: Minox meter
Minox meter click for manual
Maker: Minox
Model: n/a
Circa: 1955
Price (new): $27.95
Cell type: Selenium
Measure type: Reflecting / averaging

I had a friend who loved old Minox cameras. He was the type of person who believed that if one of something was good, then 20 of them was better. He had a couple of dozen of them at least; and if I'd asked him about this meter, I'm sure I would have gotten an earful about it. Unfortunately he passed away several years ago and took his storehouse of knowledge with him. That's why I create these websites and try to record what little I know about this stuff.

Luckily someone else did. According to that site, they say it was a Gossen-made version of their Sixtus, which they branded the Minosix. Mine is a later version, actually manufactured by Minox, and changed the name to reflect that.

The earliest versions had a slower film speed range and were calibrated around ƒ/3.5. Mine is faster and calibrated around ƒ/4. What you do is look on the bottom of the meter and find the film speed range you're using—there's a little symbol for each one. Then you use the thumbwheel to show the proper scale. You find the proper scale by looking at the little symbol at the top. You can direct read the shutter speed for ƒ/4, or flip it over to find equivalent combinations for other speeds and stops.

The little button on top is the lock release. The needle is normally held down, so you press to take a reading and then release to hold it. Nice if you're composing (this meter has a little viewfinder) and want to take an accurate reading.

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