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Minox announces tiny, retro-styled DCC 14.0 camera

Mar 19, 2013 at 19:33:59 GMT

CAMERA NEWS CAMERA MINIATURE MINOX

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Minox has quietly released a new 14 Megapixel version of their minature 'Digital Classic Camera'. The DCC features the same retro 'spy camera' design as Minox cameras from the 1950's, just with digital guts, instead of a roll of film. This $239, 14 Megapixel point-and-shoot literally fits in the palm of your hand, though similarly priced (albeit larger) compact cameras offer a lot more bang for the buck.


The DCC 14.0 is available in silver...	... and black.

Some of the highlights on the DCC 14.0 include:

14.0 Megapixel, 1/2.3" CMOS sensor
F2.4, 7.35mm fixed focal length lens (41mm equiv.)
Galilean-style optical viewfinder (removable)
2.0" LCD display
Fully automatic operation
VGA movie recording
Optional 'Classic Camera Flash' and conversion lenses
Powered by single lithium-ion battery
82mm x 67mm x 46mm (W x H x D)
Weighs 4 oz / 113.5 g

For complete specifications, visit the Minox website.

Comments

Total comments: 151

I would have liked it better if had used the original Minox form factor that was about the same size and shape as a BIC lighter (with square corners) or a 5-pack of chewing gum. Naturally the body would telescope out to include an EVF viewfinder. An LCD screen wouldn't be needed. Given a sharp lens and sensor, I would grab this Minox and pay around $500 for it!

Comment edited 2 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

Fantastic. Those younger ones who did not know of the Minox heritage, then you have a lot to learn.

I used one of the miniature cams in my job, and now I can get film again!

Comment edited 11 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

sure are a bunch of bitches on these forums anymore...

3 upvotes

The levers probably part of an expresso coffee grinder/drinks dispenser, I always remember in the 50's seeing these generally advertised in the daily news papers, later followed by the brick 'Zenit' cameras.

0 upvotes

Has anyone actually handled one of these? Is it made of metal? What does the film advance lever do?

1 upvote

Ways overpriced! I saw similar cameras for around 60 €. And they all have in common that they are just toys with mediocre image quality.

1 upvote

1/3" sensor?

0 upvotes

Seems like 1/2.3" (5.6x crop factor).

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 7 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

They've missed the mark; Not conspicuous enough. Put some 14K gold plate and some red snake skin on that baby and then you got something! Oh, and don't forget the velvet lined mahogany case with a "certificate". Now you can ask $600.00 for it which would make it so much more appealing. Put one in my Easter basket.

1 upvote

this would be great inside a Christmas Cracker

1 upvote

if it were as big as an X10, with a "1" sensor - I would have bought it for $ 600

0 upvotes

Looks like fun - one for collectors only me thinks. Then again at least it isn't as ugly as the new Hasselblad/ Sony hybrid (and not as expensive) - so why not if you fancy one and have a few bob spare ?

2 upvotes

Yep, a good shelf cam. A prop. A show piece. A first adopters folly.

2 upvotes

Rerun:
http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/images/4/2007/03/minox_leica.jpg

1 upvote

People are so *&@#-ing STUPID! This fine idea could have been done right, and for less. Yet no. Some will buy this cool idea; that is just so much crap. That has become a major ignorance problem. So much more could have been done, with the Minox 2013; but no. Just another camera whore. One good thing, maybe, and the rest, is imbalanced trash. Just say, STUPID! Another example of complete and utter incompetence; when it comes to what a light box is, and what actual enthusiasts want. Absolutely no body home; but cheap trick marketeers, at Minox. Now the brand is spit. It's a laughing stock. As the kids say, FAIL! Can no one grasp the idea of combined goodness????? Apparently not.

Come on designers, and manufacturers, grow some! Keep the &^%$ price down. You think, if you even approach a balance, then that's grounds for changing an extra $1000, and for nothing. You're' wrong.

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 8 minutes after posting

2 upvotes

You obviously like it then?

Comment edited 20 seconds after posting

9 upvotes

It does look great, and I have certainly seen worse pricing. The prime normal is just fine, for what it is; but changeable lenses are in order.

I like some things about it; but......

Comment edited 6 minutes after posting

1 upvote

after that anger venting, I hope you feel better now ;-)

it's just a toy... don't be so upset over a toy

1 upvote

You infer anger is always a bad thing. Ask yourself, what's the point. Anger is often misused. Anger is rarely used rightly. No ones suggesting we should be filled with anger; but it's a feeling, and that's all.

Why not be angry; about how out of touch, camera makers are?

1 upvote

Yes!!! I think this will be a cool birthday present for my 7 year old daughter this year.

Comment edited 11 minutes after posting

3 upvotes

would be more cute if it had fur

7 upvotes

... and a tail to wag with

Comment edited 9 seconds after posting

1 upvote

"VGA movie recording"

should be CGA with 16 colors

4 upvotes

Dibs!

0 upvotes

If the IQ compares favorably to that of modern cell phones- would be a cool camera- if not- then no point to it really!

(And I agree- the woman on the website holding the camera is absolutely gorgeous!)

Comment edited 2 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

Anyone else notice how she's not holding the viewfinder up to her eye?

0 upvotes

@Kyle: maybe it's because it has a rear LCD? and the LCD is so small and bad, she is demonstrating how you have to stick your eye real close to make something out?

0 upvotes

no, the supposed LCD in reality is a sucker - the Minox surely is the answer to the Google spectacles presented here earlier. You can have a free dive from heaven without the need to use your hands and brain.

Comment edited 2 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

Wide angle and tele lens! .67x and 1.5x that screw on the front of the standard lens.
They also have a 5 MP camera that looks like the thin spy camera from the 50's.

0 upvotes

If I've calculated correct - sensor size about 6,2 x 4,7mm.
With its 14MP that should be around 1,4um.

;-)

Would not expect to be a high-iso killer!

0 upvotes

And some below think it's going to compete with the new Coolpix A? lol.

1 upvote

That design is nothing like the Minox "spy camera." The Minox spy camera is shaped like a package of flat-strip chewing gum, and the Minox 'spy camera" extends when you pull one end.

If you want it to look like something else, it looks sort of like a Nikon S2 or modified M-series Leica rangefinder cameras.

BAK

2 upvotes

Design supportingly is based on Leica.
I don't see how did you came out with Nikon S2 - it's not even remotely similar.

1 upvote

If you want to correct people, it would be nice if actually knowing something was a criteria. http://www.geh.org/fm/nikon/htmlsrc/mN71900005_ful.html
or
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bellams/5660500512/
or
https://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&safe=active&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1361&bih=864&q=nikon+s2&oq=Nikon+S2&gs_l=img.1.3.0l10.2578.4774.0.8766.8.8.0.0.0.0.68.517.8.8.0...0.0...1ac.1.7.img.ZgcAPLE9MbU#imgrc=_
Or just Google Nikon S2

2 upvotes

It's based on the Pre-WWII Leica/Leitz cameras like the Leica IIIf.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/LeicaIIIf-600.jpg

1 upvote

Looks nothing like a Nikon S2. Not sure what you are smoking

0 upvotes

Many sensitive men with small members seem offended by this camera!
I for one think it's cute ;)

8 upvotes

Any phoncam is a better spy cam.
But if I had the money I would buy one just for fun!

0 upvotes

These Minox/Leica's are gadgets that can produce images of basic Kodak Instamatic quality. They are Chinese made toys with some buttons to press and a screen to show that 'they're for real'. I had a M3 5.0 for a brief time that was OK as long as you didn't compare the IQ to that of a modern camera phone. Most impressive feature is that the red 14.0 MP decal will come off easily, since it's just a sticker.

1 upvote

Nice toy...

0 upvotes

Nikon Coolpix A killer. Faster lens, quarter of the price and it has an optical viewfinder.

5 upvotes

Well, beating Coolpix isn't anything difficult. Nikon never was good in making P&S cameras.

2 upvotes

Nevertheless, Nikon bucked the trend last year with increased Coolpix sales that took market share away from Canon and Sony.

0 upvotes

A quarter of the price, and God (or someone a bit more interested in this comparison) knows how many times smaller sensor.

1 upvote

5.6/1.5= 3.7x larger sensor.

And I'm not even a demigod!

1 upvote

What have you been smoking? This Minox is a replica toy, no more. I guarantee it has smaller than a 1/2.3" sensor. The Coolpix A has an APS-C sensor (the same 16 mp Exmor that's in the class leading D7000/K-5 II). And by the way, the Coolpix A has an optical VF as well (made with actual glass).

The Coolpix P7700 or P330 or really any Coolpix will destroy this camera for IQ. Why would you think this could beat the APS-C Coolpix A on anything other than price?

0 upvotes

I smoke whatever I can lay my hands on. It's why I have a sense of humor. BTW add the optical viewfinder to the Nikon and the price will be around US$1500. It's free with the Minox. I realise the quality will be on par with a cellphone, which means it will be good enough for 90% of the planet.

3 upvotes

Ooooh, at last! 24 Karat gold plated version available...

0 upvotes

What an ugly telephone..eh camera I mean.

0 upvotes

Can it shoot RAW?

3 upvotes

I own the M3 digital version and the IIIf film based camera. Great as true miniatures of the real thing, especially for those who own the real thing. However, based on the poor image quality of the 4meg M3, I can only anticipate results from this updated sensor will be dire.

1 upvote

"Some of the highlights":

"Viewfinder Optical viewfinder (Galilean-Style)" Do not abuse the name of Mr. Galileo!

"Memory Optional SD cards up to 32 GB (SDHC)" Makes sense in case some blond (sorry!) will forget to press the button to stop VGA movie recording.

"Powered by single lithium-ion battery" I wonder how long this single Lithium-ion will last.

For complete satisfaction, visit the Minox website.

0 upvotes

Beautiful girl...

1 upvote

Tragic really. I've owned both a Minox B and a 35GT. Both cameras, in their respective idiosyncratic fashion, were really satisfying to use and very well built. This week I saw a boxed 35 with the original leather case but stopped myself from stumping up £100 for a camera that I'd be unlikely to use. The B actually got me out of a sticky spot in Burma in the 70s when my girlfriend and I were arrested by the security services. They confiscated the film from her Instamatic but failed to recognise as a camera the Minox B which was hanging round my neck by its chain. A sad decline of a once wonderful brand.

3 upvotes

I wouldn't use "wonderful" there, really.

0 upvotes

I've still got a GT with the original 2 compartment leather case...the bottom section holds the flash & leather neckstrap case and combo collapsible rubber lenshood/skylight 1A filter also in a leather neckstrap case.. The only spyng it did was to get past the metal detectors at a King Tut exhibit. Just to see if I could. Neat little travel package at the time. Case looks a bit like a zippered man purse. One of several dust gatherers.

1 upvote

The "Spy" cameras were the B and C models, not the G series. The 35 GT I used for a while back in 83. It was a perfect travel camera for the time with the folding lens making it pocketable. It travelled all over Asia with me. The B series was a particularly nice piece of mechanical miniaturisation even if the meter was typically fragile, as for many at that time. Send me the GT kit please. I promise to put a dozen rolls a year through it until it croaks (or I do.)

0 upvotes

Plastek
You've owned any of them?

0 upvotes

More interesting is the Minox micro digital spy camera

http://www.license-to-shoot.com/index.php?id=56

0 upvotes

I'd say equally uninteresting.

1 upvote

It does have an about to disintegrate toy look about it. Are these designed to self destruct after so many uses?

1 upvote

Hmmm...being so cheap, I might buy this and use it instead of my DSLR for fun events and outings! :D

2 upvotes

Cheap? You're joking, right?

0 upvotes

When it comes to cuteness, this baby is as cute as a Kodak Brownie Starlet, which also was fully manual, but - in stark contrast to this Minox - had two aperture settings: One for B&W, one for color!

And their optional flash guns were equally ugly ;-)!

0 upvotes

I had two Minox 35, used them till they fell apart. So I do have a great respect for Minox's products!

This 14.0MP Minox could have been quite a nice little camera, but fully automatic operation means you can't do anything but press the shutter button?! Oh, there is a timer function, but the rest?! Seems to be no means of adjusting exposure, ISO, or anything like that - weird!

A fully manual version that would be very nice indeed, Minox!

But get rid of that awful red dot, PLEASE!

Comment edited 8 minutes after posting

1 upvote

at least the view finder is in the right place

1 upvote

We can be thankful it's not $2390.

0 upvotes

Don't worry, the Hasselblad version will be....

5 upvotes

This has no relation to the classic Minox spy camera. They still make one that is digital and the 9.5mm films are still available. I have a pristine Minox B that I haven't used in years. I keep it around just because it is fun to look at.

The DCC Minox is a continuation of their miniature Leica 'look a like' line that they have been making for several years. Thus it has a " film advance" and a "film rewind knob". It is a cute high quality novelty camera, but that is all.
If you are into "mine is smaller than yours" then you'd love to have one. But it is no competition for most of the less expensive pocketables with more features.

2 upvotes

Suggestions to DPreview:
1) You really should add sensor size on the highlight features of every camera (in mm x mm). And put it first, or at least amont the megapixel line. In my opinion sensor size is even more important than the number of megapixels because it will ultimately set an absolute upper limit for image quality.
2) Another suggestion would be to also put the equivalent maximum aperture along with the equivalent focal length. To those who can read such equivalence numbers the equivalent aperture will tell the total light capturing capability of the system (over the whole sensor) as well as absolute diffraction limitations (again over the whole sensor).
Kind regards,
- Henrik

Comment edited 41 seconds after posting

18 upvotes

Meh.

1 upvote

Suggestions:
1)Use metric sizes generally.
2)Give absolute aperture in mm in addition to relative aperture given as f-stop.

2 upvotes

+1. Especially for the metric system.

1 upvote

If Minox doesn't put the sensor information in the specs for this camera, DPR has no way of reporting it to us. But for nearly every camera that DPR announces here, they normally do report the sensor size.

0 upvotes

Considering that 7.35mm lens produces 41mm equiv. FOV, the crop factor of ~5.6 implies 1/2.5" sensor...

0 upvotes

Why do you need a transport lever and a viewfinder on a generic low end pos cam?

0 upvotes

Because it's a replica of the Minox film camera which had those features.

0 upvotes

You can cover that red mark with a black felt tip pen. You can thank me for this priceless advice by sending me huge bags of money.

2 upvotes

Doesn't look anything like a Minox spy camera of the 50's -- or any other decade -- which resembled a pack of gum or a lighter. Instead it resembles a 50's modest-spec Japanese fixed lens RF like the Yamato Pax M3 (http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Pax_M3). They both even have a decorative red dot.

0 upvotes

But that Pax M3 red dot provides a bit of charm. On this ones, seems a billboard compared to the size of the camera :)
I remember my 35 GT was heavy and well built for the size of the camera.

edit: And sold for twice the price they bought it, it was not a bad deal. Currently I would have.

Comment edited 5 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

For me "Minox" will always mean the little 16mm film camera that I could - in those days before digital and phone cameras - always carry around with me. Still have it, though it is never used.

0 upvotes

It was (and is) 9.5 mm film, not 16 mm. I have a Minox B and wish the Minox DSC was to the same quality and usefulness as the old Minoxes.

0 upvotes

I stand corrected - it was the camera not the film that was 16mm wide.The modern digital version is just not the same (DSC Silver I think they call it). My B&W negatives have deteriorated badly, but the colour (Kodachrome I think) are still in prime condition. The digital versions of Minox cameras are essentially nostalgia items - I am tempted, but not enough to buy one.

0 upvotes

I had a Minox 35 GT a long time ago, the photographs obtained had good quality.
Now, on digital era, don't know, but this little camera is cute. The red badge is annoying, hopefully removable

2 upvotes

the red badge is there to intimidate the enemy spy

2 upvotes

To think that the enemy is being photographed by a secret Leica

3 upvotes

The red badge is just a sticker. I once and very briefly had a M3 miniature 5mp Minox. That camera's best feature was that you could take of the red 5.0 mp sticker.

1 upvote

Cute girl in the minox picture....ummmm she has the viewfinder above her right eyebrow and must be trying to frame the shot by looking through the back of the camera.....oh ...she is blonde!
(Sorry to all the cute intelligent blonds out there)

1 upvote

VGA movie recording in 2013 ? Is that a joke ? I have the Pentax Q that shoots 1080p and with low cost adapters works with all of my DSLR lenses and fast C-mount lenses.

2 upvotes

Perhaps you are forgetting that the Q is a $800 mirrorless camera. I'm pretty sure this Minox is more about being a somewhat functional replica of a classic camera than a highly specified modern digital camera offering.

0 upvotes

Don't know where you get $800 from, my Q + 01 lens cost $179 new from a retail store.
I see the Minox as a 'fun' conversation piece that works. Might just get one.

0 upvotes

@John W.

You must be forgetting that the Q + 01 Standard kit released at $799. Nobody bought it, and Pentax has been dropping the price ever since. Pentax is practically giving it away now to clear inventory and sell Q lenses. Notice the price of the new Q10, you'll see it's not $179.

Same with the K-01 or Panasonic GX1. Just because you can buy them now for bargain basement prices doesn't mean these aren't expensive cameras. It's the release price that you go by, not fire-sale prices.

0 upvotes

The film advance lever should be made into a generator to charge the batteries...

7 upvotes

36 clicks for another "roll"? :)

0 upvotes

Not a single word about the body materials. Not a good sign...

0 upvotes

if I understand you correctly, you would like to know if the material is plastic, cardboard, or modeling clay?

1 upvote

What, being a spy camera I thought it would have .007 MP.

0 upvotes

Total comments: 151


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