Empty cassettes

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Minox Photography : One Thread

Why are empty Minox cassettes so hard to come by?

-- John Sonewald (jsonewald@aol.com), January 04, 2000

Answers

MPL had been selling empty Minox casssettes for $10 per ten pieces for several years, until they isntall a new machine which destroys the cassette in the process.

You may still buy new unused empty ACMEL cassettes from submini.com. Or alternatively you can buy a dozen rolls of factory loaded film and save the cassettes.

Also check out ebay; from time to time there is a lot of 50 ACMEL cassettes on auction, for about $150 a lot of 50.

Minox cassette is by far easiest to get.

After considerable efforts, I manage to get only two Rollei 16 cassettes

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), January 04, 2000.


Imo, one of the reason that MPL decided not to offer used empty Minox/ACMEL cassette for $10 per ten pieces, had to do with the proliferation of non Minox slitter.

Any 35mm to Minox format slitter deminishes Minox film sale, but with Minox slitter, the profit from the sale of Minox slitter will compensate some what the loss of film sale.

But with non Minox film slitter, there is no such compensation. Hence I think it was a sound business decision to stop the sale of cheap empty cassette.

MPL's former practice of selling reused Minox casette at $1 a piece was purely good will support for Minox hobbyist. that was started a few years ago. In my Kindermann's Minox accesory price list, new Minox cassette was listed at C$6 a piece. Whether Minox will go back to the old practice of selling new empty cassette at perhaps $3-$4, I don't know. Right now the only souce of new cassette is from Submini.com's ACMEL caseette ( I think it is $5 a piece without film )

There are two possibilities:

  1. Minox may do the same, selling new cassette at comparable price.
  2. Fuji/ACMEL will stop selling empty casstte too.

Fuji/ACMEL makes Minox 8x11 color and BW films for Japan and Asia markets.

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), January 15, 2000.


Watch out MPL site. MPL is making arrangement with Minox GmbH to import new Minox cassette for sale.

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), January 15, 2000.

Martin:

Have you any news on the possibility that MPL will have cassettes for sale?

Cap

-- Cap Schwartz (caps@entropycontrol.com), December 19, 2000.


Cap, I haven't follow up on the cassette situation, it is best to give them a call to see what happens. AFAIK, the only way to get Minox cassette a present time is to buy a dozen rolls of Minox film. It is a good deal, because the cassette can be reuse and reuse indefinitely. A new ACMEL cassette was about $5 each. I can buy a roll of Minopan film for $8 Canadian, or about $5.4, I get the film for only $0.40 !

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), December 24, 2000.


 There are some fine details of Minox cassette:

1) Ridges in the insde wall

Open a MINOX cassette, in the take up chamber and the supply chamber walls, there are four vertical ridges along the side of each chamber. There are similar ridges on ACMEL cassette. However on early miNox plastic cassette, there was no ridge Apparently the ridges were added to reduce friction between the film and the cassette wall. There was no ridge on brass cassette

2) Indent of take up spool.

The inner diameter of brass take up spool is uniform The inner diameter of plasic cassette take up spools, from miNox to MINOX and ACMEL is not uniform. About 4 mm from the top, there is a approximately 0.1 mm indent, with a diamter of about 8.9 mm, and from here to the bottom the diamete is smaller, 8.8mm. The 4 mm width indent fits the cap. The purpose of this indent: - better fit the cap, - reduce the outer diameter of spool by 0.1mm. - add to stability of spool inside the cassette

3) Numbering on MINOX cassette bridge

On the bridge of MINOX cassette, there is a moulded number on the reverse side of the bridge. So far I found the numbers 1, 2 and 4. probably indicates the mould from which the cassette was made. The number does not seems to related to film type nor exposure number.

4) bridge wedge Botht the MINOX cassette and ACMEL cassette bridge has a wedge to facilitate lifting of cassette from camera



-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), October 17, 2001.

MPL is selling empty cassettes for ten pieces lot at $12.50 shipping and handling extra

Try phone :516-437-5750

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), October 17, 2001.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ