Starting with Riga, the Minox cameras benefited of metallic film cassettes; an excellent design, sturdy and storing up to 50 exposures per negative strip, these old-style film cassettes are now almost extinct. Of course there is still a good number of them on the market, many times in their original tn box, but they are not produced anymore. We know that Minox factory stopped manufacturing these cassettes in the late 60’s, aligning themselves with the new plastic age.
Lately, in the last couple of years, a Minox enthusiast (Jimmy Li) has developed and produced a new 8×11 film cassette, which is a big favorite of all Minoxers out there. You can read my full review in the link provided, written in 2017 on my old site Minoxit.Com, and now republished on this site here.
Minox 8×11 film cassette, produced by Jimmy Li, metal all over.
Anyways…around 1967, with the apparition of the B model of Minox 8×11 cameras line, the plastic cassettes made their apparition. These were (at first) of the same design of the metallic ones, i.e. they had the caps secured in place with sticky tape (fabric and after a while plastic transparent tape). Later on, apparently with the new LX model, the caps were made to clip over the spools.
The Minox plastic cassette, appeared in 1967, replaced the metal ones.
The metallic cassettes I only use in the Minox Riga, A models (II and III), and also in the IIIs. Regarding all other models using 8×11 film cassette (C, CLX, TLX, EC, ECX, AX, LX, BL, MX), it is advised against using the old style metallic cassettes, because they do jam inside. However, I have had instances when I got away with using such an old cassette in one of my LX cameras. Pure luck, I guess.
It would appear that MS Hobbies in London managed to produce and started recently to sell a new Minox film cassette, made entirely from milled metal (alu?). Actually they made 2 models of it, a black one destined to Minox cameras other than Riga, and a grey one which is to fit the Riga only. I haven’t got them yet, and when I’ll do, I’ll let you know the what and the how.
For those of us still using these cassettes, they are delivering wonderfully after so many years. They are basically eternal, but only if you take care of them. My Riga and A cameras are happy to work with these cassettes.