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COLD SHOE FLASH ADAPTER

John Watson

	Photo by Gerald McMullen.

Known as a “cold shoe” flash adapter, this unit came in two forms and was produced from the mid 50’s to the early 70’s.

Rather than the current version of flash adapter that fits over the flash nipple end creating a “hot shoe”, this unit was designed to fit on the chain socket. This meant that to synchronize with the camera, a cable with a PC plug would be connected on the other side of the camera.

Two variants were available. Above shows the lever release type. With this style a lever is rotated to lock the bayonet into the camera’s chain receptacle, firmly affixing the adapter. Another type had fixed studs on opposite corners instead of the lever, these locked by merely impeding the rotation of the camera beyond locking. No Minox logo is present on either model, though they are stamped with “Made in Germany” on the side.

In either case getting a good lock between the unit and the camera can be an act of real patience.

One further use of the cold shoe adapter was to attach third party accessories to the camera, while still being able to use the Minox flash. By attaching to the opposite end, range finders and other non-synchronized accessories could be used relatively easily.

While they have been out of production for thirty or so years, they do show up from time to time. Because of the bayonet connector, they are usually fairly easy to spot as a true Minox accessory.