GoKawiilMinostigmat lens of VEF Minox Riga. Photo by Burkhard Fenner
The lens that really shouldn’t have worked
Imagine you want to build the world’s smallest camera. A mechanical marvel, no bigger than a lighter. But there’s a problem: there isn’t a lens in the world sharp enough to capture an image on a piece of film the size of a fingernail.
The industry giants were in agreement. When Walter Zapp approached Agfa in the 1930s to jointly develop the lens, they coolly turned him down. Too exotic, too risky, simply unfeasible. At Leitz in Wetzlar, the Olympus of optics, they didn’t even deem a response necessary – they simply ignored him. To the experts in Munich and Wetzlar, the Minox was not a stroke of genius, but an optical pipe dream. A “lemon,” even before the first sketch was finished.
But while the market leaders were still explaining why the laws of physics were against Zapp, he found someone who wasn’t intimidated by the big names. In his lab, a brilliant expert set to work on a task that is almost forgotten today: he calculated the impossible. He ignored the arrogance of the established players and designed a lens so sophisticated and tiny that it didn’t appear in any textbook. It was the birth of the Minostigmat – a lens that wasn’t supposed to exist, but would change the world of photography. The Minostigmat:
7 mm in length
At this point, I would like to thank Ralph T. Schwarz, without whose crucial clue regarding the identity of Hans R. Schulz this article would not have been written. Furthermore, his research into Schulz’s biography contributed significantly to a complete picture.
I would like to extend my special thanks to Heinz Humberg, who provided me with valuable insights into the optical and physical aspects of this topic.
I would like to thank my friend Burkhard Fenner for the unique photos of the Minostigmat and its accurate dimensions. He also provided me with ongoing inspiration for this article and served as my discussion partner.
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