Mine is dull, but not really corroded. And it is fully functional. When
my boys were teenagers, and into exploring local caves, I rigged a flash
on it and they took it into the caves.
The 35mm lens is remarkably sharp. I have no idea of the size of the
image circle, but, some years ago, a Los Angeles dealer of used cameras
had one of these lenses in Leica Thread Mount, and wanted a premium
price for it.
Here is the camera:
http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Mercury+II+from+1945.jpg.html
And here is a typical image:
http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Full+Negative+Helicopter+Detail.jpg.html
View it large.
The real fun is in scanning those film strips! :-(
Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA
On 12/1/2015 3:24 PM, Andrew Fildes wrote:
Most Mercury examples I see are badly corroded and non-functional. The earliest
had a 1/2000th shutter pre-war which was remarkable but it proved unreliable so
they cut it back later - to 1/1250 I think. Huge rotary shutter. Fascinating
beast and a clean one is one of the most remarkable looking cameras around.
Andrew Fildes
afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
www.soultheft.com
On 2 Dec 2015, at 12:46 am, Jim Nichols <jhnichols@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Thanks for the details, Andrew.
And I also have a Mercury II. The camera is a curiosity, but works well. The
lens is a real jewel in size and performance.
Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA
On 12/1/2015 2:45 AM, Andrew Fildes wrote:
Indeed. The mirror lifts the shutter blind vertically through a curved path
creating a travelling slit. Rewinding takes the mirror back down along with the
shutter blind in the closed position. Reliable but limited - the maximum speed
was 1/125th and later 1/175th so in the very late models they went back to a
regular focal plane shutter with instant return mirror. I think I have both
types in the cupboard.
Then of course there is the style used by the Mercury, the Robot and the
Olympus Pen F.
And if you aren’t careful, I’ll tell you all about the Wrayflex.
Andrew Fildes
afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> <mailto:afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
www.soultheft.com
On 1 Dec 2015, at 8:06 am, Jim Nichols <jhnichols@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
And then there is the Exacta "Exa", which was my holiday camera for several
years. If I picture the mechanism correctly, the mirror rotates as a part of the
shutter. Limited, but very reliable, including use with a Braun strobe unit.
Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA
On 11/30/2015 2:59 PM, Moose wrote:
On 11/30/2015 6:16 AM, Jim Nichols wrote:
Hi Philippe,
You are correct, as usual. I guess I was suffering from too much football and
good food, and became a little more senile for a bit. Those mirrors do flip up.
:-[
Except, of course, for the Canon Pellix, it's Canon successors, the Nikon F2H
and the much more recent Sony SLTs
Mirroring Philippe Moose
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