The Universal Mercury II CX has always seemed to me to be one of the most interesting camera designs produced in the U.S. or anywhere.
The half-frame format was uncommon at the time, the rotary shutter was rugged and accurate up to 1/1000, the coated Tricor lens was sharp, and the price was very competitive. In spite of those unique qualities, the camera today is frequently the target of derision on photography forums. The criticisms seem to come most often from people with little or no actual experience with the camera. While I sometimes feel a slight urge to post responses to some of those opinions, it always seems more worthwhile to just go out and make some pictures with the camera. These latest were made on a recent outing to Albuquerque's Rio Grande Zoo.
The film was some well-expired Fuji 400, the twelfth roll processed in my current batch of Cinestill C-41.
6 comments:
Your Mercury is definitely an odd-looking device. Can you use regular 135 film cassettes, or do you need to wind film into a different spool and cartridge? I recall that at least one American company used 35mm film in non-standard cartridges.
Yes, that was the pre-war Mercury that used proprietary cartridges. The post-war II-CX like mine used standard 35mm cartridges.
An interesting camera. I have always kept an eye open for one.
I picked up mine on ebay for very little money. I see them come up for sale pretty often, but asking prices are getting ridiculous for everything including the Mercury. The camera was quite popular for a time after the war, so they are not really rare now. There is a very good book that includes a lot about the Mercury, The Univex Story by Cynthia A. Repinski.
I'm not usually a big fan of half frame cameras, but these turned out great. I get a little agitated at some of the trolls out there who think that THEIR preferences for camera gear and film stocks are the only one that matters. I'd like to think that the film community as a whole is better than that. And it mostly is.
The Mercury is my only half-frame. I'm always a little surprised at the quality of images from the Tricor.
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