[Leica] IMG: Mercury II

[Jim Nichols]

Hi Ric,

There used to be a lot of them around.  Mechanically and optically, mine 
is fine.  Oxidation has taken its toll on the aluminum over the years.

Speaking of oxidation, at one time I was given an early Konica 
rangefinder that was taken from an abandoned seabag that some sailor 
left along the roadside in Mississippi, and was picked up by the MHP.  
Exposure to salt air had really done a number on the body, but the 
rangefinder optics were MUCH better than my LTM Leica.  I shot a few 
rolls with it, and was impressed with Konica, despite the camera's 
condition.

Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA

On 7/2/2015 2:41 PM, RicCarter wrote:
> I’ve got one of those
>
> the shutter locked up very soon after I got it
>
> I love all the “excessive" controls and charts—it looks like a steampunk creation
>
> ric
>
>
>> On Jul 2, 2015, at 12:48 PM, Jim Nichols <jhnichols at lighttube.net> wrote:
>>
>> Some of you might be able to recall, as I do, street photographers who snapped your photo on city sidewalks and then offered to sell you copies of the image.  Their favorite camera was the Universal Mercury, introduced in 1938, or the Mercury II, introduced in 1945. A half-frame camera with a rotary cinema-type shutter, it produced 72 images on a 36-exposure roll of 35mm film.  This was a very rugged camera with a cast aluminum body and an extremely sharp Tricor 35mm f/2.7 lens, requiring manual scale focusing with no rangefinder.  When properly focused, the image detail was equivalent to much more expensive cameras of that era.
>>
>> http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Mercury+II+from+1945.jpg.html
>>
>> Comments welcomed, and appreciated.
>>
>> -- 
>> Jim Nichols
>> Tullahoma, TN USA
>>
>>
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