[Leica] IMG: Mercury II (& Konica)

[Jim Nichols]

Hi Alan,

My Konica was a Konica I, from the late 1940s.  Even then, the optics 
were great.  Yours sounds like a very nice camera for daily use.

Speaking of old-time cameras, the real treasure that I picked up was a 
little Exa, baby brother of the Exakta.  I was using an Exakta until the 
shutter mechanism died, and had a few lenses.  I found the Exa in a pawn 
shop.  The shutter speeds were limited, because of its rotating prism 
shutter, but it took the standard Exakta lenses and had x-synch for a 
small strobe unit.  I used it for a number of years for family photos, 
and, when I switched to digital and put it away, it was still 
functioning fine.  Oh yes, it also took the standard Exakta viewfinders, 
of which I have several, both eye-level and waist-level.

Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA

On 7/3/2015 8:42 AM, Alan Magayne-Roshak wrote:
> On Thu, 02 Jul 2015 Jim Nichols <jhnichols at lighttube.net>wrote:
>
>
>> 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
> ===========================================================================================================================
> In 1973, I wanted to have a rangefinder camera for candid work but couldn't
> yet afford a Leica, so I bought a Konica III from a student for $10.00.  He
> sold it cheap because the shutter was sticky.   I unscrewed the front lens
> elements and freed up the shutter blades with some lighter fluid, and later
> used it to take what is still my best-selling picture: <
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Alan+Magayne-Roshak/Signs/TruthClosed__AMR.jpg.html
> I too was impressed with the RF viewfinder.  The Hexanon f/2 was terrific
> as well.  (The ads for this camera in the fifties said "The lens alone is
> worth the price.")
> This camera now sits in my viewfinder camera gallery on top my office
> bookcase, along with a Welti, a Wirgin, a Bolsey, a Realist, a Kodak 35, a
> Pony, an Olympus RC, an Olympus XA, an Argus C3, an Agfa Karat, a Retina
> IIa, a Bessa II, and an Ansco Super-Speedex.
>
>
> Alan
>
> Alan Magayne-Roshak, Senior Photographer
> University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Photo Services
> (Retired)
> UPAA Photographer of the Year 1978
> UPAA Master of the Profession 2014
> amr3 at uwm.edu
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Alan+Magayne-Roshak/
>
> "All the technique in the world doesn't compensate
>   for an inability to notice. " - Elliott Erwitt
>
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