An American Classic 35: The Mercury by Universal Camera Corp.
Challenging German supremacy with ingenuity and oddball innovation
By Jason Schneider
At the depth of the Great Depression in 1933, the taxi business was in terrible shape—not many folks wanted to hire a cab when they weren’t sure where their next meal was coming from and couldn’t make their mortgage payments. Perhaps that’s why two entrepreneurial guys with financial connections to the taxicab industry decided to start a new camera company that eventually became Universal Camera Corp of New York. Otto Githens was an executive for a loan company that financed taxicab operations and his unlikely partner was Jacob Shapiro, an agent for a taxicab insurance underwriter. Neither of them had one iota of experience in the camera business, but they had a dream—to undercut the likes Eastman Kodak and Ansco in the photographic mass market by producing and selling a camera for a mere 39 cents, a price everyone could afford.
In analyzing Kodak’s business model, the partners realized that the real money was not in selling cameras, but in selling film and processing, a recurring expense that would ensure a reliable revenue stream. So, they contracted with film manufacturer Gevaert of Belgium to produce 6-exposure roll film in a special size (Univex No. 00) that would only fit their camera, which they offered at 10 cents per roll! The final step was to set up processing labs across the U.S. to develop and print the non-standard film, thus ensuring control of the entire supply chain.
The Univex A, a simple plastic point and shoot, was a roaring success, but did Universal Camera Corp. steal the design for its first product? It's possible.
Their cockamamie plan was a roaring success and the fledging company sold 2.6 million Univex Model A cameras in 1934 along with millions of rolls of film, which they also processed. The dark side: It’s been widely reported that Universal pirated the design for the Univex A, a rudimentary plastic compact box camera with a fold-up wire frame finder, from Norton Labs of New York, the company that had designed it at the behest of (you guessed it) Universal. Norton was supposed to have supplied it to them as a subcontractor and had even made the molding dies. Norton did go on to produce and successfully sell its own version if the Univex A, and the company was eventually acquired by Universal, resulting in (what else?) the Norton-Univex variant.
A tip of the lens cap to Cynthia A. Repinski for researching and writing a book that tells the whole story of the Universal Camera Corp. and its weird products.
Telling the complete checkered history of the Universal Camera Company and its plethora of unique, innovative, brilliant, and, at times, “crappy,” products would take a sizeable (272-page!) book. That volume, The Univex Story by Cynthia A. Repinski, Centennial Photo Service, 1991, is still available from the printer or online at about $30 per copy. Universal made everything from simple point and shoots to 8mm movie cameras to 35mm scale focusing and rangefinder cameras, to folding roll film cameras, to twin lens reflexes, to enlargers, projectors, and even radios. But perhaps the company’s wisest decision was hiring George Kende as Chief Design Engineer in 1935. Kende was a brilliant and innovative engineer who had a remarkable facility for creating sophisticated designs for cameras and photographic equipment that provided advanced features yet could be produced at moderate cost by unskilled or semi-skilled labor. His crowning achievements were Universal Camera Corp.’s Mercury I and Mercury II, both half-frame 35s with rotary shutters that were among the few American-made cameras to successfully challenge European dominance in the immediate pre-war and post-WWII
eras.
Rare Mercury I (Model CC-1500 ) of 1939 with world's fastest top shutter speed of 1/1500, 35mm f/2.7 Universal Tricor lens, and Univex extinction meter in its accessory shoe. Like all Mercury CC models it took standard double-perf 35mm film wound on special spools.
Patent application for Mercury II rotary shutter mechanism dated 1942. It operated on the same principle as the Mercury I shutter with minor detail differences.
The Mercury I, officially dubbed the Model CC, debuted in 1938, and its design is a tribute to George Kende’s out-of-the-box thinking and engineering brilliance. The centerpiece of the design is a full rotary sector focal plane shutter derived from those used in Univex 8mm movie cameras that had been introduced in 1936. The shutter consists of 2 interconnected round metal discs with its central pivot point positioned just above the top edge of the 35mm film. By varying the pie-sliced opening between the two discs that pass in front of the film to make the exposure, timed shutter speeds of 1/20-1/1000 sec (plus B and T) were obtainable. The shutter used simple modular components which were easy to assemble and only a single spindle was required rather than up to 4 spindles used in conventional focal plane shutters. Because the opening and closing blades were rigidly geared together and driven by a single spring there is no “fading,” uneven exposures due to variations in first and second curtain speeds. And since the disk traveled though half a rotation before the exposure was made it acted as flywheel to stabilize it speed, resulting in more uniform exposures. Indeed, tests conducted at the Harvard Observatory indicated that the Mercury I’s shutter was more accurate than those in the Contax and the Leica, quite an achievement for an upstart American company that produced cheap cameras for the masses.
The whole enchilada: Mercury I with non-coupled rangefinder and extinction meter on top, Univex Rapid Winder, and rare 35mm f/2 Hexar Anastigmat lens.
Closeup of Mercury I with 35mm f/2 Hexar lens. Lens was made by Wollensak and its name suggests it was a 6-element design, but no diagram has emerged.
The major downside to the shutters in all Mercury cameras is that the full disk rotary shutter does not fit the form factor of a conventional 35mm camera—it requires a “hump” along the back plane to accommodate the large circular blades. Also, this shutter system can only cover the (vertical) half frame (18 x 24mm) format. A full frame (24 x 36 mm) version of the Mercury would require building a camera the size of an 800-pound gorilla. Still, the camera is small, and light compared to others in its class, measuring 5-1/4 x 3-3.8 x 1-3/8 inches (W x H x D) and weighing in at 18.7 ounces, and (like the Leica) its rounded ends enhance its impression of sleekness. Because of the shutter design, the film wind and shutter speed setting knobs had to be on the front of the camera, but Universal turned that to their advantage, touting the benefits of having a “control center” on the front of the camera.
Mercury I ad of 1939 shows selling price of camera listed as $25. Note reference to model new CC-1500 and 35mm f/2 Hexar lens in copy.
For the record, the Mercury CC (retrospectively called the Mercury I) launched in 1938 was constructed of unfinished aluminum alloy castings covered in leather, has a small somewhat squinty Galilean optical finder with parallax adjustment markings, a recessed shutter release on top, and it used proprietary Univex #200 film, 65 exposures of standard 35mm film wound on special spools to fit the camera. The Mercury I was also the world’s first camera to incorporate a hot shoe, a flash contact (for F sync bulbs) built into the accessory shoe! Available lenses included the 35mm f/2.7 Tricor and 35mm f/3.5 Tricor (both triplets) and the 35mm f/2 Hexar Anastigmat (most often found on the rare model CC-1500 with 1/1500 sec top shutter speed introduced in 1939). These cameras depended on modular design and simplified construction to enable them to be assembled largely with unskilled labor, and they lacked such refinements as a coupled rangefinder, slow shutter speeds and built-in light meters which were becoming popular by the late ‘30s. Universal rose to the challenge by building two side by side accessory shoes into the top of the camera and offering clip-on “system” accessories including an extinction type light meter and an uncoupled rangefinder.
Original 1938 patent drawing the Mercury 1 by George Kende, surely one of the most innovative and brilliant camera designers America has produced.
The designers also took advantage of the front-mounted wind lever to design an accessory vertical rapid wind lever that could be operated like a trigger with the right middle finger while the pressing the shutter release with the index finger, achieving one frame per sec or even faster! Note: Early versions of the Mercury had a plain leather covering on the rear of the shutter disc extension atop the camera; later versions replaced the leather with an additional depth of field chart covering f/2.0 and f/2.7 lenses, to supplement the DOF chart on the front that begins at f/3.5. All but the earliest Mercurys also provide a film movement indicator (it looks like a slotted screw) on the bottom. Whatever you may think of the idiosyncratic styling of the Mercury I or II they sure looks like “serious” cameras, and that was the point.
One of the Mercury I’s biggest selling points was, of course, its top shutter speed of 1/1000 sec, unusual for a camera in its moderate price class—it sold for a paltry $25 in 1938 while German-made cameras from Leitz and Zeiss were selling for hundreds of dollars. However, the Contax II and III boasted a top shutter speed of 1/1250 sec and that rankled the patriotic Americans of Universal Camera Corp. As a result, management tasked the engineering department with devising a faster version of the Mercury’s rotary shutter in a bid to capture the coveted title of “fastest” (still) camera in the world”. Since the camera’s rotary shutter turns at a more-or-less constant speed, the best way of achieving a faster shutter speed is to narrow the angle of the pie-shaped slit that scans the film. However, this would have entailed a redesign of the shutter, a costly and time-consuming procedure, so they were ordered to simply increase the spring tension, causing the shutter discs to run faster at all shutter speeds. The new top shutter speed was 1/1500, the fastest in the world, the shutter speed knob was suitably reconfigured, and the back plate of the “hump” was marked “Model CC-1500.” What Chief Engineer George Kende thought of this has not come down to us, but he must have been disgusted with what he knew to be a “cheap and dirty” solution to producing a higher-speed shutter that seriously impaired its long-term reliability. The CC-1500 was afflicted with springs that break, become fatigued, or lose their temper and it’s unusual to find a fully functional example today.
Rare very clean Mercury CC-1500 with top shutter speed of 1/1500 sec with 35mm f/2.7 Tricor lens and extinction meter. Auction asking price: $299.95.
The only good news is for collectors. The CC-1500 now qualifies as a rare find— indeed as only an estimated 3,000 were manufactured, all in 1939, compared to approximately 45,000 of the standard Mercury Model CC. With a Wollensak-made 35mm f/3.5 Tricor lens, the CC-1500 sold new in 1939 for $29.75. The camera was also available with the Wollensak-made 35mm f/2.0 Hexar Anastigmat lens, a rare option that more than doubled the price of the outfit to a breathtaking $65! Contrary to some speculation, the 35mm f/2 Hexar was not vaporware—it was a real product, not a mere catalog listing, and they occasionally show up in auction listings. There were supposedly 75mm and 125mm telephoto lenses offered as well but I haven’t found one yet so please let me know if you run across one. Today you can occasionally snag a nice CC-1500 for a few hundred bucks but some go for crazy prices. As a user-collectible you’re much better off with a standard CC (aka Mercury I) or better yet a Mercury II (Model CX) that takes standard 35mm cartridges.
Mercury II debuted in 1945. Biggest change: it takes standard 35mm cartridges, requiring a larger body but it also has larger film wind and shutter speed dials, and a rewind control and knob. Its aluminum/magnesium body castings tend to oxidize, giving it a funky appearance, but this is the one to shoot with.
Like many U.S. companies, Universal Camera Corp. ceased normal operations during WWII and switched to producing items for the armed forces. So, instead of turning out cameras they manufactured Universal branded binoculars, which are said to be well made and of good quality. By the time Universal resumed camera production in 1945 they had decided to reconfigure the popular Mercury I or CC to accept standard 35mm cartridges. New aluminum/magnesium die castings were required and as a result the Mercury II (officially called the CX) was ¼-inch taller and wider than the Mercury I (CC). The new Mercury II (CX) measures 5.71 x 3.74 x 2.36 inches (W x H x D) and it weighs in at 21.2 ounces—substantially larger and noticeably heavier than the Mercury I but still relatively compact.
Magazine ad 1948 for Universal cameras shows Mercury II sold at a discount price of $54.40 with 35mm f/2.7 Tricor, considerably less than the Fair Trade list price, of $82.
In other respects, the new model, which was widely advertised as “The Camera for Color,” had the same general specs as the original: a rotary metal focal plane shutter with speeds from 1/20-1/1000 sec, plus T and B, F sync via the hot shoe, and a squinty Galilean optical finder with parallax compensation markings. It does have a redesigned film counter dial, larger wind and shutter speed knobs, a synthetic textured covering in place of leather, and no neck strap lugs like its predecessor. It took the same array of screw mount lenses cited above, and its aluminum/magnesium alloy body castings tend to oxidize and become funky, unlike the aluminum bodied Mercury I, which retains its shine.
The Mercury II (model CX) camera was produced all through the ‘40s and into the ‘50s—it was offered at the discount price of $54.40 with 35mm f/2.7 Tricor lens in 1948.
Mercury II back view shows DOF scale (top) film reminder dial (left) and exposure calculator (center). Note oxidation on metal parts.
Open hinged back of Mercury II shows rewind knob and film chamber for standard 35mm cartridges, take-up spool, and rotary shutter in closed position.
Universal Camera Corp. became insolvent in 1952, but somehow managed to soldier on until 1964. Today you can snag a clean Mercury II with 35mm f/2.7 or f/3.5 Tricor lens for about $60-$100 at online auction sites, but any Mercury camera (model I, II or CC-1500) with the coveted 35mm f/2.0 Hexar will fetch upwards of a few hundred bucks. In general, Mercury cameras are reliable, fun to shoot with and a great way to amaze your friends. They can all take sharp pictures, but re- rolling 35mm film to fit a Mercury I will only appeal to fanatics and masochists, and lots of luck getting a broken Mercury repaired. Still, they’re something only those crazy Americans could’ve come up with, and that accounts for much of their enduring charm.
Challenging German supremacy with ingenuity and oddball innovation
By Jason Schneider
At the depth of the Great Depression in 1933, the taxi business was in terrible shape—not many folks wanted to hire a cab when they weren’t sure where their next meal was coming from and couldn’t make their mortgage payments. Perhaps that’s why two entrepreneurial guys with financial connections to the taxicab industry decided to start a new camera company that eventually became Universal Camera Corp of New York. Otto Githens was an executive for a loan company that financed taxicab operations and his unlikely partner was Jacob Shapiro, an agent for a taxicab insurance underwriter. Neither of them had one iota of experience in the camera business, but they had a dream—to undercut the likes Eastman Kodak and Ansco in the photographic mass market by producing and selling a camera for a mere 39 cents, a price everyone could afford.
In analyzing Kodak’s business model, the partners realized that the real money was not in selling cameras, but in selling film and processing, a recurring expense that would ensure a reliable revenue stream. So, they contracted with film manufacturer Gevaert of Belgium to produce 6-exposure roll film in a special size (Univex No. 00) that would only fit their camera, which they offered at 10 cents per roll! The final step was to set up processing labs across the U.S. to develop and print the non-standard film, thus ensuring control of the entire supply chain.
The Univex A, a simple plastic point and shoot, was a roaring success, but did Universal Camera Corp. steal the design for its first product? It's possible.
Their cockamamie plan was a roaring success and the fledging company sold 2.6 million Univex Model A cameras in 1934 along with millions of rolls of film, which they also processed. The dark side: It’s been widely reported that Universal pirated the design for the Univex A, a rudimentary plastic compact box camera with a fold-up wire frame finder, from Norton Labs of New York, the company that had designed it at the behest of (you guessed it) Universal. Norton was supposed to have supplied it to them as a subcontractor and had even made the molding dies. Norton did go on to produce and successfully sell its own version if the Univex A, and the company was eventually acquired by Universal, resulting in (what else?) the Norton-Univex variant.
A tip of the lens cap to Cynthia A. Repinski for researching and writing a book that tells the whole story of the Universal Camera Corp. and its weird products.
Telling the complete checkered history of the Universal Camera Company and its plethora of unique, innovative, brilliant, and, at times, “crappy,” products would take a sizeable (272-page!) book. That volume, The Univex Story by Cynthia A. Repinski, Centennial Photo Service, 1991, is still available from the printer or online at about $30 per copy. Universal made everything from simple point and shoots to 8mm movie cameras to 35mm scale focusing and rangefinder cameras, to folding roll film cameras, to twin lens reflexes, to enlargers, projectors, and even radios. But perhaps the company’s wisest decision was hiring George Kende as Chief Design Engineer in 1935. Kende was a brilliant and innovative engineer who had a remarkable facility for creating sophisticated designs for cameras and photographic equipment that provided advanced features yet could be produced at moderate cost by unskilled or semi-skilled labor. His crowning achievements were Universal Camera Corp.’s Mercury I and Mercury II, both half-frame 35s with rotary shutters that were among the few American-made cameras to successfully challenge European dominance in the immediate pre-war and post-WWII
eras.
Rare Mercury I (Model CC-1500 ) of 1939 with world's fastest top shutter speed of 1/1500, 35mm f/2.7 Universal Tricor lens, and Univex extinction meter in its accessory shoe. Like all Mercury CC models it took standard double-perf 35mm film wound on special spools.
Patent application for Mercury II rotary shutter mechanism dated 1942. It operated on the same principle as the Mercury I shutter with minor detail differences.
The Mercury I, officially dubbed the Model CC, debuted in 1938, and its design is a tribute to George Kende’s out-of-the-box thinking and engineering brilliance. The centerpiece of the design is a full rotary sector focal plane shutter derived from those used in Univex 8mm movie cameras that had been introduced in 1936. The shutter consists of 2 interconnected round metal discs with its central pivot point positioned just above the top edge of the 35mm film. By varying the pie-sliced opening between the two discs that pass in front of the film to make the exposure, timed shutter speeds of 1/20-1/1000 sec (plus B and T) were obtainable. The shutter used simple modular components which were easy to assemble and only a single spindle was required rather than up to 4 spindles used in conventional focal plane shutters. Because the opening and closing blades were rigidly geared together and driven by a single spring there is no “fading,” uneven exposures due to variations in first and second curtain speeds. And since the disk traveled though half a rotation before the exposure was made it acted as flywheel to stabilize it speed, resulting in more uniform exposures. Indeed, tests conducted at the Harvard Observatory indicated that the Mercury I’s shutter was more accurate than those in the Contax and the Leica, quite an achievement for an upstart American company that produced cheap cameras for the masses.
The whole enchilada: Mercury I with non-coupled rangefinder and extinction meter on top, Univex Rapid Winder, and rare 35mm f/2 Hexar Anastigmat lens.
Closeup of Mercury I with 35mm f/2 Hexar lens. Lens was made by Wollensak and its name suggests it was a 6-element design, but no diagram has emerged.
The major downside to the shutters in all Mercury cameras is that the full disk rotary shutter does not fit the form factor of a conventional 35mm camera—it requires a “hump” along the back plane to accommodate the large circular blades. Also, this shutter system can only cover the (vertical) half frame (18 x 24mm) format. A full frame (24 x 36 mm) version of the Mercury would require building a camera the size of an 800-pound gorilla. Still, the camera is small, and light compared to others in its class, measuring 5-1/4 x 3-3.8 x 1-3/8 inches (W x H x D) and weighing in at 18.7 ounces, and (like the Leica) its rounded ends enhance its impression of sleekness. Because of the shutter design, the film wind and shutter speed setting knobs had to be on the front of the camera, but Universal turned that to their advantage, touting the benefits of having a “control center” on the front of the camera.
Mercury I ad of 1939 shows selling price of camera listed as $25. Note reference to model new CC-1500 and 35mm f/2 Hexar lens in copy.
For the record, the Mercury CC (retrospectively called the Mercury I) launched in 1938 was constructed of unfinished aluminum alloy castings covered in leather, has a small somewhat squinty Galilean optical finder with parallax adjustment markings, a recessed shutter release on top, and it used proprietary Univex #200 film, 65 exposures of standard 35mm film wound on special spools to fit the camera. The Mercury I was also the world’s first camera to incorporate a hot shoe, a flash contact (for F sync bulbs) built into the accessory shoe! Available lenses included the 35mm f/2.7 Tricor and 35mm f/3.5 Tricor (both triplets) and the 35mm f/2 Hexar Anastigmat (most often found on the rare model CC-1500 with 1/1500 sec top shutter speed introduced in 1939). These cameras depended on modular design and simplified construction to enable them to be assembled largely with unskilled labor, and they lacked such refinements as a coupled rangefinder, slow shutter speeds and built-in light meters which were becoming popular by the late ‘30s. Universal rose to the challenge by building two side by side accessory shoes into the top of the camera and offering clip-on “system” accessories including an extinction type light meter and an uncoupled rangefinder.
Original 1938 patent drawing the Mercury 1 by George Kende, surely one of the most innovative and brilliant camera designers America has produced.
The designers also took advantage of the front-mounted wind lever to design an accessory vertical rapid wind lever that could be operated like a trigger with the right middle finger while the pressing the shutter release with the index finger, achieving one frame per sec or even faster! Note: Early versions of the Mercury had a plain leather covering on the rear of the shutter disc extension atop the camera; later versions replaced the leather with an additional depth of field chart covering f/2.0 and f/2.7 lenses, to supplement the DOF chart on the front that begins at f/3.5. All but the earliest Mercurys also provide a film movement indicator (it looks like a slotted screw) on the bottom. Whatever you may think of the idiosyncratic styling of the Mercury I or II they sure looks like “serious” cameras, and that was the point.
One of the Mercury I’s biggest selling points was, of course, its top shutter speed of 1/1000 sec, unusual for a camera in its moderate price class—it sold for a paltry $25 in 1938 while German-made cameras from Leitz and Zeiss were selling for hundreds of dollars. However, the Contax II and III boasted a top shutter speed of 1/1250 sec and that rankled the patriotic Americans of Universal Camera Corp. As a result, management tasked the engineering department with devising a faster version of the Mercury’s rotary shutter in a bid to capture the coveted title of “fastest” (still) camera in the world”. Since the camera’s rotary shutter turns at a more-or-less constant speed, the best way of achieving a faster shutter speed is to narrow the angle of the pie-shaped slit that scans the film. However, this would have entailed a redesign of the shutter, a costly and time-consuming procedure, so they were ordered to simply increase the spring tension, causing the shutter discs to run faster at all shutter speeds. The new top shutter speed was 1/1500, the fastest in the world, the shutter speed knob was suitably reconfigured, and the back plate of the “hump” was marked “Model CC-1500.” What Chief Engineer George Kende thought of this has not come down to us, but he must have been disgusted with what he knew to be a “cheap and dirty” solution to producing a higher-speed shutter that seriously impaired its long-term reliability. The CC-1500 was afflicted with springs that break, become fatigued, or lose their temper and it’s unusual to find a fully functional example today.
Rare very clean Mercury CC-1500 with top shutter speed of 1/1500 sec with 35mm f/2.7 Tricor lens and extinction meter. Auction asking price: $299.95.
The only good news is for collectors. The CC-1500 now qualifies as a rare find— indeed as only an estimated 3,000 were manufactured, all in 1939, compared to approximately 45,000 of the standard Mercury Model CC. With a Wollensak-made 35mm f/3.5 Tricor lens, the CC-1500 sold new in 1939 for $29.75. The camera was also available with the Wollensak-made 35mm f/2.0 Hexar Anastigmat lens, a rare option that more than doubled the price of the outfit to a breathtaking $65! Contrary to some speculation, the 35mm f/2 Hexar was not vaporware—it was a real product, not a mere catalog listing, and they occasionally show up in auction listings. There were supposedly 75mm and 125mm telephoto lenses offered as well but I haven’t found one yet so please let me know if you run across one. Today you can occasionally snag a nice CC-1500 for a few hundred bucks but some go for crazy prices. As a user-collectible you’re much better off with a standard CC (aka Mercury I) or better yet a Mercury II (Model CX) that takes standard 35mm cartridges.
Mercury II debuted in 1945. Biggest change: it takes standard 35mm cartridges, requiring a larger body but it also has larger film wind and shutter speed dials, and a rewind control and knob. Its aluminum/magnesium body castings tend to oxidize, giving it a funky appearance, but this is the one to shoot with.
Like many U.S. companies, Universal Camera Corp. ceased normal operations during WWII and switched to producing items for the armed forces. So, instead of turning out cameras they manufactured Universal branded binoculars, which are said to be well made and of good quality. By the time Universal resumed camera production in 1945 they had decided to reconfigure the popular Mercury I or CC to accept standard 35mm cartridges. New aluminum/magnesium die castings were required and as a result the Mercury II (officially called the CX) was ¼-inch taller and wider than the Mercury I (CC). The new Mercury II (CX) measures 5.71 x 3.74 x 2.36 inches (W x H x D) and it weighs in at 21.2 ounces—substantially larger and noticeably heavier than the Mercury I but still relatively compact.
Magazine ad 1948 for Universal cameras shows Mercury II sold at a discount price of $54.40 with 35mm f/2.7 Tricor, considerably less than the Fair Trade list price, of $82.
In other respects, the new model, which was widely advertised as “The Camera for Color,” had the same general specs as the original: a rotary metal focal plane shutter with speeds from 1/20-1/1000 sec, plus T and B, F sync via the hot shoe, and a squinty Galilean optical finder with parallax compensation markings. It does have a redesigned film counter dial, larger wind and shutter speed knobs, a synthetic textured covering in place of leather, and no neck strap lugs like its predecessor. It took the same array of screw mount lenses cited above, and its aluminum/magnesium alloy body castings tend to oxidize and become funky, unlike the aluminum bodied Mercury I, which retains its shine.
The Mercury II (model CX) camera was produced all through the ‘40s and into the ‘50s—it was offered at the discount price of $54.40 with 35mm f/2.7 Tricor lens in 1948.
Mercury II back view shows DOF scale (top) film reminder dial (left) and exposure calculator (center). Note oxidation on metal parts.
Open hinged back of Mercury II shows rewind knob and film chamber for standard 35mm cartridges, take-up spool, and rotary shutter in closed position.
Universal Camera Corp. became insolvent in 1952, but somehow managed to soldier on until 1964. Today you can snag a clean Mercury II with 35mm f/2.7 or f/3.5 Tricor lens for about $60-$100 at online auction sites, but any Mercury camera (model I, II or CC-1500) with the coveted 35mm f/2.0 Hexar will fetch upwards of a few hundred bucks. In general, Mercury cameras are reliable, fun to shoot with and a great way to amaze your friends. They can all take sharp pictures, but re- rolling 35mm film to fit a Mercury I will only appeal to fanatics and masochists, and lots of luck getting a broken Mercury repaired. Still, they’re something only those crazy Americans could’ve come up with, and that accounts for much of their enduring charm.
