Interesting story on the Univex Box Camera, Jim!
My old Mercury does not work - never has as long as I've had it (40+ years) and
not worth repairing. At least, not to me.
I have a friend (also a Jim) who says "Ask me for anything out of metal, and
I'll make it for you. As me for something made out of wood, and I'll build you
a fire."
Having seen your image from the Mercury's lens, I'm now stroking my chin about
dismembering the old Mercury and having him make and adapter to the E-M1.
Could be an interesting experiment!
David.
> You certainly came up with cameras that I have never seen before! Your
> Dad's camera looks to be a very nice example of the later folders. I
> almost bought a Retina II when I was in the market for a 35 in 1952.
>
> As a child of 8 or 9, I received a Christmas gift of a small, plastic
> Univex box camera that used Size 00 roll film, about the size of 35mm,
> but paper backed, with no sprocket holes. The film had to be returned
> to the company for processing. I still have an image of my grandparents
> that must have come from that camera, because it is the only one I had
> at that time. That was the same company that later became Universal
> Camera.
>
> See my response to Rick Beckrich for an example of a Mercury II image.
>
> Jim Nichols
> Tullahoma, TN USA
>
> On 7/2/2015 1:45 PM, David Young wrote:
>> G'Mornin' again, Jim!
>>
>> When I was in my teens (lo, those many years ago) I did a fair amount of
>> spelunking, too, but never with a camera.
>>
>> I found it interesting that you should refer people to the Camerapedia for
>> more on the Mercury II.
>>
>> I am not a camera collector, I am a shooter. But over the years I have been
>> given four "oldies", and three of 'em have wound up in the Camerapedia.
>>
>> An old (and damaged) Birnbaum Perforetta,
>>
>> http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Perforetta
>>
>> A Debrie Sept:
>>
>> http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Debrie_Sept
>>
>> and my dad's old 1950 Beauty Six (later sold as the Frank Six) folder, now
>> acknowledged, both in the Camerapedia and elsewhere, to be one of only two
>> such cameras surviving in the world. And certainly the only one with it's
>> original box and ever-ready case intact.
>>
>> http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Frank_Six
>>
>> Actually, my dad gave me the Beauty Six in the mid-80's. He told me that
>> he'd owned 6 cameras, but when I was 12, I had taken them all apart, to see
>> what made them "tick". The Beauty Six was the only one I'd managed to get
>> back together, in working order! Thus he felt, at that point, that I should
>> have it! It may not be my "go to" camera, but it is still my most treasured
>> one.
>>
>> David
>>
>>
>>> Hi David,
>>> When my sons were in their teens, and into exploring caves, I rigged the
>>> Mercury II with a cheap flash gun (bulbs), and they took it into the
>>> caves with them.
>>>
>>> It still works, though scanning the single-frame negatives is a real
>>> challenge. :-(
>>>
>>> Jim Nichols
>>> Tullahoma, TN USA
>>>
>>> On 7/2/2015 12:52 PM, David Young wrote:
>>>> Thanks, Jim, for that information! I have an old Mercury 1, and had
>>>> always wondered why it used the style of shutter that it did. Now, I know!;
>>>>
>>>> David.
>>>>
>>>>> 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
>>>> ---
>>>> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
>>>> https://www.avast.com/antivirus
>> ---
>> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
>> https://www.avast.com/antivirus
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
--
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
|
