A lens interchangeable half size 35mm camera made by Universal Camera Corp in 1938.
There were pre war Mercury I and post war model II. Mercury I required a film magazine, but II is able to use normal 35mm film as we have now.
One of most significant point is a looks of half moon housing on the top of camera. It has a reason why the rotary metal focal plane is used as a shutter and rotating plates is in the half moon chamber. It is called shutter chamber. This is often to be seen as a 35mm cine camera shutter. The shutter speed, an open timing, is determined by adjustable variation slits in width of sector opening. This unique shutter is able to make T,B,1/20,1/30,1/40,1/60,1/100,1/300,1/1000sec by rotating opening slit.
The lens is interchangeable with a special screw mont. A standerd lens Tricor 35mm F3.5 was attached to the Mercury I and a coating F2.7 lens with type II of post war version. There was a Hexar F2(6 element) lens for it that was very fine, also 75mm or 125mm tele lens. They are very hard to find.
The body has two accessory shoe. One on the center has F Synchro hot terminal as a new feature for pre war cameras. I made a Special hot shoe Strobe Flash for this camera and it synchronizes at 1/20 sec even in use of an electric flash. The other seems to be equiped for an indivisual Range Finder or exp meters.
The film counter is 65 for 36 exposures film. There were several accessories like flash gun, range finder and exp meter.
|
Uneivex Mercury I
|
Uneivex Mercury II |
|---|
|
