The Mercury, a universal camera

[Andrew O'Neill]

This is definitely different...

[Corran]

5 days to go on this KS, about $10,000 shy. Personally I went ahead and pledged more to get a bunch of the accessory add-ons which I think I would want anyway, and his prices are quite good. In fact, if I understand correctly the ground glass part should work for the TravelWide since it's just an insert.

I hope they make it.

[plywood]

I hope so also. But I think this is a tough sell. It is hard to visualize a complete setup. I backed early, got the basic setup for a lens and 2x3 roll film back. I already have the lens and I think all I'd need is a roll film back and some kind of viewfinder which I think I can make up out of stuff I have on hand. Less than 5 days to go now.

[zhorton]

Hi Folks,

A big thanks to all of the LFP folks here who have backed the Mercury Kickstarter! Your support, requests, and suggestions have been invaluable!

Corran, our 4x5 ground glass is designed to lock into a standard Graflok 45 camera back. I don't know if it would work with the Travelwide or not, but it is thin and light, and so might slip in...

plywood, every Mercury kit comes with a simple sportfinder. Each lens kit comes with the proper reticule for it (they are interchangeable).

Here's an announcement: To help boost the campaign toward our goal, I've decided to offer our Instax Wide Back for Graflok 45 (i.e., our large format version, only recently finished) as a standalone reward (without a complete camera). It costs $270, and will mount on any standard Graflok 45 camera back. It is heavily adapted from a Belair instant back. It includes a darkslide and sits 20mm farther back than the standard film plane. Thus you will need an additional set of infinity stops (or one less front spacer on the Mercury).

Because this is technically part of the Mercury Kickstarter, I haven't started a new thread here, but because it is an entirely different product (a stand alone, one of a kind item), it may be of general interest to LFP members, so it should probably be posted or at least mentioned in some other thread. I'll leave that to others, though, as I don't want to get too self-promotional here!

Note that this item costs less if purchased as an add-on to a Mercury camera kit. The $270 price is if this is the only reward selected by the backer. Let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks,
Zach

[brucetaylor]

Just backed it. I have so many bits and pieces (lenses, viewfinders, backs, etc) it should be easy to put together an interesting camera. My 101mm Ektar sits unused in my Baby Speed Graphic (Graflex back so sheet film only), I would love to see it in use again.

[plywood]

The insomniac here. Local time 2:18 AM and I just checked this KS campaign. Yeah! Just over the 50K, now we will see what transpires in the coming year. Congratulations Zach, there were the usual naysayers but I'm glad it has come through. Strangely, for a film camera project not as much chatter on the film photography forums as I would have thought, but I think many have become more cautious and realistic regarding crowd funding. At any rate, now I can start shopping for a roll film back.

[Corran]

Glad they made it. Will be very interested to try this out.

[zhorton]

Yes, we did it! A big thanks to everyone on this forum who backed, shared, and offered their support! I also appreciated the many discussions and suggestions in this thread and elsewhere, which will help guide the future of the Mercury. Get that roll film back ready, plywood!

[Drew Bedo]

Zhorton: Congrats on making the goal.

Your advice tome on how to structure a pledge to meet my needs was helpful.

Sadly, I couldn't get my resources lined up in time to make a commitment in time.

Your offering seems to be even more attractive or cost-effective lately as two different TravelWide body-only kits have gone off on The-Bay at +$300. the latest one (today) went for $350. this for a camera with very few features (by design).

[redrockcoulee]

I backed it and then went back and added stuff to over double my commitment. Zach you were very prompt and helpful in answering questions. For a little while I was not sure you would reach the goal. My wife now says it is a Christmas gift to each other. The problem is once she gets interested in a piece of equipment she hogs it when we go out shooting but that is still far better than telling me I have too many cameras.

Ivan