The Mercury, a universal camera

[zhorton]

Dear LF community,

I am very pleased to announce a camera system that has been two years in the making: The Mercury: the world's first universal camera. It is a fully modular, open system that can accept nearly any lens (view camera lenses, obviously, but also medium format system lenses for those of that persuasion). The back adapter can be swapped to shoot medium format (especially Graflok 23), large format (currently 4x5, but hopefully larger formats as well in the future). Modular front lens spacers, tubes, and helical focusing units allow many different sorts of lenses to be adapted. A modular focus scale and DOF scale system allows any lens to have these features, for handheld shooting (rangefinder or zone focusing). Focus scales are available in both feet and meters. The LF configuration utilizes a Graflok 45 back adapter, so it can accept any compatible 4x5 accessory, including Grafmatics, 6x12 roll film holders, Polaroid backs of all stripes, etc. We're also going to release a Belair Instax Wide Graflok back. I designed this to be the most versatile hand-held large format camera ever made, while still being compact, very light, and inexpensive. This is a camera that can travel with you, and accept most of your large format gear easily. Only a few truly light and portable large format cameras have ever been made, and they have all (to the best of my knowledge) been plagued by "special purpose" status: designed only for a single lens, a certain type of film holder, etc. The Mercury can be extended and adapted to do just about anything. I'm hoping to generate a large user community that will continue to innovate new uses and components for the system, so that it will grow far into the future.

I launched the Kickstarter today. The idea is to raise the capital necessary to create the molds we need for high-quality and high-volume main body parts. Small specialty parts will be 3D printed. This system is only made possible through a combination of the the two manufacturing processes.

This community is particularly important to me, and I welcome any and all thoughts that you may have. Please check out the Kickstarter campaign here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...iversal-camera

www.mercurycamera.com

Please consider backing. Thank you!

Regards,
Zach

[rich815]

Neat Kickstarter. Good luck.

[Ken Lee]

Tilt/shift/swing/rise/fall ?

[zhorton]

Ken, the basic body that has been initially developed doesn't have movements, but because the camera is modular, that is a definite possibility for the future if there is demand!

Bob, no relation to the old '50s Mercury! I knew someone would be sharp enough to mention that one!

Randy, thanks for your comment on the movie! We wanted to do something very different that would explore the idea of a universal camera. We will also post some simple videos going over the camera in more detail in the coming weeks. Yes, I'd be willing to do a custom pledge for just the Graflok 23 Instax Wide back. Just message me via Kickstarter.

Dan, check out either of the galleries I linked to in my above post for more photos of the 4x5 back. There was only so much we could cram into the Kickstarter page! I'll add this, though: our prototypes are all 3D printed, and the 4x5 back doesn't print very well due to its shape, size, and design. The final version will be molded; hence the need of a Kickstarter campaign in the first place. But the photos will definitely give you a good idea of the design.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Can you share the market-share research? IMHO, there is not a sufficient market. You can live eating beans and rice while your customers enjoy steak, and eventually you starve to death.
.

[zhorton]

Can you share the market-share research? IMHO, there is not a sufficient market. You can live eating beans and rice while your customers enjoy steak, and eventually you starve to death.
.

Jac, thanks for your comments. Mercury Works is a collective, not a company, and our mission is to contribute something to the world of photography, not turn a profit. That's why we're creating the first fully open camera system; no corporation has ever bothered to do it, because it is not the way to make money in the photography business, which is driven by purpose-build, all-in-one devices with build in obsolescence and system lock in. I wanted to create an alternative: a camera system where control rests in the users' hands, where anyone can modify parts and extent its capabilities. Where the goal is to be as compatible with as many different brands and eras of equipment as possible rather than trying to get someone to buy compatible devices. Because we are doing this for the love of it, and for ethical and philosophical reasons, we didn't do any market research. You may well be right that there isn't a sufficient market. If that's the case, we'll probably pare down our goals and release something more modest. But I wanted to try to create the system exactly as I envisioned it, and that's the target at what this Kickstarter aims. So yeah, we can't compete in publicity with for-profit camera corporations. I'm sorry about that. But we are certainly committed to making something really excellent!

[Bob Salomon]

Gee, a second Mercury camera. Do you have any relationship to the original Mercury cameras in the 50s?

[Pfsor]

Although very interested in the concept, bad fuzzy pictures of the camera p...ed me off almost immediately. Sorry.

[zhorton]

Hi Pfsor, I thought the photos were clear enough, but perhaps the resolution that Kickstarter displays them at is a bit inadequate. There are many more photos on the official site (still in beta here). But I've now added a full gallery on Flickr that you can view at much higher resolution, here.

[Jac@stafford.net]

The Kickstart photos just plain suck. I would think that someone proposing a camera product could make more presentable images. I've other reservations regarding the project, but they have been presented and I'm sure more will follow.
.