New Kickstarter: Mercury, a universal, open camera system

rhizomeblur · Jun 8, 2016

michr said:
Finally, I hope you can cater to the LOMO crowd. This is the perfect tool for that much larger group of people, for whom point-and-shoot is their mantra moreso than the exacting and particular group that sometimes frequents APUG.

Hi Michr, yes, we'd like to reach that audience. I definitely designed the system with exacting users in mind (I was frustrated with the available, affordable options), but I also understand that many folks are understandably "particular" as you say: particular about the camera(s) they know and love. For anyone who's 100% satisfied with what they already own, I would never push a Mercury! Chuck makes a convincing case that he already owns everything he needs, for instance. The most important thing is to be happy and take lots of photos! For many folks, though, the Mercury fits a niche, for a number of different reasons. The Lomo crowd is a bit untapped; for them, it's a matter of making the argument that the extra quality this can deliver over Lomo cameras is worth it! But for the Mercury's long term growth, we want to get cameras in their hands!

summicron1 · Jun 8, 2016

nobody's mentioned it that i can see -- but this camera looks an awful lot like a Graflex XL, although the XL has a more elegant range/view finder than the sample photos here show -- with an old Zeiss viewfinder and an old accessory rangefinder on the side. The basic package includes only the camera body and some rings for the lens mount, or something? An XL already has all that, and a very versatile graflok back, and so on and so forth.

The XL is a rather heavy camera because it's made out of metal but, for the money, you get a vastly more finished product. this looks like something a tinkerer would love, however, and there are more than a few of those here, but someone like me who wants a "shoot it out of the box" type deal would stick to, well, my XL.

Interesting to see if it goes.

rhizomeblur · Jun 8, 2016

michr said:
Feel free to disagree. None of those fit the bill.

After a fair amount of digging, because apparently you can't just buy a Cambo Wide from the maker, I found the series available here:
https://www.digitalback.com/product-category/6-cambo-cameras/1-cambo-cameras-cambo-cameras/
with prices ranging from $2200 to $7200, so basically expensive.

For the Travelwide, if you ignore the fact they don't have a valid certificate you can visit
https://wanderlustcameras.com/
Can't buy it there. I'm on the waiting list and haven't gotten an email yet, so nope, not on the market.

Speed graphic, like four pounds or so. And the crown graphic is supposed to be lighter. that's good, they're pretty cheap.

I'm not finding Globuscope on any of the major camera retailers websites. Perhaps you have a link?

I've seen one Tomiyama Art-Flex online, but not for sale, and a couple of Gowlandflexes for about $2500, so unless they're still making those, I don't know what you're getting at.

According to Chamonix the Sabers are now out of stock and they won't be making any more.
http://www.chamonixviewcamera.com/saber.html

So few of these cameras are made today and only the speed/crown graphics are anywhere comparable in price to this proposed camera. Everything else is a fantasy. I have a speed graphic, and I use it handheld, but it's a bit heavy, and a bit too much camera for what I want. Proposing that I spend two to seven thousand dollars on a camera for handheld photography is ludicrous. Requiring a serious investment as a buy in is not my idea of fun. The idea that I can't participate because I can't afford it is not fun. For fun I don't want a precision-engineered, scarce, no-longer-made, expensive-to-repair jewel of a camera that I have to baby to protect my investment. There's a reason people strap GoPros to their chests and not Arriflexes. They're cheap, light and easy.

It's wrong to suggest there exist cameras that fill the niche the Mercury will be occupying. Not at that price point there isn't.

Michr, thank you for doing this excellent research! You've summed up the market better than I could.

These are great suggestions, Chuck et al, but not currently made, and not affordable except perhaps in singular, rare cases of individual sales. Mercury isn't trying to compete with any of these, because they are not available or affordable products. I agree that photography should be fun, and we want this camera to be fun, not precious. Again, I'm not knocking any of these great cameras!

rhizomeblur · Jun 8, 2016

summicron1 said:
nobody's mentioned it that i can see -- but this camera looks an awful lot like a Graflex XL, although the XL has a more elegant range/view finder than the sample photos here show -- with an old Zeiss viewfinder and an old accessory rangefinder on the side. The basic package includes only the camera body and some rings for the lens mount, or something? An XL already has all that, and a very versatile graflok back, and so on and so forth.

The XL is a rather heavy camera because it's made out of metal but, for the money, you get a vastly more finished product. this looks like something a tinkerer would love, however, and there are more than a few of those here, but someone like me who wants a "shoot it out of the box" type deal would stick to, well, my XL.

Interesting to see if it goes.

An excellent point, summicron1: the Graflex XL is a fabulous camera. But it is significantly more expensive than a Mercury, frequently has broken focus tabs and is therefore inoperable, and can only take its own specially adapted lenses. And of course, it can't shoot large format, or Instax, etc. I'll say this, though: the XL was one of our design inspirations, among many other cameras.

rhizomeblur · Jun 8, 2016

ic-racer said:
An Instax back that fits a 6x9 Graflok or 4x5 Graflok camera would be great.

I'm happy to say that this is now available as an add-on option. We already had the Instax Mini back for Graflok 23 (the Nina package); that one is based on a Diana instant back and thus has the automated roller/ejection mechanism (actually very handy). Our Instax Wide is available for Graflok 23 (but doesn't included a darkslide, so you will lose one shot if you change backs or lenses; not a big deal, and a necessary tradeoff to make the large film work with the medium format mount) and a Graflok 45 version that will have a darkslide. It's not technically finished yet, but is almost there (it's my current development project). These are based on the Belair back.

Someone asked about a version that doesn't push the film plane back. It is not technically possible, sadly. There will never be one of those, unless someone with a LOT of investment money starts from scratch. But that is not a big deal for the Mercury, which is entirely modular, and can shift spacers between the front and back to allow such adaptions.

A lot of people have been asking about these, so I decided to add them to the Kickstarter... I initially left them off simply because the KS was so complex already! But we have a lot of Mercury components that have been developed but aren't part of the KS... (The Polaroid 600 back, for instance...)

This brings up another issue someone raised: If the KS is successful, I certainly plan to keep expanding the system. It is not a one-off; rather, it is meant to form a community of users who will continue to innovate new designs (that we will all share; it's a open source system), come up with new needs, and continue to evolve the Mercury ecosystem. So stopping at the KS would completely miss the point, even though everyone would get what they paid for! If we reach critical mass, we will go MUCH further! If we don't, no one will have lost anything except us. That's the beauty of Kickstarter, and as someone correctly pointed out, why market research doesn't have to be done: the Kickstarter campaign itself is the market research and investment rolled into one, where no one can lose (unless the production team can't make the product, but we already know our product works).

RattyMouse · Jun 8, 2016

Is there an easy backing option that rewards a backer with a camera that shoots INSTAX wide film?

BySumbergsStache · Jun 8, 2016

This looks very interesting, and I'm interested in supporting. However, why is the Instax back for Graflok 45 significantly more expensive than the other backs and why does the Instax version of the Mercury cost more than the large format version?

rhizomeblur · Jun 8, 2016

RattyMouse said:
Is there an easy backing option that rewards a backer with a camera that shoots INSTAX wide film?

I've just added this as an option! It's the final reward in the list.

rhizomeblur · Jun 8, 2016

BySumbergsStache said:
This looks very interesting, and I'm interested in supporting. However, why is the Instax back for Graflok 45 significantly more expensive than the other backs and why does the Instax version of the Mercury cost more than the large format version?

The Instax backs are modified from Lomography backs (the Diana back for Instax Mini and the Belair back for Instax Wide). The cost of the backs reflects the cost of purchasing the Lomography back, the labor of modifying it, and the parts that have to be created and assembled to perform the adaptation. The Wide version requires FAR more labor: major surgery, in fact! The Graflok 45 version is a bit more expensive than the Graflok 23 version because the newly manufactured parts are larger and because it is more complex, incorporating a darkslide. I wish it were easier and cheaper to produce these, but this is just the reality. These KS prices are very low. When I've sold similar adaptations on ebay in the past, they sold for much higher prices than we're offering here... The labor involved makes them not really worth it from a financial perspective, but they are popular and are a prime example of the Mercury's strengths, so I've included them in the Kickstarter at the requests of backers and prospective backers. And it's just really fun to shoot! Plus, these backs can be used on bellows cameras as well. I hope you'll consider it worth the price!

adelorenzo · Jun 14, 2016

Backed it! Happy to see projects like this come up and looking forward to seeing it develop.

horacekenneth · Jun 16, 2016

Love the idea of a current open-source medium format camera. Backed!

I would like to see a video about the prototype and how it all functions and comes together.

rhizomeblur · Jun 18, 2016

horacekenneth said:
Love the idea of a current open-source medium format camera. Backed!

I would like to see a video about the prototype and how it all functions and comes together.

Thanks for your support, adelorenzo and horacekenneth! I've now posted an update on Kickstarter with a technical video that shows all of the main components and how they fit together!

Dead Link Removed

TheToadMen · Jun 18, 2016

michr said:
Like a lot of people, I already have all the cameras I need, so why is this project appealing? Price, first and foremost. If I'm going to buy a toy, it has to be affordable. I'm not going to stick a $1,000 lens on this camera. I'm going to play around with large format with a lightweight, handheld package for not much more than I could do it myself out of foam core and wood but with the added bonus of a focusing helical. If I wanted a big serious expensive camera, I have those and could get more. I want a lightweight fun camera than I can take spontaneous snapshots on large film. That camera doesn't really exist on the market. Please make this happen.

+1

tom43 · Jun 18, 2016

I really like the idea of a light-weight camera for medium and large format film for a reasonable price. For me as a landscape photographer image quality is the highest criteria for choosing my gear. And with respect to image quality I have some doubts: Will it be possible to design and produce (for such newbies) a "plastic camera" which gives us an image quality comparable to high-end systems made out of optical and mechanical precision parts? What about the threads after several months of usage in the field? Does it make sense to use high quality lenses with such a body? What´s disappointing about the presentation: They seem to have invested much time in a promotional video but the image samples shown are in best case mediocre and have a more lomo character. If they can demonstrate to deliver superb image quality with corner-to-corner sharpness using high-end lenses I would certainly jump in.

rhizomeblur · Jun 18, 2016

tom43 said:
If they can demonstrate to deliver superb image quality with corner-to-corner sharpness using high-end lenses I would certainly jump in.

Hi tom43, the Mercury can take most lenses, and can definitely deliver up to the capability of the lens. As long as you have the coverage, you will get corner-to-corner sharpness. If you put a $2k lens on it, you'll get $2k quality! Our main goal was indeed to make as many lenses work as possible, and give you the flexibility to shoot to as many formats as possible. So yes, it will deliver the same image quality as any high-end camera given a particular lens/film combination.

Apropos of your comment as well as TheToadMen's, our second goal was to make the camera light, compact, and inexpensive. For newbie photographers, it is a gateway to trying out many different formats and lenses; for experienced photographers, it is a really light and inexpensive camera that can take your existing lenses and give you a travel-ready camera. I hope this answers your questions! I look forward to seeing what you can do with it!

Cheers,
Zach

rhizomeblur · Jun 18, 2016

TheToadMen said:
"I want a lightweight fun camera than I can take spontaneous snapshots on large film. That camera doesn't really exist on the market. Please make this happen." +1

You got it! This is the perfect description of the Mercury! As for making it happen, all we need now is enough Kickstarter backers!

StephenT · Jun 18, 2016

Hey Zach. I like the idea - very much in fact. I'll support the project. Being able to use Instax film now that the pull apart Fuji is a goner will be great.

Best wishes for a successful project.

horacekenneth · Jun 21, 2016

I started a separate thread about this interview but it really belongs here. A lot of good information about the project, founder and product:

http://emulsive.org/articles/the-mercury-project-the-answers-yes-now-whats-your-question

janm67 · Jun 23, 2016

In what sense is this Open Source? I don't see any CAD files on you web site. Which license do you use?

rhizomeblur · Jun 29, 2016

janm67 said:
In what sense is this Open Source? I don't see any CAD files on you web site. Which license do you use?

We'll release the CAD files once the project is funded and rewards are ready to ship. Their main purpose will be for further community development and innovation, and we'll probably use a GPL license (which requires that any derivatives also be open source). We will clearly indicate which parts can be 3D printed and which will no longer be dimensionally accurate (i.e., parts that require injection molding). Feel free to send me a PM if you are interested in developing or modifying parts and would like more info!

rhizomeblur · Jun 29, 2016

StephenT said:
Hey Zach. I like the idea - very much in fact. I'll support the project. Being able to use Instax film now that the pull apart Fuji is a goner will be great.

Best wishes for a successful project.

Thanks Stephen, we appreciate your support! Indeed, I'm very sad about the demise of FP-100C. It is truly superb and unique. I will say that Instax has its merits as well, though. With the Mercury, you can shoot both (as well as Polaroid/Impossible 600 and New55), so at least you're covered!

Antonio Marques · Aug 2, 2016

Hi Zach. I've just found out about the Mercury, seems very interesting. I'm just not sure yet what type configuration I'd like to have I clicked 'Sign up for updates!' on Kickstarter, but that just took me to your website, so where can I sign up?

rhizomeblur · Aug 3, 2016

Antonio Marques said:
Hi Zach. I've just found out about the Mercury, seems very interesting. I'm just not sure yet what type configuration I'd like to have I clicked 'Sign up for updates!' on Kickstarter, but that just took me to your website, so where can I sign up?

Hi Antonio,

You can signup here.

I've also edited the Kickstarter button to go straight to this form, as I think it will be simpler that way. Thanks for your question!

Cheers,
Zach

Antonio Marques · Aug 3, 2016

Thanks. It's a good thing you ask about the country; where I am, it's unthinkable to order antyhing from outside the EU, since customs will add months to the delivery (and with no communication!) and hundreds to the price (it can more than double, it's not just sales tax).

Moopheus · Aug 3, 2016

rhizomeblur said:
The Instax backs are modified from Lomography backs (the Diana back for Instax Mini and the Belair back for Instax Wide). The cost of the backs reflects the cost of purchasing the Lomography back, the labor of modifying it, and the parts that have to be created and assembled to perform the adaptation. ... I hope you'll consider it worth the price!

Not sure I'd pay that much just to shoot Instax on my Speed Graphic, but I thought about doing the very mod you describe, and I can easily see it actually needing to cost that much to produce. Do you have any idea when this will be a real thing?

New Kickstarter: Mercury, a universal, open camera system

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