Mikut
Established
Another working CC-1500 loaded down with accessories...
DownUnder
Nikon Nomad
So much nostalgia. I had a Mercury II in the 1960s, as a university student with a part-time job (as a young cadet journalist at the Gazette) on a super-tight budget. the half frame 35mm format was a money-saving way to enjoy my long walks, usually in that city's notoriously inclement weather and bitter cold for almost half the year, which often were all I could afford on my earnings, along with every now and then the luxury of a smoked meat sandwich in one of the Jewish elis of The Main (if memory is right, was what la rue St Laurent was popularly known as) and a small, inadequately heated apartment in an old warehouse of the quarter of Le Vieux Montreal, all of which I recall with great fondness and still miss to this day.
It may have been a CC1500, I do recall (rather I think) it had the top speed of 1/1500. Not sure about the lens. Probably the cheaper version, most photographers in Canada at that time went for the least expensive options in their cameras.
(A few here may remember I've written a lot about my Rolleiflex 3.5E2. I owned that camera at the time, but had opted to leave it safely locked away at home with my parents. Break-ins and theft from Le Vieux Quarter apartments were rife at the time, given its location near the docks and a few doors away from the most notorious tavern in the place.
So that Mercury was my go-to shooter. I loaded the thing with Kodak Tri-X and I recall, shot some two dozen rolls on my rambles before the shutter began to behave erratically and finally gave up the ghost. The camera got disposed off somewhere or other, I think I gave it to a friend for his collection. He now has one of the largest lots of old cameras in all of Canada, so it may be in one of his boxes yet. I must ask him...
About a year ago in the midst of my Covid lockdown I found those negatives, unseen for many decades, and scanned them. And was truly amazed at how sharp and contrasty they were, for something manufactured in the 1940s. They print well up to half 8x10" (my way of saying 5x8") but tend to go soft with bigger enlargements - 4x5"s come up splendidly, which is the standard size print I make in my darkroom at home anyway.
That-odd looking Mercury did get me some unusual stares from other walkers. One of the odder cameras I've owned and used. It was great fun if erratic.
Now if only I could have afforded one of those Uniflexes. Thinking about those beaut 120 negatives.
Many, many thanks for the memories, Mr Schneider.
It may have been a CC1500, I do recall (rather I think) it had the top speed of 1/1500. Not sure about the lens. Probably the cheaper version, most photographers in Canada at that time went for the least expensive options in their cameras.
(A few here may remember I've written a lot about my Rolleiflex 3.5E2. I owned that camera at the time, but had opted to leave it safely locked away at home with my parents. Break-ins and theft from Le Vieux Quarter apartments were rife at the time, given its location near the docks and a few doors away from the most notorious tavern in the place.
So that Mercury was my go-to shooter. I loaded the thing with Kodak Tri-X and I recall, shot some two dozen rolls on my rambles before the shutter began to behave erratically and finally gave up the ghost. The camera got disposed off somewhere or other, I think I gave it to a friend for his collection. He now has one of the largest lots of old cameras in all of Canada, so it may be in one of his boxes yet. I must ask him...
About a year ago in the midst of my Covid lockdown I found those negatives, unseen for many decades, and scanned them. And was truly amazed at how sharp and contrasty they were, for something manufactured in the 1940s. They print well up to half 8x10" (my way of saying 5x8") but tend to go soft with bigger enlargements - 4x5"s come up splendidly, which is the standard size print I make in my darkroom at home anyway.
That-odd looking Mercury did get me some unusual stares from other walkers. One of the odder cameras I've owned and used. It was great fun if erratic.
Now if only I could have afforded one of those Uniflexes. Thinking about those beaut 120 negatives.
Many, many thanks for the memories, Mr Schneider.
raydm6
Yay! Cameras! 🙈🙉🙊┌( ಠ_ಠ)┘ [◉"]
I saw one of these yesterday at an antique co-op. I'm pretty sure it was a CC-1500 - no price on it though. Opened the back. No cassette but noticed a vertical 1/2 frame film opening. Should I inquire? I don't need another vintage camera
Retro-Grouch
Well-known
Probably nobody on this forum "needs" another vintage camera; I know that I sure don't! Nevertheless, it could be fun... Give in to the GAS!
raydm6
Yay! Cameras! 🙈🙉🙊┌( ಠ_ಠ)┘ [◉"]
I did dry fire it. Kinda cool contraption.