Mercury Works released an series of manual crank Instax Wide backs in 2016, then revised the line in 2018 as our Instax Wide Motorized system. Each unit in this line accepts Fuji Instax Wide film and provides a professional platform to mount a lens of your choice, expose, and then eject/develop your film using a fully motorized system.
This is the only Instax Wide removeable back that properly orients and centers your image in the 4×5 frame. Additionally, it utilizes original Fuji developing and ejection mechanisms that produce a more even and consistent image than cheaply made Lomography parts.
There are four versions in the Mercury Instax Wide Motorized lineup: A fully integrated camera that can accept any lens a standard Mercury can accept, an ultra-wide angle version of this integrated body for very wide view lenses, a Graflok 45 removable back with nearly universal compatibility with any Standard/International 4×5 camera (including Mercury 4×5 configurations), and a Graflok 23 mount version for medium format cameras. All Mercury Instax Wide Motorized products share these characteristics:
- Hand-assembled at Mercury Works
- Incorporates heavily modified Fuji ejection mechanism for the best possible mechanics
- On-off switch to protect against accidental activation of the ejection mechanism (doesn’t affect shooting)
- One-button film ejection activation with LED indicator light
- Takes three standard AAA batteries in an easily accessible battery compartment
- Integrated darkslide mechanism
- Image is centered both horizontally and vertically
- Can be fully disassembled if necessary for future repair, upgrade, or re-configuration
- Possesses three top cold shoes and one side cold shoe for mounting accessories
Graflok 45 Removable Back
Our Instax Wide Motorized Graflok 45 back is a standard Graflok back compatible with the International/Graflok standard. It can be mounted on a Mercury camera, or any other 4×5 camera that adheres to the standard. It is an RS-30 back, meaning that it places the film 30mm farther away than a standard Graflok back would. Thus it is only compatible with lenses that can be moved back 30mm. This various camera to camera, but this roughly corresponds to a 75mm or longer lens or longer on Mercury and most other cameras. This back is fully compatible with Mercury’s RS-0 4×5 back adapter. When used in this configuration, you only need to remove 30mm of front spacing from a lens stack for a given lens to work with this back.
We have also designed a special, optional ground glass back for this back. It matches the focal distance and frame size of your final image.
Graflok 23 Removable Back
This is just like our Instax Wide Motorized Graflok 45 back except that it mounts using the medium format Graflok 23 standard instead. This allows for a smaller overall camera package. Like the 45 version, this back is rated at RS-30. It too has an optional matching ground glass back. It matches the back’s framing and focal plane, and is more compact than the 45 version.
Instax Wide Universal Body
The Instax Wide Universal Body is a full camera that shoots exclusively to Instax Wide film. It possesses a standard front capable of accepting any Mercury lens stack, providing hundreds of possible lenses to pair with Instax Wide film! This includes nearly any view lens, but also our special lens adapters such as RB-67 and Mamiya Press. This body comes in two versions: Standard, with an RS-value of 20, and a special version for ultrawide lens use that is rated RS-0. The latter should be used with any lens that uses 15mm or less of front spacing (Front Spacers + lens barrel length). Any lens that ordinarily uses 20mm or more of front spacing should be used with the RS-20 version of this body. Both versions of the body accept 1” split rings (included) to optionally mount a strap, and possess a handle designed, like the standard Mercury handle, to accept a shutter release cable as a shutter button.
Table of Mercury Instax Wide Products
|
Version |
RS-Value |
Approximate Lens Focal Length Compatibility |
Ground Glass |
Purchase |
| Standard Universal Body |
20 |
65mm + |
N/A |
|
| Ultrawide Universal Body |
0 |
35mm -65mm |
N/A |
|
| Graflok 45 Removable Back |
30 |
75mm + |
Optional |
Purchase here.
|
| Graflok 23 Removable Back |
30 |
75mm + |
Optional |
Purchase here. |
Instax Mini
Our Instax Mini back utilizes a highly modified, fully converted Lomography back. It mounts on the Graflok 23 system only. The standard version is only for use on Mercury 6×9 Medium Format cameras. It is an RS-20 back. We also make a special RS-30 (30mm offset film plane) compatible with Graflex, Horseman, and Mercury cameras. (If you wish to order the latter, just write us a note indicating that when you check out; the price is the same as the regular version.)
We used to make two versions of our Instax Mini back: the Budget version, which does not have a darkslide system, and a Deluxe version that does include a darkslide system. Nowadays we only make the Deluxe darkslide version.