Our basic Shutter Actuator is for film shooters.

Our Universal Sync Box is for medium format digital back users. It uses active electronics to sync with and control your digital back, interfacing it with any type of shutter. It can automate sensor wakeup, shutter triggering, and more, taking the hassle out of digiback use on manual cameras and rendering it easy to shoot with vintage and experimental lenses (vintage, aerial, etc.). It also works to speed up and ease use of the Mercury ST (stitching) system when shooting rapid panoramas.

Read the full details and order here.

ST stands for “stitching.” This system is designed for medium format digital backs, and allows you to instantly and precisely shift your back into 3 (or in some configurations, 2 or 4) positions for easy, perfect stitching in post production. The result is to dramatically increase your practical sensor size—in most cases, to the approximate size of 6×9 film. Not only will this dramatically reduce your enlargement factor and greater than double your resolution, but will allow you to pair a digital back with larger format lenses. Instead of taking a tiny crop from the center of the image circle, you’ll be able to capture the real aesthetics and advantages of these larger lenses.

Shift movements are of course possible on some expensive technical and field cameras, but such rack-and-pinion systems are slow and cumbersome to operate. By contrast, the Mercury ST camera is far more compact, lightweight, and can be operated simply, with no need for knobs and cranking. You can take a high-end, perfect set of three shots for stitching in under 3 seconds! Capture you image before your subject moves or the light changes.

The Mercury ST system consists of three main products:

1. The ST Camera. This is our flagship, most advanced product in the ST line. It is an RS-0 camera, meaning that it is compatible with any lens that the Mercury camera system can adapt (and that’s theoretically nearly every medium to large format lens in existence). It is light and extremely compact, for easy field shooting.

2. The Graflok 45 6×9 ST Back. This Graflok back is compatible with most large format cameras that can accept removable backs in the Graflok/International style. This is an RS-20 back, meaning that it moves the film plane 20mm farther back than usual.

Both the ST Camera and Graflok 45 6×9 back accept the same “ST Inserts.” For users who wish to purchase both of these products, you only need one Insert for a given digital back. These are the Inserts available:

Mamiya/Phase One 645 backs

Hasselblad V Type 1 (compatible with particular brands of digibacks)

Hasselblad V Type 2 (compatible with different brands of digibacks)

6×9 Ground Glass. This ground glass insert can be swapped for the digiback, and can be used to compose the full-sized image that will exist after stitching. It can also be used for focus if you wish.

3. The Graflok 45 6×12 ST Back. For panorama lovers, this back is very similar to our 6×9 Graflok back, but uses special ST Inserts that are significantly longer to achieve a final stitched image approximately the size of 6×12 panoramic film negatives. The same set of Inserts are available for this back, but these and 6×9 Inserts are not interchangeable. This back takes up more space and generally requires 4 stitched images, so is slower, but it is perfect for folks who wish to shoot insanely high resolution panoramas.

For more information about the ST Camera and some sample images, most of which also applies to the Graflok ST backs, check out https://mercurycamera.com/mercury-st-stitching-camera/.

For detailed operation instructions, see section 2.3.6 in the latest Mercury User Guide, available in the Downloads section of the website.

ST components are extremely labor- and time-intensive to make, as they require many layered components within components, different types of adhesives applied over time, layers of fabric, etc. However, we do have a first batch ready to be purchased. Once those sell out, it will be some time before a second batch will be ready.

If you would like to place an order or inquire further, please email us at mercurycameraworks@gmail.com

We have also recently updated and expanded our line of digiback accessories. See this page for an overview of digital back compatibility and options within the Mercury system.

Full Kits Including Digital Backs

We’re also excited to announce that we have tested and certified four Leaf Valeo digital backs to be bundled while supplies last with the ST system. If you don’t own a medium format digital back, this is a very affordable way to experience the glory of CCD imaging, with one of the most famous and successful sensors ever produced. It generates stunningly sharp photos with incredible color and beautiful tonality even today, with all of the advantages of a large sensor. Each kit comes with the back, bluetooth ready, the full ST kit, and an exclusive Mercury CF Unit, specially manufactured to enable easy, fully portable use of Valeo backs, writing to an included CF card. These units come pre-programmed and ready to shoot at 50 ISO. In order to preview your images and change settings on the fly, you can add a used iPaq from ebay, which connects via bluetooth. We can set you up with the software.

And, based on a new procedure we’ve developed, we can provide your digital back in either standard color range, or full spectrum. Full spectrum backs will let in all wavelengths of light, allowing you to shoot standard color, infrared, or UV with only a change of a lens filter. I have posted a number of examples of infrared photos shot with the Valeo on a Mercury to the Mercury Works Facebook group.

Here’s what’s available now, with initial release pricing (availability and prices not guaranteed to last):

Mercury ST camera, including one ST Insert of your choice: $435

Mercury ST camera with one ST Insert and digital back kit (including CF unit): $1075

(for full spectrum version add $100)

Mercury ST Graflok 45 back for 6×9 images, including one Insert: $350

Mercury ST Graflok 45 back for 6×9 images with one ST Insert and full digital back kit: $990

(for full spectrum version add $100)

Mercury ST Graflok 45 back for 6×12 images, including one ST Insert of your choice: $480

Additional 6×9 ST Inserts: $145

Additional 6×12 ST Inserts: $155

Just email us at mercurycameraworks@gmail.com if you’d like us to put together an order for you.

We developed the ST system with the generous help of Digital Transitions in NYC. They are the experts in digital back technology–don’t hesitate to reach out to them if you’d like to learn more about the capabilities of current digital backs.

And for any of you concerned that all of our work on digital backs heralds a turn away from film, don’t worry—Mercury Works remains as committed to the medium of film as ever! We are actively working on new, exciting projects for both film and digital.

We’ve been working on this for a long time, and are very excited to now announce the availability of interchangeable medium format digital backs for the Graflok 23 system! It is now possible to shoot medium format film and digital fully interchangeably on your Mercury. This has been the holy grail for Mercury. We have had digital back adapters available for awhile, and those made for great digital Mercury configurations. However, there was no way to interchange digital backs and Graflok 23 backs on a shot-by-shot basis. Now you can use any Graflok 23 roll film back, for formats up to 6×9, along with a medium format digital back. Commercial cameras have never been able to do this: certain models (none current) could interchange film and digital backs, but they were limited to the small 645 format (Contax, Mamiya, Hasselblad H) or 6×6 (Hasselblad V). A very expensive adapter allowed you to shoot digital backs on an RZ67 (and an even more expensive one did the same for the RB67). The Mercury Digital Graflok Back brings medium format digital to 6×9 photography, as well as interchangeability between Instax and digital for the first time ever.

The Mercury Digital Graflok Back accepts Mamiya AFD compatible digital backs. Eventually we will make a kit available for those who already own a compatible digital back. Available immediately, however, is a special limited edition kit that includes a complete digital back adapted to Graflok 23! We have five of these in stock, and they will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis.

Our favorite under $1000 digital back for Mercury is the Leaf Valeo 17wi. This back was originally $18,000 (yes, as much as a car!) and was designed for high-end professional studio use. This is a CCD-based back, with significant quality advantages over most CMOS chips; thus it produces outstanding images despite being older. It can be tethered via a single firewire cable to nearly any Mac computer (including current models) for full tethered control using a laptop screen as your monitor. However, unique among studio digital backs from the 2000s, Leaf also sold a portability kit for this back that allowed it to be used anywhere. These rare items cost several hundred dollars now, and are a questionable value given that they contain actual hard drives, and are also bulky and heavy. However, Mercury Works has developed a series of new, small, lightweight, CF-card units that turn the powerhouse Valeo into a fully portable option for your Mercury. These small units can be carried in your pocket, clipped on your belt or pocket (with its included belt clip) or mounted on the camera itself.

Our kit comes with a fully tested, high-end digital back fully adapted to the Graflok 23 standard, a CF drive unit, a pre-programmed CF card, and a shutter attachment cable for use with any lens capable of syncing with a flash. The only thing you will need to begin shooting immediately is a battery pack. We recommend any rechargeable 6800mAh Lithium Ion battery pack sold on Ebay. These sell for less than $20 and include a small charger. This battery plugs directly into the CF drive unit and attaches to its side using an included velcro strip.

If you haven’t shot medium format digital before, you are in for a treat. This sensor is much larger than even a full frame 35mm sensor, producing the magic of medium format and making the most use of your Mercury setup. Here are a couple of photos I’ve taken with this back. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time to get out and do real photography with this on the Mercury, so these are photos taken with a Mamiya AFD II (that doesn’t matter, though, as it is the digital back itself that we’re looking at):

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The amazing quality that this setup is capable of is the result of extremely high end CCD technology, non-anti-aliased imagery, and medium format sensor size. What is most exciting about this setup, however, is the ability to mix and match digital and film on the Mercury.

We have five of these kits ready to sell on a first-come, first-served basis, for only $875 each. Also, anyone who purchases one of these will have your Mercury kit automatically added to the Batch 1 group, scheduled to ship at the end of next month (May).

Limitations and Considerations

The Mercury Digital Graflok 23 Back is an RS-20 back, meaning that it shifts the film plane 20mm farther back than the Graflok 23 standard. This means that you need to remove one FS-20 (the standard Mercury Front Spacer) from your lens stack to maintain correct focus. This is the same as our Instax Mini back, for instance, and thus these two backs can be freely swapped. To swap a standard (RS 0) back without having to add or remove a front spacer, you’ll want to mount your standard back in an RS-20 Back Adapter (some of you already have these on order). This adapts any standard back to an RS-20 back. We have also developed, in conjunction with the Digital Graflok back, a special adapter that allows you to modify any RB67 Pro-S back (some of the most popular Graflok 23 backs for use with the Mercury) to RS-20. This is a drop-in replacement for the bottom plate on your RB67 back. You can perform this modification yourself quite easily. It is reversible. This piece is available for only $30. The Rear Spacer 20 unit is available for $45. It is a bit more bulky, but universal (i.e., it will work on any Graflok 23 back).

The Valeo 17wi back has no LCD screen, so you cannot review photos directly on the device itself. Similarly, you cannot change ISO (we set it at ISO 50, which we believe is the best setting for this back). I have personally not found this to be a limitation when traveling and shooting with this back; it’s just like shooting film. However, these functions can be added easily by purchasing a used HP iPaq PDA online. Every model we’ve tried works, as long as it includes Bluetooth. Once you install the free DP-67 app and sync with your digital back, you can review images on the PDA (in low resolution), view a histogram (the most useful thing), and change settings at will. But again, this is purely optional, and not needed to shoot with the back.

In order for this back to work correctly with view lenses, your shutter must be capable of flash sync. By default, we will send you a cable with a PC connector, as this is the most common shutter connector. If you have a lens/shutter with a bipost connector (some Kodak, Graflex, and Ilex shutters), let us know and we will send you a custom bipost cable instead. Lenses without flash sync can still use this digital back, but a special and more awkward trigger cable must be built. Ask us if you’d like to know more.

This digital back produces only professional RAW files. You will need RAW processing software in order to develop your photos. You can use commercial apps like Adobe Lightroom or Capture One, or free open source apps like Raw Therapee (which we recommend).

By default this digital Mercury kit comes with our standard CF Drive unit. For $50 extra, we can upgrade that to the Deluxe CF Drive unit. This is more complex for us to build, but has a few advantages: it is somewhat smaller/thinner, uses updated electronics that are theoretically (with the right CF cards) slightly faster at writing and reading data, and instead of containing a built-in, permanent firewire cable, has a firewire port, so you can use any type and length of cable. The belt clip on the Deluxe unit is also removable (with the included allen wrench), exposing a standard ¼-20 (tripod) mount, for easy mounting to your camera or other devices. The standard unit contains a non-removable belt clip.

Let me know if you have any other questions! Most of all I’m just excited to be able to add the holy grail of analog-digital integration to the Mercury ecosystem!

To purchase one of these before they are gone, just email us at mercurycameraworks at gmail.