Recoil Distance Doppler Shift measurements of 182Hg have been performed at the University of Jyväskylä utilising the Köln plunger device. Lifetimes of excited yrast states up to the 10+ state have been measured. The 2+ , 4+ , 6+ , 8+ and 10+ states were found to have lifetimes of 41(3) ps, 35.7(15) ps, 8.2(5) ps, 2.9(3) ps and 1.2(3) ps respectively. The high collectivity of the states with Iπ ≤ 4+ indicate their prolate deformed character. In 182Hg the 2+ yrast state was deduced to be a strong admixture of the coexisting prolate and oblate structures. Coulomb excitation measurements of 182,186Hg performed at REX-ISOLDE using the MINIBALL HPGe array examine the quadrupole moment and transitional matrix elements associated to the 2+_1 , 2+_2 and 4+_1 states in 182Hg and the 2+_1 state in 186Hg. The spectroscopic quadrupole moment of the 2+_1 state in 182Hg measured -0.45 eb, indicating prolate deformed character. Conversely, the 2+1 state in 186Hg was found to be oblate from the spectroscopic quadrupole moment of +1.74 eb. Transitional matrix elements for both 182Hg and 186Hg were found to be in agreement with those from lifetime measurements.