[MF3D.FORUM:290] Re: Vertical alignment question

[Greg Erker <erker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

  In a perfect camera (lenses at same height
in body, same FL and film tracking straight
across the film gates*) you could use the
bottom film edge to align the two film
chips. My Realist 3.5 almost meets the
perfect camera criteria. My Sputnik
certainly doesn't.

  To get the focusing gears to mesh
properly on my Sputnik I had to raise
the right lens by a mm or two. So now
my L and R images show different amounts
at the bottom. This is a small problem
compared to having the teeth unmesh
and the L and R focus not track like
it used to.

  I use a mounting guide on my light
box with lots of horizontal lines
and I use that to make sure image points
on both film chips are at the same
height. If there is lots of detail
at the bottom of the image (pebbles
for example) I often just mount until
the same pebbles are equally visible
at the bottom of the mount window on
both sides.

  * oh yes, the lenses have to be focused
to the same distance otherwise they'll
project different sized images.

Greg E.