[MF3D.FORUM:1563] Re: The Darcyflex Stereo Camera

[Darcy Genest <gdarcy@xxxxxxxx>]

At 09:52 AM 2/23/01 -0600, you wrote:
>On Fri, 23 Feb 2001, Sam wrote:
>
> > >Some pictures of Darcy's work might help stimulate more discussion.
> >
> > Perhaps this original message was not received by everyone, so here's the
> > repost. Darcy can fill in the rest:
> >
> > Here's the first picture of my friend Darcy's stereo camera. This is the
> > one he built based on my Stereo Pro. It past the first tests with flying
> > colors, no light leaks, focus was bang on and contrast was excellent.
> >
> > The url is at: http://www.cadvision.com/3dhacker/darcy.jpg
> >
> > This was a lot easier to build then the one I made. It is based on two
> > Yashika A cameras. The bottom of the second camera was fused onto the
> > first, then modified for two frames on a single roll. The focus was linked
> > by a simple but ingenius pulley/sprocket mechanism, and the shutters used
> > the basic arm linking arrangment used on both mine and Greg Erker's
> > cameras. It has perfect sync at all shutter speeds as well as shots using
> > flash.The original viewfinder was retained for focusing, but he'll probably
> > add a sports finder on the top as well.
> >
> > I'm hoping I can convince him to join our group if that's OK, as Darcy has
> > a lot of inspiration and energy from his newly revived interest in MF
> > stereo photography.
> >
> >
> > Sam
> >
>
>Sam, thanks for poking us on this again.  And Darcy, that's
>a great camera!  I am a hacker-at-heart, have collected
>lots of parts and have lots of ideas, but so far have
>not had the time to hack... Between my work, my house,
>my wife, my 5-yr-old, and my 2-yr-old, I go to bed tired
>every night with no stereo work having been done :-(
>
>I have some Yashica D bodies and some Yashinon lenses that
>are waiting to be put together (as well as some Diacords
>for Greg E's design).  Darcy, your design looks great and
>would probably work for my 'D's.  Would there be any chance
>that you could do a quick write-up of the steps you would
>go through to make a Darcyflex?  Some basic questions I
>have are:
>  o How do you mate the camer bodies?  Cut, grind, measure,
>    repeat?  Then screw them together?  Are there any
>    special tools you found necessary for doing this?
>  o Did you have to modify the film winding mechanism much?
>  o I understand how a pulley/sprocket mechanism could work
>    for focusing--what parts did you use?

Hi Bob,
         I originally Started to build the camera, thinking that I would 
use 2 lenses with a duel cable release. I stripped the camera down to bare 
bones and used a Dremel tool and hack saw to cut them in half. I glued them 
together with liquid weld and screwed the two halves together. After 
talking to Sam I, he inspired me to try the full deal, linked shutters etc. 
So I took the plunge and tried it. I put the focusing arms and components 
back on. To get the focusing to go together,I used the gears off a remote 
control car. They use fan belts with teeth which prevent slipping. I 
basically mounted a third post to keep the tension tight. Then I mounted 
the lenses and made the pivot arm and shaft to join the shutters.This 
doesn't go with out problems and adjusting. I recovered the camera with 
leather and made a new face plate out of aluminum. I did not need any 
special tools other then small screwdrivers and files, hacksaw and dremel. 
Finally to answer your question, I didn't need to adjust anything for film 
transport at all. It is the Yashica mechanisms only extended by joining 
cameras.

Darcy


>I've been getting good results with my twin Graflex XL
>cameras and a double cable release.  The cameras have some
>advantages: they are fairly inexpensive, have removable
>film backs, available ground glass for focusing if desired,
>interchangeable lenses (I have acquired and have had good
>results with pairs of 80mm Noritars, 100mm Noritars,
>and 80mm Planars).  Don Lopp was kind enough to make
>me a couple great viewfinders for them that will let me
>do a better job of seeing what I'm shooting.  The main
>disadvantages of the system is the weight and the minimum
>lens separation of 140mm.
>
>I recently bought a home-made wooden MF stereo camera from
>a guy via eBay.  It has an elegantly simple design and
>is very well made from basic materials.  I have not had a
>chance to take any pictures with it yet, but I suspect that
>I will not be happy with the performance of the old Kodak
>antistagmat lenses as compared with my Noritars or Planars.
>So, my plan was to use this as a prototype and make a new
>camera that can use my better lenses.  The biggest problem,
>though, is focusing.  Part of the simple design came from
>the kodak lenses being front-element-focusers meaning that
>the camera body could be a fixed size.
>
>Well, I'll keep collecting ideas and keep trying to nail
>down a design that I think I can manage, that will give
>me the results that I want.  Then I'll just have to spend
>some late nights and do it!
>
>Keep up the inspirational postings!
>
>Bob