Franka Beam Splitter

[Tim Smith <TSMITH@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Received the beam splitter today and like a kid in a candy store I ran out 
and quickly banged through a 12 exposure roll.  Dropped them off at 1 hour 
quickie joint and had my stereo fix within the hour.

Your pros and cons are all true.  I am a little disappointed about the cheap 
plastic construction of the unit...especially the plastic mounting ring 
(along with the 49, 52 and 55 stepup up rings they throw in).  No reflection 
on the folks at Reel-3D...they were super.  Very courteous and patient with 
all of my newbie questions.

Back to the Franka...you're right about the distortion, especially around 
the perimeter of the frame.   For some reason the distortion is more 
prevalent in the left image...I haven't examined it real closely yet but 
I'll go back and make sure the frame is parallel to the camera body and of 
course the cheap plastic mount.

Results.  Well...considering all I am astonished with the results...maybe 
more so with the effect than the quality at the present time.  Focusing is a 
little more tricky...split circle or AF assist is useless because the beam 
split is centered in the focus field.  I shot a few at f5.6 resulting in a 
very small band down the middle.  The ones I shot at f4 and f2.8 were 
good...f4 was a pretty good match while f2.8 gave more of a blending of the 
two frames at about the same percentage of black when shot at f8.  The test 
roll I used was ASA100 on a bright day here near Cape Cod.  The fast shutter 
speeds stopped action in a herring weir (fish ladder) here in town....the 
nice crisp edges of splashing water are quite dynamic (except around the 
edges).    The deadband in the middle (whether it's black from a small 
aperture or overlap from a large one) isn't noticeable when viewed.   As a 
matter of fact "free viewing" is quite easy once you get the hang of it 
without a viewer.

I like it so far...I wouldn't mind finding a better built unit with better 
mirrors and perhaps constructed out of aluminum or brass (if such exists). 
   I'll go on a more "disciplined" shoot this weekend to see what results I 
get.

Thanks again to all for the help and tips!

Tim Smith
Mattapoisett, MA


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