Re: Waack nomographs, etc.

[Eric Goldstein <egoldste@xxxxxxxxxx>]

John Bercovitz wrote:

> The Kodak (snip)
> (I don't think I'd call it a point and shoot since you have to
> adjust f/stop, shutter speed, and distance.)


Only thing I'd add here is that I think I agree with Ted's original tag 
of "Point & Shoot" for the Kodak, in that the camera's controls are 
marked for common exposure settings of sunny, cloudy, etc,  for asa 10 
Kodachrome, and it had "zone focus" settings. To my knowledge, it is the 
only common stereo camera to have these "operator friendly" features 
which attempted to simplify camera operation for the less technical 
photographer.

Regarding the lenses, although there is lots of anecdotal testimony 
heralding one cooke triplet lens over another (some people favor the 
TDC's Rodenstocks, others the Wirgin's Steinheils, or the early 
Realist's Ilexs), they all seem to be relatively close in construction 
and performance, with the possible exception of lens coatings. Some of 
these lenses, such as the Ilexs, seem to have a heavier coating than 
others, and yield a bit more "snap" or contrast, which looks sharper. 
I've also heard it said that the Kodaks built-in series V filter holders 
seem to act as lens shades, and help make for some good contrasty 
images.

My own experience has been that there is tremendous individual variation 
with all of these cameras, because the lenses were largely hand ground 
and hand fitted, and the cameras were hand assembled. Of necessity, all 
of this was done to production tolerances that by modern standards would 
be marginal. So, if you happen across a 50s stereo camera which appears 
to be nice and sharp, stick with it!

One more point with the kodak... suggest you don't believe the DOF scale 
markings on the camera, as they are about two stops beyond a generally 
accepted circle of confusion of 1/1000". I have found that using the 
indicated markings of f/8 while the aperture is actually set at f/16, 
5.6 for 11, 4 for 8, etc, seems to work well.


Eric G.
egoldste@xxxxxx


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