RE: 3D Camera purchased

[P3D Elliott Swanson <elliott@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mike asks about the Kodak stereo. Watching/listening to the mechanism
cycle should let you know if the shutter speeds are within reason. The
1/200 setting ought to get you 1/125 in the real world. If you have a
Calumet shutter speed measurer, you might want to check. Otherwise-- shoot
a couple of test rolls:  record exposure values on paper and use your
light meter to establish the benchmarks. Sticky shutters will require a
cleaning of the camera, which requires disassembly. Reel-3D sells an
exploded parts view and also a photocopy of the owner's manual. If the
left and right shutters are out of synch, the adjustment is done by
peening or crimping the brass linkage bar (disassembly required). I've
found Micro-Mark's set of dental orthodonture pliers good for this
purpose. 

If everything checks out, as Mike K says, you'll need an adapter to use a
standard electronic flash, and also the L-bracket which attaches to the
1/4-20 thread of the camera's tripod mount. In addition, if your flash
unit only fires via the hot shoe, you'll need an adapter between the flash
and the L-bracket that allows you to attach a cable. As Mike says, you'll
either need a PC adapter or will have to splice an old style ASA adapter
salvaged from a Kodak or similar flash. 

The camera is much lighter and ergonomically easier to use than the 
Realist. The shutter cocks automatically when you advance the film. You 
look through the logical top part of the camera to compose pictures, and 
you see level via a bubble. The rewind knob has an extention lever and is 
easy to use. The triplet lenses are sharp (we will assume nobody has 
messed with them-- if you need to set infinity focus you can do it 
independently on each lens without disassembly by backing off the screws 
on the lens retaining ring and rotating it). The camera is less prone to 
light leaks than the Realist.

The camera is sturdy, but it's plastic, so don't drop it.

Have fun!

Elliott


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