macro realists

[P3D Kevin Kavaney 623-0155 <Kevin.J.Kavaney@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

i would like to state that i have worked extensively with a local camera repair
man who by trade is quite gifted mechanically. i too thought a macro would be
"no big deal" to make. well true but not true. there is alot of things to
remove, to plug, to mill and thread a whole new face plate, find a workable
shutter etc. the biggest nite mare that remains is the lens barrel and actually
getting the lens element seperation just right. we all have seen the 1:2 scale
drawings in stereo world, but they really don't help define just the right
distances. without this, images are there but not crisp.
to date this proto-type has taken hundreds of hours and we're not done yet.
the german shutters that went on the original realist macro sell for
$400.00-600.00 if you can find them new. used they are alot less, but they
usually have aperature blades that require complete dissassembly to remove.
actually the $2000.00 makes alot of sense now that i see what is REALLY
involved.
i think if a person studied the photos from the recent stereo world, i think
most of us could tell an original from a "modified" or prototype, particularily
for the turned aluminum plugs in the top cover, the change in the mold of the
body where the focus wheel normally goes, its visibly seen to be aluminun one
piece, not a filled in area. same with the film path, no gaps are seen as one
does in a "focuable" realist which has the whole film plane move to focus.
one needs to decide if they want to collect only the real thing, or would be
okay with using a "re-make" as long as it could take good pictures.
i will post if that becomes a reality


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