L vs R: The Results

[P3D Sam Smith <3dhacker@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Here's the results of the Loreo vs Realist tests. 

First I'll go back to how I tested them. I put a roll of FP4 in both, shot
identical scenes under identical conditions. Both cameras were secured to
prevent camera movement during exposure. I estimated the fixed setting on
the Loreo was 1/60th at f11, so set the Realist to the same setting. I
processed the films together using 1:50 Rodinal, 18 minutes at 68 degrees F.

The sun was behind clouds for all the exposures. I took some in the east
sky, and some in the west sky where the sun was. This gave me both normal
and backlit conditions. Since the Loreo underexposed the east shots, I had
to reshoot them with Delta 400. This produced more grain in the resulting
Loreo shots. This unbalances the equation somewhat on the extreme enlarged
views, so take them with a grain of salt.

The images can be viewed at:


http://www.cadvision.com/3dhacker/loreist.htm

My observations:

The Realist images were all correctly exposed. There was good shadow and
highlight detail, and the resulting images did not need a shift from normal
contrast. The images overall were quite sharp. There was a slight loss of
sharpness in the corners. Vignetting was not apparent at f:11 or f:22. Under
backlit conditions, there was noticeable haloing around the brightest areas
of the clouds, but no spheres.

The Loreo images were underexposed on the east shots with ISO 125 film by 1
1/2 stops. The west shots were correctly exposed. The east shots with ISO
400 film were slightly overexposed. All images showed a noticeable loss of
contrast. Compared to a standard +2, the Loreo shots would have to be
printed at +3 1/2 to compensate. The image edges were irregular instead of a
straight line. There was a noticeable lack loss of sharpness, even on full
frame images printed only 3 1/2" high. Under an enlargement value of 200X,
the loss of sharpness was very noticeable. In the corners it was severe. The
right image was sharper than the left. A bright object to the left side of
the frame produced a double image. Under backlit conditions, there was
noticeable haloing around the brightest areas of the clouds. Several flare
spheres were apparent in the top half of the image.

Conclusions:

As far as contrast, the Realist I tested has excellent optics regarding good
contrast. There was some haloing though. As for sharpness the center
sharpness at the two apertures tested, f11 and f22, was outstanding. The
edges sharpness was not as good, but acceptable.

The contrast of the Loreo images was poor. If high contrast is a priority,
this camera is below most acceptable standards. On the other hand, if the
photographer photographs under extremely contrasty conditions, the low
contrast lenses may be preferred. As for sharpness, again the Loreo did not
perform well. If it was noticeable in 3 1/2" prints, then there's no way it
wouldn't be noticeable in slides with a good viewer. The flare and double
images are another problem. Perhaps you could reduce or eliminate some of
the flare with proper blackening of certain surfaces, but the double image
seems to be a mirror problem. Since the image from one lens was noticeably
sharper than the other, I must conclude that this particular camera did not
go through a very strict inspection before it was offered for sale. To be
fair, this is only one camera out of many, so I might just have an inferior one.

To me it seems apparent that in terms of image quality, based on the
observations I have made, this Loreo does not have as good quality as this
Realist. I am not saying all Realists are great, or all Loreos are poor. I
was comparing these cameras from the point of view of a serious stereo user
who wants quality images. The Loreo has many advantages over the Realist
that I have not listed, as I was only comparing them on the quality of the
images.

In contrast, I did a talk at a Calgary technical institute last week as part
of a Relative Merits project. I was comparing the various 3d cameras
available to the consumer today. Which one did I recommend?

The Loreo!

I'm tired. Time to stop.

Sam


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