Re: Twin Rig Test

[P3D Dr. George A. Themelis <fj834@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks Brian for the detailed reply to my questions...  My Konica FT-1 rig
was purchased from Dr. Bernard Stell, a well-known PSA personality, who has
now retired from stereo photography.  He used this rig to capture many
interesting and successful images.  He is best known for his stereo pairs
of hummingbirds in flight.  He only had one pair of lenses for his Konicas,
135 mm FL.  He constructed sophisticated electronic circuits to fire a
number of flashes and capture multiple images of hummingbirds in one frame.

The reason I have only used the Konicas once is that, as you guessed, this
is a recent acquisition and I still use my Minolta X-700s.  I am not even
sure if I want to keep them.  The slide bars that I mentioned were
constructed by Dr. Stell himself together with a number of useful tools for
stereo photography.

You indicated that I am lucky to have a source for the X-700s available to
me.  The fact is that this source is available to most of us.  Through the
newsgroup rec.photo.marketplace one could buy a dozen of these cameras, at
good prices too.  Same for the Konicas.  There are not as plentiful as the
X-700s but there are still available for sale at reasonable prices.  All
the transactions are conducted through the mail.  Being in Cleveland and
buying from California is not much different any more than being in England
and buying from the USA.

Same is true for getting a Realist or other classic beauties of the 50s. 
For a long time the argument used to be that European workers advanced the
use of the 2x2x2 system because they did not have access to Realist-format
stereo equipment.  Today, through the web, email, newsgroups, etc.,
anybody, anywhere in the world, can buy a Stereo Realist or a Kodak from the
USA for $125 or even less.  I have shipped these cameras (projectors too!)
myself to England, Germany, Japan, Australia.  Sell-3d has been a
successful medium for stereo equipment transactions and many of them are
international.  

Gone are the days where the only option in Japan were the $400 Realists. 
Here in the USA, Realist stereo cameras are plentiful.  The supply far
exceeds the demand and prices are low and under control.  The choice of
Realist-format vs. 2x2x2 is not (or should not be) based on availability
any more but on personal choice.

Talking about personal choice, I have decided that for me, the 6"
separation of side-by-side SLRs is a very serious restriction.  Most of my
photography is mid-range shots or classic stereo compositions with
foreground at 7 feet and background at near infinity.  Stereo photography
has replaced 2d photography in my life so I use it to record shots of my
family, vacation, etc.  Just to give you an idea of the ratio of film shot
with each system, from the 41 rolls that I took recently in Greece, 36 were
taken with Realist cameras, 3 with twin SLRs and 2 with a single SLR.  (3
with twin SLRs is due to the fact that occasionally I take one camera out
of the rig and use it for single handheld hyperstereos)  

So, it is my Realists that get all of the wear (but, thank goodness, they
were built to last and Ron Zakowski and other good repairmen have the parts
and knowledge to keep them clicking).

As I said, this is a personal choice and I fully understand and appreciate
your choice, which also happens to be shared by many other advanced stereo
workers.  The fact is that the majority of my "salon quality" pictures are
taken with SLRs but the pictures that are dearest to my heard (friends and
family) are taken with my Realists.

Regards -- George Themelis


------------------------------