P3D Re: Re: Stereo Camera Limitations

[fotoschack@xxxxxxxxx (Gary Schacker)]

I was certain that Doc T would jump to the defense of the 50's cameras
and I agree about 110% with what he's said!

I'm not knocking these instruments.  As I said, I own several of them
and I bought another Realist just last week!  I think it is a testament
to the genius of the Realist format that we are still buying, selling
and using these cameras close to a half century after their manufacture.
I give them full credit (along with View Master)
for the resurgence of stereo photography in the modern era.  They are
wonderful 
and I don't plan to abandon their use in my own work.

I also agree that for most users, the capabilities of these cameras are
all that will ever be needed.  They can take you 
very far.  The ability to produce quality 
images will always depend more on the photographers talent and
imagination then on the equipment.

My only point is that for some photographers, the limitations of these
cameras will be reached, and there will be a need to search out greater
capabilities.
You don't have to be a professional, or even a perfectionist to want to
use polarizers!  The benefits of these common filters for increased
color saturation  and better looking skies is well known.  How many of
us have succeeded in using them on a Realist?

For the record, all the pictures I take with my twin Ricohs are mounted
in Realist compatible mounts.  A good many of them are even cropped down
to 5P.  I want to be able to view them in my much loved Red Button
viewers, as well as being able to project them in my TDC 116 and my
stereo club's TDC 716.

Also, I don't use twin SLR's for their automation.  Every single picture
I take is in full manual mode.  The cameras are manual focus.  Full
exposure control is not a chore to me but rather the only way to achieve
on film what I visualize in my head.  It's part of the pleasure of the
process.

The other major advantage of the twin SLR rig of course is the ability
to change lenses.  I currently have four pair of matched lenses in the
arsenal.

Sam asked how the fall color pictures taken with the SLR's were
superior.

The polarizers greatly enhanced the color saturation of the leaves.
Every one of  the tens of thousands of leaves in the pictures had a
little bit of glare on its surface that tends to wash out the intense
color (and it was intense).  Eliminating this with the polarizers made a
huge difference.

The Tiffen enhancing filters are a relatively new development.  (They're   
also a little expensive)  These filters brighten only the red tones in
an image and have little effect on everything else.
They are a gift from God for fall color!
The use of these two types of filters together had an effect that was
far from subtle!  

So like the good Doctor, I also love the Realist and its brethren.  We
owe them a great deal and they're far from out of the picture.
Unfortunatley, they're just not compatible with some of the advances
that have appeared since their time.

Gary Schacker

 


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End of PHOTO-3D Digest 2416
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