P3D TDC Vivid (new acquisition)

["Harold R. Baize" <baize@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Darren Gunderson wrote:

>I got a absolutly mint TDC Vivid. Everything on it is so crisp and
>shiny. 

Hey, me too. I just got one in great shape, I really like this camera! 
It has a real 50's look to it, all round and bulky, with chrome and 
lots of knobs, like an old Cadillac. I don't know how good the pictures 
are because I haven't shot any film with mine either. One drawback is 
that the f-stops are limited to f/16, and shutter speed tops out at 1/100, 
which means that it can't use fast film in bright daylight. 

>One thing I can tell is that this one has to have one of the
>weirder film transport systems I have seen.

The odd film transport is to lengthen the distance the film travels 
between the lenses, it was engineered to allow closer spacing of the 
lenses, they measure about 65mm compared to the 70mm spacing on a 
Kodak or Realist. The lens separation is just slightly more than that 
of the European format cameras (i.e. FED Stereo). This should make it 
slightly better for close photos like portraits.

>Are the flash guns fairly available like the Realists?  Would it be
>worth putting an ad on Sell-3d or are they rare?

I don't know about the old flash guns, I am planning to make my own 
PC flash adapter for it. I did the same for my View Master Personal. 
What I did was get a junk 35mm point-and-shoot camera with a stamped 
aluminum body and a PC flash connector. I cut out the connector 
with metal shears leaving a long "tail" of aluminum. Then I found a 
screw that matched the screw mount for the old flash. I attached the 
aluminum tail at the screw mount and bent the aluminum to cause the 
bottom of the center post on the PC connector to make firm contact 
with the flash contact on the VM-Personal. I then used a "L" bracket 
to hold the modern flash. It works, and doesn't look too bad. 

If you would rather have a more sturdy and well made adapter I think 
you can buy one from Dalia Miller for $81. http://www.3dstereo.com

Have fun with your Vivid,

Harolddd Baize
   Keeper of the Burning Man 3-D pages-  http://www.jps.net/baize/bm3d.htm





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