P3D Stereo moutning (Realist system flawed?)

[fj834@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Dr. George A. Themelis)]

Reply to message from spacey@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Spacey) of Mon, 16 Feb

>What do you do about the stereo window then Boris?  A straight twin rig
>puts the window at infinity, but the examples on your web site look like
>you've corrected for that.  Or did you do that after scanning?

I am sure this is what Boris does.  However, your question is interesting
and brings up the mounting issue in the Realist vs. SLR systems.  Here is
the full quote from Boris' posting:

>I was aware of the Realist, and avoided it simply because it was unfamiliar
>to me (it's a thirty year old camera without a light meter), and I had a
>hunch: if I shot full frame slides with two SLRs, I would not have to
>bother with "mounting".  (Now I realize "mounting" is no big deal, although
>it does add some time and expense.  But with my setup, I still don't have
>to bother with mounting, unless I want to submit to competitions).

Here is another advantage of the Realist system:  The film chips are
aligned vertically and have a built-in stereo window at 7 ft.  So, if a
person is shooting normal stereo pictures (7ft to infinity) then the window
is correctly placed in the unmounted chips or in chips that are centered in
their mounts.

This, of course, is not a characteristic of the Realist or Realist systems
only, but of all stereo systems (i.e. systems that were designed to take
stereo pictures, vs. systems put together from two single cameras).

Boris' statement that he does not have to bother with mounting unless if he
wants to submit to competitions, somehow contradicts with his other
statements about how important it is to present good stereo to novices. 
And I ask:  Why is the precise matching of the focal lengths of recording
and viewing lenses so important, while the correct vertical alignment and
correct setting of the stereo window is not? 

In my mind, the Realist (and any other well-designed stereo camera system)
has the advantage that mounting is very simple (to the point that it can be
automated).  There are even mounting services that will mount your first
rolls (I say "first rolls" because I recommend that those who are serious
about stereo mount their own rolls).   Asking a beginner to deal with
mounting slides taken with sigle hand-held SLRs is a bit too much, IMO.

-- George Themelis

PS. The Realist is not 30 but 50 year old camera.  It came out on May of
    1947 (50 1/2 years ago).  There were a few minor changes through the
    years, but the basic design did not change.


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