P3D Re: VM stuff

[John Bradley <JB3D@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jeremy Illingworth asked about which  model VM camera
 he should choose,and enquired if anyone had used both.
This sounds like an invitation to another "which is best"
contest , but on the assumption that not so many list readers
are VM users as Realist users, I'll give my twopennyworth.

I have used both cameras for a several  years now. I started with
the Personal , and enjoyed using it , but found the controls and
handling a little cumbersome. A short while later I got a MkII
and enjoyed the vastly simplified controls , rapid wind on , and
lightweight handling. Over the years as I have become a 
slightly more knowledgeable photographer it has been these 
same factors that have turned me back to the Personal. I now
like the greater control over shutter speed and aperture that the
Personal gives me, and its solid rugged feel is reassuring. It
is however generally slower to handle and use. 

I think it is agreed that the MkII is prone to vignetting at small 
apertures , a problem I've never had with the Personal. 
In a review some years ago in Reel 3D News David Starkman 
also talked about several examples he had used being subject 
 to slight misalignment of left and right images.
 I  can't say I've noticed this on mine.

The big attractions of the MkII for me are the x synch socket
and shoe which allow use of modern electronic flash. I know 
the Personal can have a flash fitted , but it takes time or money
or perhaps both. Also the rapid wind on button makes MkII my
choice for "one off events" , since you can usually fire off three
times as many shots as with the Personal in the same time. 

I now take both with me if I have the chance. I went to London
at Easter and wanted to get shots of theMillenium Dome under
construction. (This is going to be a sort of Expo to mark the arrival
of the Year 2000). The MkII with its flash was great for indoor shots
at the site exhibition centre, while the Personal was first choice
as I went on a boat ride on the Thames past the construction site,
and wanted greatest control of shutter speed and aperture.

If pushed to say which I would choose if I could only take one 
it would probably be the MkII.

Best wishes,
John Bradley
JB3D@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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