P3D Re: Cha-cha-cha

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

>> I do not mean to be discouraging but this method of creating
>> stereo pairs is not a good one.I have tried it unsuccessfully. 
>
>Unfortunately, I tend to agree.
>Although a good cha-cha probably could be learned,
>it's usually promoted as the super-easy way to get
>started.  

I agree too.  Cha-cha is one of the most advanced stereo recording
methods.  You have to know what you are doing and be very careful.
It is very easy to shift the camera too much or get a severely
misaligned pair.  If you are working with slides, things are even
worse (prints can be trimmed easier than slides masked).  One problem
with beginners is that they might look at the result (keystoned, 
vertically misaligned pair, with retinal rivalry due to moving objects
and with excessive deviation) and not realize why it does not look
good or why they get a headache, and blame the medium for it.

However, once you learn how and WHEN to do it, you can get some
spectacular results (among many failures)... given the flexibility
in selecting the stereo base.  Also, in addition to cha-cha, there
are other forms of single camera stereo, like shooting from a moving
platform, or photographing a moving object from a fixed platform,
that can yield very interesting results.  So it pays to carry at
least one (2D) camera, if not two, in addition to your regular stereo
camera.

-- George Themelis


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