P3D Re Telephoto Stereoscopic Camera?

[Peter Homer <P.J.Homer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Joe Safferson asked if there had ever been a stereo camera produced based
around a pair of binoculars. I have a book about scientific antiques and
the prices they realised which has an illustration of a stereo camera by
Watson which at least looks like a pair of binoculars. It fetched about
1000 pounds sterling! if I remember correctly I will have to check ,and
that was some time ago. However I think it was refered to as a "detective"
camera meaning that it could be used secretly. That could just be because
it looked like a pair of binoculars but I have learned of another camera
since called the "Physiograph" I think . Which looked very similar and
actualy had the lenses in the side of the one barrel so that the
photographer did not have to even apear to be looking at his subjects.
  This would mean that the lenses could not have the focal lengths that
they could have if they were in a straight line one of them in particular
would have to be shorter. I suspect it was an otherwise conventional stereo
camera built into just one tube of the "binoculars" and this may be true of
the Watson as well.
 More recently Tasco made binoculars with just one camera 110 I think built
into one barrel whether it would be possible to dismantle and reasemble two
of them to make a stereo version I am not shure.
Exacta used to make an adaptor for their cameras to enable telescopes and
binoculars to be atatched to their cameras so it might be possible to use
two cameras base to base with binoculars.
 However I find that binoculars perhaps because of their long focal length
and/or wider seperation give bad cardboarding even in just visual use.
P.J.Homer



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