P3D Re: Realist a P&S?

[George Gioumousis <georggms@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Andrea Blair wrote
> 
> >>>>Bob Aldridge wrote: BUT in the Stereo arena - for normal "snapshot" 
> situations, the stereo camera becomes more point-and-shoot than it's 
> flat counterpart, and that is in the area of FOCUS. Set the hyperfocal 
> distance AND LEAVE IT THERE. And even the light won't change 
> significantly under most P&S situations. OK, so a cloud goes over the 
> sun. Wait until it passes, and not only will you not have to change any 
> camera settings but you'll also get a better picture<<<<
> 
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> 
> BTW, hyperfocal distance is commonly used in "flat" photography. This is 
> where I learned of the term and put it into practice. I have never 
> (until now) heard of a stereo photographer refer to it. 
> 
It does get mentioned once in a while, but why worry; the concept is the
same whether you have one lens or two.

This gives me a chance to point out the value of a bit of skill at math.
I bought my first stereo camera, a Wirgin, sometime in the early 70's.
It did not come with any instructions, I had only touched one other
stereo camera, and I didn't know that there was a camera club in San Jose 
with an active stereo group. I knew about depth of field from my TLR and 
SLR, and from books, so I calculated a table for the Wirgin.

I'm not implying that every photographer should calculate a depth of field
table ab initio, but I think even Andrea would agree that every photograper
should be able to use it, and understand what a hyperfocal distance is good
for.

I think Bob is correct, and focus is more important in stereo. Out of
focus areas seem to bother me more in in stereo slides than in flat slides.
I'll have to experiment a bit to see if this notion holds up.

                           Stereo                Stereo
George Gioumousis           /---\        |       /---\ 
                             o o         |       o o  
georggms@xxxxxxxxxx           |          |         |   
(650) 494-6276              \===/        |       \===/ 
                        Photographer          Photographer


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