P3D Lens Matching

[Bob_Maxey@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

>>It is a fact that off-the-shelf lenses are not precision-matched.  The
>>David White company is well documented to have had a difficult (i.e.
>>>expensive) time getting matched sets of lenses for the Realist (this is
>>ostensibly why they dropped Kodak Ektar lenses).  Since monocular camera
>>makers have absolutely no reason to ensure exact tolerances in their
>>lenses (they aren't advertising or selling them as matched pairs now,
>>are they?), there are numerous economic reasons for them NOT to maintain
>>such strict tolerances.  So the rule is "caveat emptor".


Actually, I think the above is true. I only thought that since the
equipment used to make lenses is so sophisticated these days, there is a
better chance of getting closer matched lenses today, than 20 years ago or
so. After all, manufacturing equipment for optics is highly sophisticated,
and when a particular lens  design works for a manufacturer, they are not
likely to build it on equipment that has the habit of falling out of
tolerance.

I know that some manufacturers of professional motion picture equipment
often goes to great lengths to insure that their lenses are suitably
matched. The idea being that if several different cameras are used, and the
same focal length prime is used, shots will match. Several filter
manufacturers also match their filters so there are no changes when the
same filter is used on a different lens. Primarily, the filters discussed
are those graduated colored filters.

It might be an interesting experiment. In the mean time, there is the RBT
Cameras and those who use dual cameras on a bar. Chime in all you users and
tell us what you have discovered about this.

RM




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