P3D Re: Sputnik 120 Stereo Camera

[Greg Erker <erker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Does anyone use the Sputnik medium format stereo camera from the old
>USSR?
>I've seen them on ebay, and thought it might be a nice step up from a
>135-format Kodak Stereo.  Any thoughts on this camera?  Is it worth the
>$200-$250 price that they go for, or would I be better off to buy two
>inexpensive Ricohflex TLR's or some such and twin them on a slide bar?
>
>Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
>
>Thanks!
>
>Steven Stultz

  I've used both. Started with a single Ricohflex,
graduated to a pair of them and then later got
a Sputnik.

  By fluke my first two Ricohflex's matched for
focal length. You might have to try 3 or more to
get a decent match (unless you make your own prints
and can print one at larger magnification to
compensate).

  The Ricohflex's are narrow enough that you can
get not-too-hyper normal shots and with a slidebar
you can get great hypers too. I've done everything
from minimum spacing up to 8 foot spacing for fireworks
(lots of 3 foot separation city hypers).

  For about $80 or so you should be able to get
a couple of Ricohflex's. Try to get Super Ricohflex's
or VIIS's since the additional shutter speeds will
be helpful.

  For about $160 you could get two Diacord G's or L's
which have a nice 4 element Tessar type lens and a
full range of shutter speeds down to 1 second (and B).
But again you may need to buy 3 or more to get a good
FL match.

  The Spunik is good if you shoot at f16 or f22 and
use a tripod. For some reason it's hard to handhold
steady enough to get really sharp shots. If you are
going to shoot with flash then the Sputnik is the way
to go since sychronizing a pair of Ricohflex's is
difficult.

  See my web page for some Sputnik mods and photos of
my big slidebar and the Stereo Ricohmatic 225 I'm
building:
http://www.angelfire.com/ca/erker
and info on all the Ricoh TLRs too.

  You should also consider getting the Saturnslide
MF viewer kit from Rocky Mountain Memories (link
on my page). It will let you see all the quality
that is present in your MF stereo slides thanks
to the 40mm diameter by 84mm FL achromats.

  If you are on a tight budget then $125 for the
viewer kit plus $80 for the Ricohflex's might be
the way to begin. You can always sell the Ricoh's
later if you get a Sputnik or Rolleidoscop or build
your own camera.

Have fun - Greg E.


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