P3D RBT S1 vs. RBT X4

["Dr. George A. Themelis" <DrT-3d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This has been an amazing month for me, photographically speaking!
In about a month I have shot *and* mounted 63 rolls of slide film!
43 rolls in Greece, 15 rolls in Toronto (PSA) and Niagara Falls
and 5 rolls in the recent visit to the H. Ford Museum & Greenfield
Village in Michigan.  I have already mounted all the pictures in
Albion mounts and remounted the best slides (about 200) in RBT 
mounts and have projected them all and selected the best for 
future competitions and exhibitions... (Hey Mark... I got some
really good ones!!!  No more flower junk! :-)))

I now routinely carry and use both RBTs.  In the PSA Convention
I did a lot of model shoots.  Usually I would use the RBT X4 with 
the zoom lenses zoomed at 70 mm for 2-3 shots and then switch to 
the S1.  I was expecting better results with the X4 camera because
the zoom lenses allow for tighter portraits.  However, what I found 
is that the color saturation and contrast and sharpness (that's
where the autofocus comes handy) of the S1 lenses made for some 
startling portraits!  In most cases I preferred the S1 images 
over the X4 because they looked sharper and better saturated,
especially in projection.  This comes as a surprise to me because
I did not think that saturation and contrast (or sharpness) are
that important in projection.  Maybe Bob Maxey is right after all.

Of course, that does not say much about the X4 camera itself.
Only the zoom lenses.  If you don't like the zoom lenses you can
always try your luck with fixed Pentax lenses.  And, as a matter
of fact, I have been building a modest collection of Pentax lenses
and I even got a Pentax ZX-M SLR camera.  I think I will gradually 
switch from my Minolta X-700 system to the Pentax so I can carry
the same set of lenses in a stereo camera and two SLRs for an
infinite amount of combinations of focal lengths and interocular
separations.... 

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh... life was *so much simpler* with the Realist... 

The new experience with the RBT X4 and the interchangeable lenses
has got me thinking about the value of different focal lengths
in stereo photography... While there is no question that longer
or shorter lenses *in a stereo camera* (I emphasize in a stereo
camera with fixed interocular because with separate cameras and
variable interoculars it is a different ball game) can create
some interesting visual effects, the bottom line AS I SEE IT,
is that the 35 mm lenses are a good choice for 95% of the
photographic situations.  They offer a decent field of view
with a very good depth of field.  So, if you cannot afford an 
SLR RBT camera you don't need to worry.  You can get a lot of 
mileage from the 35 mm lenses of your standard stereo camera.
Also, having no choice makes you more creative at the end by 
varying your distance to the subject and looking for unusual 
and interesting ways to photograph it instead of messing around
with switching or zooming lenses.... 

And when I thought I was done taking stereo pictures for a while
I realize that more photographic opportunities are in the very 
near future... A campout in lake Erie with my son, a business 
trip to Baltimore, fall colors, Halloween...  Plus a few 
challenging assignments in Detroit ("what am I?" and "Geometry" 
are begging for tabletops... time to dust off the X-700 with the 
macro lens and the slide bar and start looking for the props...)

George Themelis