P3D Ricoh XR-10M

[Pixschack@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 9/18/99 12:01:49 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
photo-3d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:

> 
>      This spring I bought two Ricoh XR-10M cameras with 50mm lenses from
>  Cambridge Camera in New York- the whole package cost about $400.  I keep
>  these attached to a 91/2" slide bar I got from Dalia.   The XR-10s have
>  electronic shutters which just happen to synchronize if you connect a
>  sub-mini audio plug between the two camera's remote control sockets.  Thus 
I
>  was able to synch up the shutters by spending about $10 at Radio Shack. I
>  was noticing some fuzziness in my exposures which I attributed to the
>  cameras moving when I pressed the shutter. This led to my buying a single
>  remote shutter release from B&H (about $30) which I wired to the Radio 
Shack
>  contraption- The shutters seem to be more consistently synchronized when
>  fired from the remote release.  The XR-10 has the option of using aperture
>  priority auto-exposure, but I've found that the two cameras often "guess"
>  differently so I've started setting shutter speeds manually.   While it can
>  be a hassle having to set shutters, apertures and focusing seperately I 
have
>  lots of fun with this rig and I feel like it was money well spent.  I've
>  gotten some especially nice slides of cities at night- the extra lense
>  seperation works well for this application.   At some point I'd like to try
>  doing some very wide hyper shots -I'm hoping that with a long enough wire
>  the shutters would sync up even if the cameras were 10, 20 or more feet
>  apart.  I'd like to see if I could  make some ultra-hyper shots of cities
>  without retinal rivalry caused by moving traffic. 

I've been using and touting exactly this system for several years now. I even 
use the same small sturdy bar.  I don't think there's an easier pair of SLR's 
to synch out there.  Used Pentax K-mount lenses are ubiquitous.  One of my 
specialties is wide base synchronized hypers.  I have cords of 6 feet and 12 
feet.  Synch. is no problem with these longer wires.  I have a suggestion for 
the construction of synch cords.  Instead of using Radio Shack components, 
buy a pair of the old fashioned transistor radio ear plugs that have this 
size jack molded on.  Cut off the ear end and splice the wires together or 
add wire to make whatever length you want.  The molded on plugs and wire are 
of lighter weight and fewer connections make for fewer misfires.  

Gary Schacker