[photo-3d] Olympus Epic Twin

[ChouMaster@xxxxxxx]

Brenda and others who are interested in the Olympus Epic twin:

A few months back, we have talked about twinning the Olympus Epic cameras.  I 
have been busy testing the new rig.  And these are my initial findings.

This is the 1999 model Olympus Epic DLX with all the bells and whistle of a 
modern P&S camera.

35 mm f 2.8 lens, four elements in four groups.  Shutter speed from 4 second 
@ f 2.8 to 1/1000 seconds @f11.  Auto focus from 13 inches to infinity with 
focus lock. Spot metering also possible.  Panorama mode.  Six modes of flash 
control. Auto flash activation when camera senses fluorescent light source 
(wow!).  Infrared remote control is available.

Advantage of system:

1,  Small and light weight, it is only 14 oz with mounting bar. While my TDC 
Vidid is 26 oz. And my twin Pentax SLR is 46oz. (4 lb.).    
            
2.  Stereo base is 110 mm with side-by-side mount. I like the added dramatic 
stereo effect. It views OK as along as your nearest subject is farther than 5 
feet.  And 55 mm separation with base-to-base mount, great for close-up and 
head-and-shoulder portraits, will fit a 5 P mount vertically. It only takes 5 
seconds to change mount with my design.  I also made a longer bar that can 
mount the cameras with 200 mm to 450 mm separation, and also can be change 
within 10 seconds. Only weights 5 oz.

3.  Individually focusable on left or right.  If you have some very near 
subject on either side of the picture, you can easily do a selective focus.

4.  Good performance 35 mm f 2.8 lenses (I try not to use the word "sharp" as 
it may bother someone with a very critical definition of that word).  This is 
a 4 elements in 4 groups Tessar type lens design. While the old Zeiss Tessar 
was 4 elements in 3 groups, it had some edge fall off, but this new Olympus 
lens seems to improve the edge a lot. And the sharpness and contrast can 
match my Pentax 50 mm f 1.7, but not as good as my 55 mm Micro Nikon.  This 
lens meets my expectation.

Disadvantage of system:

5.  Not easy to get an internal wired sync.  With the push button, one can 
get to 1/10 second at best.  So, in some of the 3-D pictures I have birds 
with 4 wings and 
people with 3 legs. Since this camera is weather proof, I don't like to break 
into 
the inside to do the hot wiring without the manufacturer's instruction. It is 
also a
two-stage trigger.  I have to practice with "focus" first click, and "shoot" 
second
click every time in order to get a better sync.

6.  This is a Shutter priority system.  If the light level is low it will 
select a larger lens opening first, which is not preferred for stereo photos. 
 In order to overcome this problem, I used a faster film, such as the 
Ektachrome 400, to maintain at f 11 for most of the time. Some may think the 
grain of the film is not acceptable, but with my test, I found it over all 
usable.  With the ISO 400 film, the build-in flash it will light up to 27 
feet with negative film and 19 feet with slides. Great for parties.
   
7.  No manual override on light controls.  When sunlight hits the photo 
sensor directly, it will cause the picture way under exposure.  So, shade the 
cameras with you hand or something, which is difficult to do when you need 
both hands on the trigger.  This is a common problem for most P&S cameras.

General comments:

Combining all the good and the evil.  I think this is a very usable, high 
tech, system for around $200.  Unless you can spend $4K to buy a RBT-S1 for a 
first class camera, but you still cannot have a 200 mm or however wide stereo 
base like my 14oz twin, which I am going to test it out on the Great Wall in 
China on my vacation next month.

I don't want to make this message too long, but I'll be happy to answer any 
additional questions.  I wonder how is Grant doing with his twin T4.  Wlad 
and Gabriel doing with their Rioch 35R?

Kevin Chou

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