Re: [photo-3d] Top Ten stereo cameras of the '40's -'70s

["Dr. George A. Themelis" <drt-3d@xxxxxxx>]

> Dr. T, why did you acquire and get rid of 3 Belplascas?  

I acquired them because "the price was right".  I tried each
one for a few months, shooting a few rolls and sold them
because I was happier with my Realist 2.8, modified for 7p
by John Slivon.  I got some good pictures with them but could 
not say with certainty that they were better than the Realist 
and I felt more comfortable using the Realist.

> The Belplasca lenses are very sharp, every bit as good as 
> an RBT S1 to my eye at least when they are stopped down 
> to F8 or F11.  

Since you mentioned the RBT S1 :) I might as well add a
few points here... First, with prices of Belplascas in the 
order of $1000, an RBT S1 is only 3 times more :) while the
Belplasca is 5-10 times the price of a Realist 3.5.  So it
is not unusual for someone to ask "Should I try to get a
Belplasca or should I put my money down for an RBT S1?"

Anyone who wants to see results from an RBT S1 should take
a look at the pictures that Grant Campos brought at the 
NSA Y2K convention.  These pictures were totally beyond
imagination even for me!  I don't think a Belplasca or any 
other stereo camera from the 50s can take these kind of 
pictures even at small apertures.  

The RBT S1 has many things in common with 1950s stereo
cameras.  It has about the same size and weight.  It
is a rangefinder camera.  Apertures are linked internally.
It looks and it functions like a real stereo camera,
something that David White would be making today if
they were still in the stereo camera business.
In addition, the S1 has features not found in any other
stereo camera from the 50s, like full-frame format,
autoexposure that works surprisingly well, autofocus
(useful for close-ups).  I take advantage of these
features to shoot handheld with available light.
Clearly, I do not use the camera to its full sharpness
potential but I take pictures that I would have missed
with a Realist (or other manual stereo cameras).

Frank, I have been paying attention to your entries in 
SSA Gamma folio.  Your Realist 3.5 shots are great!  It 
proves what I said about cameras and good pictures.  I 
would expect to see great things from your hands, no 
matter what camera you use! But knowing that you enjoy 
hand-held spontaneous photography, I am sure you'll 
have a blast with an S1.

George Themelis