[photo-3d] Re: FED versus other stereo cameras

[Mark Shields <beamsplitter@xxxxxxxx>]

I'm no expert on this subject, but I do have a FED!  :-)

It seems to me that, while the '50's cameras have a disadvantage
in age, the FED has a disadvantage in quality, so they tend to
balance out.

My FED (not a BOY) has a finicky film advance and rarely makes
it through a roll without misadvancing. I've learned to waste
that frame and go on to the next, so I've rarely lost anything,
but it's annoying. The meter movement sticks at about 1/4 scale,
so I have to use it on manual.

I had to fix the back so it would stay on. That was successful.
I've also started dealing with the light leaks, which is pretty
certain of success. And I put a spacer in the film chamber.

OTOH, the lenses _are_ good. I like the way the camera feels in my
hands and I like its appearance. If I had a little more money and
if I liked the format a lot, I'd either dig into it myself or send
it off to Ken Ruth. I'd buy several and work the bugs out of them.
But I really, really like the 35mm beamsplitter format (Pentax), despite
its disadvantages--it really does work well, and Pentax
is still making the beamsplitters.

The FED is useful as it is for indoor shots without flash on
Gold Max 800, and I have a lot of nice ones. I don't shoot
outdoors on negative film much, but with a slower film it would be
fine for that, too, shooting manually. I did a couple rolls of
slide film and it was just too hard to get the right exposure
every time. My days of shooting indoors on negative film are
about over.

I'm probably going to sell it at some point, but I'm still kind
of attached to it.

Mark Shields

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beamsplitter@xxxxxxxx
http://www.stmattpitt.org
"Whoever welcomes a child in My name welcomes Me," Jesus said.
"Whoever welcomes Me welcomes not Me but the One who sent Me."
  -Mark 9:37

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