RE: [photo-3d] Digest Number 348

[ers <ers@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

After seeing the announcements of the new Burder repro of the Realist 
Macrostereo camera, I knew I wanted one. Unfortunately on a retirement income, 
I didn't have $3k to spend. I'm definitely not in Burder's league when it 
comes to camera construction-- his cameras are works of art-- nor in the 
league of people like De Wijs, who is probably the best builder of stereo gear 
in the world. So a few friends gave me some tips, reviewed the math for 
aperture and lens placement, and supplied camera parts out of their junk 
drawers. My tools are comprised of a cheapo Chinese drill press, a Dremel 
tool, hand files, screwdrivers, and the usual odds and ends, plus basic 
measuring tools. The camera in the photo is the result. A wire framing box 
will be attached later-- I don't much like the prong system for composing-- I 
need to find just the right coat hanger to bend... It was built in about a 
week on the kitchen table, much to my wife's dismay. The body is a Realist-- 
the model with the double exposure release-- and the lenses are from a Nimslo 
(moved out from the film plane 10mm beyond the intended 30mm fl). It uses a 
Prontor type shutter from a Polaroid copy stand, many will work if the center 
opening is big enough. If it's a shutter with aperture adjustment, just 
superglue the aperture at full open. The front plate was made from a piece of 
scrap 1/8 inch aluminum that cost a dollar at the local sheet metal shop. The 
camera back was opened up with a metal file and a septum added. (the little 
sprocket gear needed one side shaved off a little). I made a few blunders, but 
overall, the construction is pretty simple. Construction time, not counting my 
errors, is about 25 hours. This Hackro Macro cost about $40, plus a little 
help from my friends. So if you don't have big bucks and want a macro, don't 
be dismayed. If you can handle basic tools like a file and a drill, you can 
just build one. I'm pulling together a photo compilation of the construction 
that I'll forward to Sam's camera hacker site in the next month or so. Also, 
the photo that was taken with the camera is a Lara Crofts 6" tall "Tomb 
Raiders" action figure, photographed from a distance of 5.5 inches, and with 
the flash angled from the left(cross eyed stereo viewing). Note that this 
image is much lower quality than the razor sharp original-- I scanned a slide 
at 1000 dpi and further reduced the image quality for Internet use. It was 
just field tested yesterday-- all the film advance was perfectly even, as were 
the exposures.

I think you could make this rig with any junk stereo camera with a good 
advance mechanism and a lot of room inside-- the camera I used had no lenses 
or shutters, but you throw all that away in any case, as well as the shutter 
trip mechanism.

So haul out the hacksaw and have some fun!

http://www.members.home.net/elliotts12/macclass.jpg

http://www.members.home.net/elliotts12/lara.jpg

Elliott