[photo-3d] Do it yourself Macro Realist

[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. 
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. 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 
(from the game "Tomb Raders") 6" tall 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 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.

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.

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

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

Elliott