Re: [photo-3d] RE: Loreo Thoughts

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

No Gabriel, I am not using reverse psychology.
I have reached a new point of maturity :)

Joseph Petrarca writes:

>I would recommend a Realist to anyone.  I think it 
>embodies all the mechanics of basic Photography and 
>while it does not DEMAND an understanding of the basic 
>principals, it certainly offers the potential to learn, 
>as does any fully-manual camera with separate light meter.  

You sound just like DrT, a few years ago :)

>I started on the
>venerable Argus C3 when I was a child.  

Oh well...  Not my average beginner :)

I have to agree with what Rory said:

>I really think that some of us don't realize how complicated 
>what we're doing really is. We all pretty much have an 
>interest, or probably a passion that carried us past the 
>initial difficulties. I can't guarantee that for every beginner.

Yes... my involvement with beginners brings me back
to earth.  A person of average intelligence and skills
(certainly not Jim Harp!) needs a mentor to successfully
handle the Realist and slide mounting.

I have a friend at work (not Dennis, Ken) who used to
be my glowing example.  In past photo-3d discussions
(and some of you might remember this), I would always
bring him up as an example.  He was handed a Realist and
a few basic exposure rules and took great pictures in
a number of occasions.  He never got into mounting
(Dennis does that for him) but his pictures were always
sharp and well-exposed.  I'd bring his name up in every
discussion about Realist or sunny day rule.  He was my
proof that the Realist works for beginners.

Lately he has been through a series of failures.  First,
he was mixing up the sunny day rule.  Then, he decided
to use the Realist ALWAYS focused at infinity.  His
last two rolls were a disaster, totally out of focus.
After reviewing his last roll, I suspected that the
camera was focused at the closest focusing point (2 1/4
feet).  "Ken", I asked, "where do you set your focusing
dial?"  As it turns out, I was right, he was focusing
at 2 1/4.  He claimed that the focusing dial is
confusing and you cannot tell which end points to
infinity!

I don't think he would be happier with a Loreo, but
his shooting output and enthusiasm are reduced after
these recent failures.  I think the best camera for
him would be the RBT S1.  In Program and autofocus
mode you must try very hard to miss a shot.  But he
does not want to spend the money... He only shoots
a dozen rolls a year.  He likes the pictures but not
enough to get seriously into stereo photography.

George Themelis