Re: [photo-3d] Insane suggestions for beginners

["John A. Rupkalvis" <stereoscope@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----

Subject: [photo-3d] Insane suggestions for beginners

>                >Sorry, but I think you guys are out of your mind.  Cha-cha
>                >for a beginner?  I don't know where you are coming from,
>                >but this is one of the most difficult techniques to do
>                >right, even for experienced stereo photographers.

I had built my first stereo rig as a child.  It was simply a wooden tray in
which I placed a Sears Tower box camera, and slid the camera from one side
to the other between exposures.  I remember gluing the prints side-by-side
on cardboard, and viewing them in my grandmother's parlor stereoscope
viewer.

Regarding "cha-cha" imaging, I have found that for myself at least, a more
repeatable method is to shift the camera from one eye to the other between
exposures.  I try to stand real still, hold the camera so that my left eye
is looking through the viewfinder, and shoot the first exposure.  Then, I
wind the film while moving the camera so as to see the viewfinder image with
my right eye, and make the other exposure.   By being careful to observe
objects in the scene at either the four edges of the viewfinder, or the four
corners (depending on the scene), and matching these in the second view, I
have been reasonably lucky in getting the images lined up.

For more accuracy, especially for beginners, I recommend a simple slide bar.
These can often be picked up used at camera shows and even sometimes at
camera stores for a dollar or two.   Alternatively, with a little ingenuity,
they are not that hard to make with a couple of 1/4 - 20 bolts and
telescoping rectangular tubing found at larger hardware stores.  A ruler
glued on for measuring different hyper and hypo interaxials is a nice
refinement.

JR