[photo-3d] RBT 101 - Part II

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

RBT 101 - Part II

The slide feed can be achieved manually or by using 
special trays.  The plastic trays hold 50 slides, 
and are nicely constructed.  You can buy the trays 
even if you don't have an RBT projector, just to 
store your slides in them.  You put the slides in the 
numbered slots, the right way up (as in viewing).  You 
then slide a metal cover over the tray, flip it over 
and push it in place.  

Slides advance automatically, either by pressing a 
button in the back of the projector or using the wired 
or the wireless remote.  You can go back and forth and 
if you hold the button you move fast forward or backwards.  
When a slide is dropped from the tray to the projector 
slot, the lamps come on.  When it is time to be ejected, 
the lamps go off, the slide is ejected back into the tray, 
the tray is advanced and the next slide drops into the slop.

I was concerned about the delay from slide to slide.  
As it turns out, it is perfectly acceptable, even desirable,
according to some comments made earlier in this list.

You can also use the projector without trays, by just 
dropping the slides in the slot and catching them as they 
are ejected.  Works fine but the delay from slide to slide 
might be a bit longer.

There is a rumor that the RBT projector only works with 
RBT mounts and anything else will jam.  In my trial tray 
last night I had all kinds of mounts, glass with tape, 
glass with metal binders, cardboard, RBT.  All slides worked 
fine.  I am tempted to use it in our next club competition.
We can then fire our projectionist! :)

[Parenthesis:  Maybe I was lucky... eventually, a thick
glass-mounted slide will jam.  But more and more people
are using RBT mounts these days and in our club no one 
uses aluminum and glass... only RBTs or cardboard.]

Slide advance can be conveniently done with a remote, 
which means that the projectionist can sit as close to 
the screen as he or she likes, no matter where the 
projector is and no matter what kind of lenses are in it.  
The projectionist is not tied to the projector.  That's 
old news for 2x2 users but it is a welcome relief for 
hard nosed "stereo format" guys like myself.

There is also a variable timer in the back of the
projector and you can set it to advance slides in a 
fixed time interval.

Using the remote, the projectionist can also adjust the 
sharpness of each lens (focus) individually or both 
together.  This overrides temporarily the AF function but 
it comes right back for the next slide.

Did I mention that the projector projects "full frame" 
stereo slides (widest RBTs, 33mm) without problem?  Also, 
it is quiet and cool.

Someone told me (us?) that, unlike the RBT cameras, 
this projector was designed from scratch as a stereo 
projector (by Kodak, Leica?) and RBT bought the plans 
and patents and built it.  I cannot find the details 
right now. But clearly this is not a cut and paste
job.  It is a wonderfully constructed machine and a 
joy to operate.

To be continued... -- George Themelis

 

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