T3D Re: medium format macro stereo

[erker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Greg Erker)]

>I would like to get a used medium format camera for shooting macro
>stereo with a slide bar.
>
>Does any one here know what medium format camera would be good for
>this?  Obviusly it would have to be easy to get either plus lense
>adapters for it, or if it can use extension tubes would be good.

  Depends how much money you have to spend. As
Tom suggested, for under $50 there are old TLRs.
You have to contend with the parallax from the viewing
lens being 2.5 or 3" above the taking one. A paramender
type device can help with this. Or you can do what I
did (when I used a TLR) and raise your tripod center
post by the amount of the lens spacing to take the shot.

  To get close focus you will need to add closeup
lenses. Or possibly use a Mamiya TLR. Thanks to their
bellows focusing they will go quite close. But you
are now in the $200-400 range I think.

  I presently use a Bronica S2A SLR (so no parallax).
They sell for $300 and up depending on lens(es) and condition.
I have used it with a +11 diopter closeup lens and
more recently got a bellows for it. But the bellows is
fairly scarce and I paid $260 for it. An extension tube
set is available. They sell for about $80-$100 (for the
3 or 4 tube set).

  There is an old Rollei SLR that had bellows focusing
built in, allowing very close focusing.

>I think that if I could find a used one that was an SLR as well as
>medium format, that even used would probably cost to much.

  True.

>I want to be able to fucus in at 1 inch to 6 inches using different
>extension tubes or plus lenses.  Also I would want at least f22.
>
>Any ideas?

  In macro you usually talk in terms of magnification.
1:1 means the image on film is the same size as the
original object. So a 50x50mm object will just about
fill the frame on a 6x6 (which is about 55x55mm).

  At 2:1 (2 times lifesize) a 25x25mm object will
just about fill the frame.

  So, can you translate your 1-6" into magnification
for us?

  Lastly, most MF lenses go to at least f22.

Greg E.



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