$$$#11 KEEPIN IT REALIST! IS CHOCK FULL OF SMART TIPS, TRICKS & BRAND NEW PROJECTS FOR STEREO REALIST CAMERA SHOOTERS OF ANY EXPERIENCE LEVEL- there’s something for everyone (realist-wise that is) whether you’re an old pro or are considering purchasing one as your very first stereo film camera 👀 check it out!
First we cover some basic steps EVERYONE has to do test the FUNCTIONALITY of your stereo realist camera and these are the $$$ projects and step by step guidelines to help you do that!
Most people who have recently or are thinking of acquiring a stereo realist are either purchasing a vintage camera from a seller on an auction site, at an antiques/second hand shop or perhaps are inheriting one and may not know exactly how to make sure the basic mechanics of the camera are all in working order. We first cover:
- How to properly load the film, cock and release the shutter..
- How to LISTEN to the shutter speed settings to make sure they SOUND accurate to the dial settings- 1 second should last 1 second, .25 should snap in a 1/4 of a second, you should be able to press and hold the shutter open when set on B “bulb mode” until you release, etc…
- How to check if the rangefinder/distance scale on your focus is accurate
We go through the stereo and I have also made some $$$ projects special for these tasks.
- RANGEFINDER TESTER- taping a light to a ruler to focus on- so you can measure the actual distance between your focus point and your camera and see if it is accurate to the distance scale.
- VIEWFINDER MAGNIFIER- made out of a smartphone lens. I used a 2x telephoto lens and mounted it on a fidget spinner because it is INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT to view through the tiny holes for composing and split screen focusing a shot on a stereo realist camera! A 2x telephoto smartphone lens, with the OUTER LENS (the side you would normally point TO your subject if you were shooting a photo through it) TOWARDS YOUR EYE AND THE BACK SIDE OF THE LENS FACING THE VIEWPORT HOLE ON THE CAMERA ITSELF.
- FIDGET SPINNER LENS DIAL- a super easy way to stick lenses on ANYTHING, use it on a realist camera to magnify the viewer or use it on a cell phone to switch between a variety of lenses of your choosing really fast. Please see the next episode, $$$#11.5- Fidget Spinner Lens Turret for that project video.
- MAKING A DUMMY ROLL- You can use an already exposed roll of film or get the CHEAPEST roll you can, and use it as a “dummy roll” whenever you need to test any camera to see if it advances/rewinds properly. Save this film for future use as a dummy roll for testing any 35mm camera you have.
Then we looked at some realist camera accessories- there are of course THOUSANDS of accessories you can get for a realist, these are just the ones I’ve used and have been using for over 20 something years
-Cold Shoe to Hot Shoe PC cord flash adaptor made especially for 3D Cameras
-Vivitar Bakelite grip with accessory shoe and cable release trigger grip
-PC cord flash adaptor plug made especially for 3D cameras
The $$$ project for circumvent this was TO FILE DOWN THE BUMP ON THE CAMERAS FLASH SHOE! IT IS SUPER EASY THING TO DO! IT TOOK ME ONLY ABOUT 20 MINUTES, AND NOW I WILL NEVER HAVE TO USE ANY FLASH ADAPTER FOR THAT CAMERA (!!!!) Filing down the “bump” on the camera shoe is something I have NEVER done myself before in the 20+ years I have been shooting stereo realist cameras! I WISH I WOULD HAVE DONE THIS SOONER AS IT WOULD HAVE SAVED ME TONS OF MONEY IN PURCHASING SPECIALIZED PC CORD HOT SHOE ADAPTERS FOR THE REALIST! I highly recommend anyone who owns a stereo realist that is not precious to them for resell value or sentimental reasons to file down the bump as it makes finding a regular adapter- NOT ONE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR REALIST OR OTHER 3D FILM CAMERAS- sooooooo much easier!
-Special Straight Thread Cable Release!!! A close up comparison between a normal cable release with a tapered head and the Straight Thread type which is suitable for realist, REALIST BRAND CABLE RELEASES are SUPER RARE- BUT YOU CAN USE A BOLEX BRAND CABLE RELEASE, ALL THE BOLEX CABLE RELEASES I HAVE PURCHASED SINCE FINDING THIS OUT ARE STRAIGHT THREAD 🙏🙏🙏 please see the blog post “Release Me” which is specifically about varieties of cable releases..
..and then I ended the episode with some $$$ Lego projects
You must be logged in to post a comment.