Rangefinder Stereo Cameras

[Ambro51]

The first 10,000 stereo Realists didn’t have the notch, neither did the Haneel

 

[Vince Lupo]

Some new stereo shots from Jekyll Island, GA....

I still have two light leaks in the Heidoscop that I have to find, but overall things look pretty good. Have to say that the negs are quite sharp (these are scans from my Nikon Z7, so there may be a bit of degradation in the translation here).

Two versions here -- one for those of you who have viewers, those of you who don't. Still have a lot of film to go through, so there will be more to come.

From the Heidoscop, Ilford FP4 in D76 1+1.


Jekyll Island Stereo1 Reversed by Vince Lupo, on Flickr


Jekyll Island Stereo1 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

 

[Vince Lupo]

First attempt at colorizing - not great, but maybe something to investigate further?


Jekyll Island Stereo1 Sepia Colorized by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

You can see the light leaks in this pair, but at least the photos seem to give a good stereo effect. This is the 'viewer' pair.


Jekyll Island Stereo2 Sepia by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

Colorized Version:


Jekyll Island Stereo2 Sepia Colorized by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

I'm having an idea -- a limited edition set of 15 colorized stereoscopic images of Jekyll Island, and I'd include the Lite Owl viewer. Hmmm....

 

[farlymac]

The colorization looks good, Vince.


PF

 

[Vince Lupo]

Thanks - it was a bit of a shot in the dark, but isn’t too entirely hateful. One thing I think it does do is add a bit more separation and depth to the image. I wanted to keep the color in line with the manner in which it would have been done back in the day.

Good news - I did a test roll today of the Heidoscop after having plugged up a few places where I thought there were light leaks and it seemed to have worked.

 

[farlymac]

Thanks - it was a bit of a shot in the dark, but isn’t too entirely hateful. One thing I think it does do is add a bit more separation and depth to the image. I wanted to keep the color in line with the manner in which it would have been done back in the day.

Good news - I did a test roll today of the Heidoscop after having plugged up a few places where I thought there were light leaks and it seemed to have worked.

That's good. Nothing like a sneaky light leak to ruin the whole day.

PF

 

[Vince Lupo]

Little Round Top, Gettysburg, PA. Taken with the Nil Melior.


Little Round Top Stereo by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

Colorized Version:


Little Round Top Stereo Colorized by Vince Lupo, on Flickr


General Warren, Little Round Top by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

I was still dealing with a light leak on this camera - I'm hoping that I now fixed all of them!

 

[Vince Lupo]

I saw this lens hood on a couple of Nil Melior cameras online. I was pretty sure they'd be impossible to find on their own, so I thought I'd try my hand at replicating it myself with some materials I had in the workroom.


Nil Melior Lens Hood by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

Not bad I think! A bit of thin sheet metal, some leftover leather covering from cameraleather.com, a bit of flat black paint and voila!

Plus I managed to make a shoulder strap for the case that came with the camera. I'm going to replace the buckle, as I don't think it quite 'works' with the rest of the case. Kinda hard to judge these things online sometimes.

 

[Pherdinand]

First Stereo Card!

very nice! i swapped them on my screen, very good 3D effect.
Cheers! Motivates me to try my rolleidoscop (shoots on roll film back)

 

[Vince Lupo]

Many thanks! This stuff is pretty addictive, I must admit.


The Jacob Hummelbaugh Farm, Gettysburg PA by Vince Lupo, on Flickr


The Jacob Hummelbaugh Farm, Gettysburg PA Colorized by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

 

[Vince Lupo]

I'll have to go back and redo this shot, as I think it will make a nice stereo. Darned light leaks foiled me this time!


Gettysburg Stereo3 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

 

[Vince Lupo]

very nice! i swapped them on my screen, very good 3D effect.
Cheers! Motivates me to try my rolleidoscop (shoots on roll film back)

Let me know if you ever get tired of that Rolleidoscop!

 

[farlymac]

Little Round Top, Gettysburg, PA. Taken with the Nil Melior.


Little Round Top Stereo by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

Colorized Version:


Little Round Top Stereo Colorized by Vince Lupo, on Flickr


General Warren, Little Round Top by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

I was still dealing with a light leak on this camera - I'm hoping that I now fixed all of them!

It appears to me that the left image is quite a bit softer than the right image.


Other than that, keep them coming.


PF

 

[farlymac]

I saw this lens hood on a couple of Nil Melior cameras online. I was pretty sure they'd be impossible to find on their own, so I thought I'd try my hand at replicating it myself with some materials I had in the workroom.


Nil Melior Lens Hood by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

Not bad I think! A bit of thin sheet metal, some leftover leather covering from cameraleather.com, a bit of flat black paint and voila!

Plus I managed to make a shoulder strap for the case that came with the camera. I'm going to replace the buckle, as I don't think it quite 'works' with the rest of the case. Kinda hard to judge these things online sometimes.

Nice work! I wondered how you got that crackle finish.


PF

 

[Vince Lupo]

It appears to me that the left image is quite a bit softer than the right image.


Other than that, keep them coming.


PF

Yes that may have been me who caused that. I think I may have fixed it but won't know until I shoot another roll of film.

There is a likelihood that I'll end up sending this camera down to Frank for him to look at, but at the moment he's swamped, so I'll see what I can do from here.

 

[Vince Lupo]

Nice work! I wondered how you got that crackle finish.


PF

Yes thanks -- I did end up finding a view of the underside of the original hood, and it appears that the leather covering is supposed to wrap around the edges to the underside, and the underside looks like it has some kind of flocking rather than paint. Hopefully all the Nil Melior experts in the world won't ding me for that oversight 🙂

 

[Vince Lupo]

Another one from Gettysburg -- I'm going to try the cameras again this weekend to see if I managed to plug up all these lights leaks once and for all.


Gettysburg Stereo4 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

 

[Vince Lupo]

Shot a quick test roll this morning in the Nil Melior. I think I actually got all the light leaks taken care of, as well as that one side that was slightly out of focus. I had some frame overlap issues, but I think I made some progress.


BWI Trail Stereo Test by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

One from a couple of weeks ago in Jekyll Island -- still had the light leaks in the Heidoscop:


Driftwood Beach Stereo by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

 

[farlymac]

Much improved, Vince.


PF

 

[Vince Lupo]

Much improved, Vince.


PF

Many thanks - I’m really hoping to make a go of this Nil Melior, as it’s such a neat little camera. Hate to say it, but I just ordered another one that needs a bit of TLC (sort of a ‘shelter in place’ project). Different lenses and has a glass plate back, with the original case too.