louis
Member
For those of you who want to try a different way of rangefinder photography, I reccommend a rangefinder focusing 35mm stereo camera.
If you're sick of hearing about German, Russian or Japanese cameras, you'll be interested to hear that the finest stereo cameras were made right here in the good old USA!
Recently, a German company RBT has been making a good business custom joining 2 35mm SLRs into 1 stereo camera.
In my opinion, other than the RBTs, these two are the finest stereo cameras ever made.
1. The Stereo Realist with f2.8 4 element tessar-type 35mm lenses and a whopping 123mm rangefinder base! (is this the widest base for a 35mm camera?) Top shutter speed 1/200. Built like a tank with a leather covered cast aluminum body by Alcoa, had provision for intentional double exposures and even had an early hot shoe! Most are now over 50 years old and still in regular use. Some had Ektar lenses, some had German lenses. The last version, introduced in 1960 as the Custom Realist, had Kangaroo leather covering!
2. Wollensak Stereo 10
Made by Revere, also had 4 element f2.7 35mm tessar Wollensak lenses. It was slightly more deluxe than the Realist, brushed aluminum finish, with a top shutter speed of 1/300, and a bubble level built right into the viewfinder. Rangefinder base was a generous 74mm. Also had a leather covered cast aluminum body. This one is rarer than the Realist, so it commands a higher price.
They use regular 35mm slide film, you'll have to mount them yourself in stereo mounts which are still readily available, and your pictures will be far, far better than those taken with the Leica, Zeiss, Zorki or Kiev stereo adapter. Both the Realist and Wollensak-Revere also had high quality stereo slide viewers.
The cameras and viewers from both these manufacturers were not only fine tools but beautifully designed and finished; they'd look good in a display case.
If you're sick of hearing about German, Russian or Japanese cameras, you'll be interested to hear that the finest stereo cameras were made right here in the good old USA!
Recently, a German company RBT has been making a good business custom joining 2 35mm SLRs into 1 stereo camera.
In my opinion, other than the RBTs, these two are the finest stereo cameras ever made.
1. The Stereo Realist with f2.8 4 element tessar-type 35mm lenses and a whopping 123mm rangefinder base! (is this the widest base for a 35mm camera?) Top shutter speed 1/200. Built like a tank with a leather covered cast aluminum body by Alcoa, had provision for intentional double exposures and even had an early hot shoe! Most are now over 50 years old and still in regular use. Some had Ektar lenses, some had German lenses. The last version, introduced in 1960 as the Custom Realist, had Kangaroo leather covering!
2. Wollensak Stereo 10
Made by Revere, also had 4 element f2.7 35mm tessar Wollensak lenses. It was slightly more deluxe than the Realist, brushed aluminum finish, with a top shutter speed of 1/300, and a bubble level built right into the viewfinder. Rangefinder base was a generous 74mm. Also had a leather covered cast aluminum body. This one is rarer than the Realist, so it commands a higher price.
They use regular 35mm slide film, you'll have to mount them yourself in stereo mounts which are still readily available, and your pictures will be far, far better than those taken with the Leica, Zeiss, Zorki or Kiev stereo adapter. Both the Realist and Wollensak-Revere also had high quality stereo slide viewers.
The cameras and viewers from both these manufacturers were not only fine tools but beautifully designed and finished; they'd look good in a display case.
