Can anyone please give me some information about the feasibility of
setting up two Mamiya TLR (C220)cameras (or even RB67) for use as a MF
3d rig? If so, any advice on construction would be most appreciated.
tarentaal

> Can anyone please give me some information about the feasibility of
> setting up two Mamiya TLR (C220)cameras (or even RB67)

Two RB67s would be an ENORMOUS rig. You'd be mistaken for a two camera video shoot.
Do you have an assistant to help carry the gear around?

The Mamiya TLRs would also make for a cumbersome rig. I think the C220s are quite a bit
lighter than other cameras in that series. I never shot with two Mamiya TLRs although I
researched the idea for years. The big advantage of the Mamiyas is that you can use
different focal length lenses. I've read that the 180mm lenses are great for portraits, and
I'd enjoy experimenting with that in stereo. Bear in mind that these cameras and lenses
were manufactured for over 30 years. You'll want to try to get pairs of lenses from the
same period, as not all Mamiya TLR lenses of a given focal length will have the same
number of elements or coatings etc. My impression is that at this point the way you repair
a defective shutter in one of these lenses is to simply buy another one, so you might want
to consider getting spares.

If all you want to do is shoot with normal (80mm) lenses I would suggest looking into
twinning Minolta Autochords. I have done a lot of shooting with twinned Yashica Mat 124
TLRs. The YashicaMats have great optics but a crappy shutter design,so avoid those.
There are a lot of subjects that work well with the wider stereo base you get with twin
cameras. I had a lot of fun shooting scenics with a slightly hyper base. I think you'll find
that a standard double cable release will work well once you get used to it. I used to
calibrate my twin release by slowly pushing the plunger in. Once I got the shutters to fire
simultaneously this way I found I could get useable sync at 1/250 most of the time.

Given the way prices for this gear are falling other viable alternatives now include the
Bronica SQ and GS1 SLRs. The GS1s look like their shutters could easily be synced
electronically, but I've never found anyone who has tried this.

Here's a website with a lot of information about the Mamiya TLR system.

http://www.williamsphotographic.com/ocr/mf/mamtlr.html

Jim Harp

Tarentall,

I don't have any data, but this beast will weigh a ton once you have it put together!

 

Mamiya TLR rigging for MF3d

Posted by: "tarentaal" a-r-currie@clear.net.nz   tarentaal

Tue Feb 6, 2007 11:34 am (PST)

Dr. Kevin Pernicano
Louisville, KY, USA (Home of the Kentucky Derby)

---

Cheap Talk? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates.

Jim
Thank you very much for the thoughts. I was aware that it would be
heavy but what is that to someone who is keen! It was more the
shutter synching that I was worried about. I have two Mamiya C220's
and a double cable release and it would seem that this could be a
goer. I was alo wondering about getting the images exactly in
register. If one camera shifted slightly then register would be off
but I suppose one could mount the transparency accordingly. (You can
see I am new at this - I bought a Stereo Realist a month ago not
ever having heard before of stereo photography for the layman and
now I am hooked!) I will keep on trying.
Thank you again,
Tarentaal

--- In MF3D-group@yahoogroups.com, "jamesbharp" wrote:
>
>
> > Can anyone please give me some information about the feasibility
of
> > setting up two Mamiya TLR (C220)cameras (or even RB67)
>
> Two RB67s would be an ENORMOUS rig. You'd be mistaken for a two
camera video shoot.
> Do you have an assistant to help carry the gear around?
>
> The Mamiya TLRs would also make for a cumbersome rig. I think the
C220s are quite a bit
> lighter than other cameras in that series. I never shot with two
Mamiya TLRs although I
> researched the idea for years. The big advantage of the Mamiyas
is that you can use
> different focal length lenses. I've read that the 180mm lenses
are great for portraits, and
> I'd enjoy experimenting with that in stereo. Bear in mind that
these cameras and lenses
> were manufactured for over 30 years. You'll want to try to get
pairs of lenses from the
> same period, as not all Mamiya TLR lenses of a given focal length
will have the same
> number of elements or coatings etc. My impression is that at this
point the way you repair
> a defective shutter in one of these lenses is to simply buy
another one, so you might want
> to consider getting spares.
>
> If all you want to do is shoot with normal (80mm) lenses I would
suggest looking into
> twinning Minolta Autochords. I have done a lot of shooting with
twinned Yashica Mat 124
> TLRs. The YashicaMats have great optics but a crappy shutter
design,so avoid those.
> There are a lot of subjects that work well with the wider stereo
base you get with twin
> cameras. I had a lot of fun shooting scenics with a slightly
hyper base. I think you'll find
> that a standard double cable release will work well once you get
used to it. I used to
> calibrate my twin release by slowly pushing the plunger in. Once
I got the shutters to fire
> simultaneously this way I found I could get useable sync at 1/250
most of the time.
>
> Given the way prices for this gear are falling other viable
alternatives now include the
> Bronica SQ and GS1 SLRs. The GS1s look like their shutters could
easily be synced
> electronically, but I've never found anyone who has tried this.
>
> Here's a website with a lot of information about the Mamiya TLR
system.
>
> http://www.williamsphotographic.com/ocr/mf/mamtlr.html
>
> Jim Harp
>

Regarding twinning Mamiya TLRs Tarentaal wrote:

>If one camera shifted slightly then register would be off
>but I suppose one could mount the transparency accordingly.

As long as you have the cameras solidly mounted on a sturdy bar I don't think this will be
a problem. You'll want to carefully study the waist level finders to make sure the cameras
are matched as closely as possible in their mounting. It's annoying to get film back and
discover that one camera was aimed at a different angle and missed some of the shot.
There will probably still be some discrepancy between the images the two cameras record,
but you'll have lots of extra image space to crop and adjust when mounting the slides.

I suggest practicing with the twin cable release and the two cameras with no film in. Just
keep recocking the shutters and firing. if you spread the two cameras 7 inches apart and
get close your ears will tell you how accurately the shutters are matching. You can also
try longer exposures, where shutter sync isn't such an issue.

Jim Harp