I just got my new Freestyle catalog and I see on p. 81 that Holga's selling "35mm" "Stereo 3D Slide Mounts". They look like plastic panoramic mounts. Has anyone used these mounts? Are they the same size as the 3D Stereo mounts?
Thanks,
Steve

On 4/16/2012 5:43 PM, coronet3d wrote:

> I just got my new Freestyle catalog and I see on p. 81 that Holga's selling "35mm" "Stereo 3D Slide Mounts". They look like plastic panoramic mounts. Has anyone used these mounts? Are they the same size as the 3D Stereo mounts?

You have a couple of choices with these mounts. You can run
screaming from the room, or you can ask the seller to stop
offering them and then run from the room.

Don't use them. Don't buy them. Don't even buy them as a
curiosity. They serve no purpose in stereo imaging. I spent
my money to learn what they are. There is no need for you to
do the same.

What I have said before about these mounts:

> . . . in 2008 Holga released two plastic mounts to accompany their two new stereo cameras. Thankfully, Holga did not introduce another mount size, but made theirs 80x140mm. Holga’s mounts are offered with two different aperture sizes:
> 52×52
> 52×23
>
> Both of these models are 3.3mm thick, and are held together with six 2mm pins in addition to a trough & groove arrangement. The square apertures are spaced at 65mm and the mounts are marked “HOLGA 3DSM-120″. The panoramic apertures are spaced at 66mm and the mounts are marked “HOLGA 3DSM-135″. While similar in external appearance to the new 3D World mounts, they are fundamentally flawed. Even if the moldings were accurately made (which they are not), Holga has recreated the design defects of the first-edition 3D World mounts. The spacing of the apertures means that anything mounted in them will be forced in front of the stereo window. It will be impossible to do precision mounting in the the Holga mounts and they are not recommended.

http://stereo.thurstons.us/content/?page_id=168
________________________________________
John Thurston
Juneau, Alaska
http://stereo.thurstons.us

But they are the only manufacturer of panoramic mounts? I used the original 3D World mounts and didn't have too much trouble with them. I still use them when I want more image area.
Steve

coronet3d wrote:

> But they are the only manufacturer of panoramic mounts? I used the original 3D World mounts and didn't have too much trouble with them. I still use them when I want more image area.

They may be the only option in town, but they are crap.
Even if the moldings were accurately made (which they are
not), their aperture spacing would still make them crap. The
front and back halves don't mate accurately, and the two
halves don't stay together. Really, they are crap.

Honestly. You would get better results cutting your own
mounts from a soggy cereal box with a pair of rusty
scissors. Start with some cardboard and an x-acto knife and
you'd be miles ahead.
--
John "Holga mounts are crap" Thurston
Juneau Alaska
http://stereo.thurstons.us