2484 before and after

A number of years ago I converted a Nimslo 3D camera into a 35mm panoramic. Last year I decide to do another one but somewhere along the way I got really side tracked. Instead of spending my spare time in the shop working on the Nimslo, I was sitting at my computer, locked to the Internet, studying other types of stereo cameras and wondering if there was something else out there that might be as suitable, or better then the Nimslo for my new conversion project.

 

A great source of information about custom made panoramic cameras and panoramic cameras in general, is Somak Ray’s MAGNORAMA blog. If you’re interested in pan photography I urge you to check out the information Ray has compiled there. I found a bunch of people that were working on the same ideas as I was envisioning and the more I read the more inspiration I got to move forward with my project.

 

The camera I eventually chose to modify was the Wirgin Stereo. The photo above is a before and after shot of the Wirgins to give you an idea of how the camera looked before the modifications were done. Actually, the camera in the background is a Wirgin Edixa Stereo. The Edixa model came with a coupled rangefinder and was Wirgin’s deluxe stereo camera. Most early Wirgin Stereos, like the ones I eventually converted, do not have a rangefinder.

 

The conversion process was a fairly simple operation, once I got started. The reason it took me over a year to complete was that I decided to run a roll of film through the camera before I dismantled it. I’ve been shooting for almost forty years but had never shot any stereos so I couldn’t let the opportunity to try it pass. It shot great pictures for a camera over fifty years old so I shot another roll. Then I bought all the special slide mounts and a few different types of viewers. Then a nice little film cutter made just for 35mm stereos. I was hooked! It was so much fun to shoot and show the stereos slides that I couldn’t bring myself to cut up the camera. So in order to continue with my project, I had to look for another Wirgin and that took time.

 

Done