Stereo Realist f3.5 vs. Kodak Stereo camera

[Patrick]

Just wondering which of these two 35mm stereo cameras offers the best overall optical quality - the Stereo Realist with f3.5 lenses or the Kodak Stereo camera? I know that the Stereo Realist with f2.8 lenses does have the edge over the f3.5 version but very few appear on eBay and those that do gets heaps of bids and go for more money than I'd like to spend.

Unfortunately, the Stereo Realist does suffer from vignetting at small apertures whereas the Kodak Stereo camera does not. The Stereo Realist also has some diffraction issues at small apertures though I have no idea how the Kodak Stereo camera's lenses fare in that regard. However, the annoying thing I find about the Kodak Stereo camera is that I hear that a lot of them have shutter problems, including the one that I bought from eBay.

[super8man]

While I cannot comment on the Kodak model (other than John Wayne promoted that camera), I have the Realist with the 3.5 lenses and it's basically bulletproof. I have not noticed vignetting and optically am very pleased with the results. I would not over think it, just get one and start shooting.

Cheers,
Mike