For the Digital Stereo Photographer

Body Z-Mount for Samsung NX1000/NX1100 cameras - 72mm version - use for stereo 3d photography

The first picture shows what you will get. The rest are just for information.

Offered for sale here is a mount to hold a pair of Samsung NX1000/1100 (also, NX2000) cameras in the z-configuration (one camera upside down, to bring the lenses closer together) for stereo photography. The spacing of the cameras with this mount is 72mm. 

You do not need to modify the cameras in any way to use this mount!

Note: In addition to this mount, you need a way to fire these cameras together. I sell cords/cables for this purpose, and other related accessories.  Please see my other ebay items (search for "Samsung").

More details about this mount:

This is an ingenious mount that “grabs” the cameras from the lens mounts, with one camera oriented upside down to bring the lenses closer together. This configuration is known as z-mount. Traditional z-mounts hold the cameras from the tripod sockets. This mount is unique and it is designed for the Samsung cameras where the lens mount sticks out from body of the camera, as seen in this picture:

Features of the body-mount and comparison with traditional z-mounts:

• The mount is lightweight and the resulting rig looks like a stereo camera.
• The cameras are held perfectly aligned and cannot be misaligned by accident (something that can happen in traditional z-mounts).
• The spacing of the cameras is fixed (68mm with lugs removed or 72mm with lugs in place) and the lenses cannot be converged (maybe only by a small mount).
• Some thick lenses will not work (the diameter of lens, at the thickest point, must be smaller than the spacing of the cameras). In practice this is not an issue except for some specialty lenses (60mm macro for example, or long lenses that are normally better used with side-by-side cameras).
• The mount has a tripod socket located a bit forward, balancing the cameras with lenses nicely.
• The tripod sockets of the camera and flash contacts are free. 
• To attach the cameras, you must first remove the camera lenses (in traditional z-mounts you do not need the remove the lenses). You should be careful not to lose the Hex key for the mount screws. Without the key, you cannot remove or attach the cameras. No key is needed for traditional z-mounts.

Currently the body-mount is made for two NX1000 camera spacings: 68 mm, this requires that the lugs on the “short side” of the cameras (the side closer to the lens) are removed. 72mm, the lugs can be left in place. I sell both on ebay.

How to attach the cameras to the mount:

Instructions by the German manufacturer are included with the mount, but here is my summary.

1. Remove the lenses from the cameras.
2. Line up the cameras and mount as shown in the pictures. Note that the mount has two openings to provide access to the lens-removing buttons. Also, the mount has a tripod socket at the bottom. This helps orient the mount correctly.
3. Insert each camera to the mount and flush the mount to the camera bodies.
4. Align the cameras: With the cameras attached and the mount loose, there is a bit of freedom to move (pivot) the cameras up and down with respect to each other, sliding over the edge. One intuitively might think that the camera bodies should be aligned. But this is not the case, because the lenses are offset by 3mm with respect to the camera body. The cameras are approximately aligned when the bottom of each camera is flushed with the edge of the mount. This results in a slight offset of the cameras, where the right camera sits 3mm lower than the left camera. This is shown in a picture here. So, to align the cameras, rotate them so that the bottoms are aligned with the mount. It helps if you lay them on a hard surface (like a table). You can also put a line (with white marker for the black body or black marker for the white body) to mark 3mm below the bottom of the left camera and align the top of the right camera to this mark.
5. After the cameras are aligned, tighten the two screws using the provided 2.5mm Allen (Hex) key.

WARNING: Do not over-tighten the screws! Use only slight hand pressure. This is enough to hold the cameras. 

If you attach the lenses and turn on both cameras you will notice that the images in the screen are aligned, even though the cameras (and the screens) are not aligned (as we discussed, the cameras are off by 3mm and the screens are off by 8mm because the screen is off set in the opposite diction with the respect to the lens). That’s because the image is offset with respect to the screen (the space is taken up by the line with shutter speed/shutter and exposure compensation information). This is shown here:

This alignment is good enough for most practical purposes. Any slight errors will be corrected by StereoPhoto Maker (note: slight vertical alignment errors can be corrected, gross errors should be avoided). If you want near perfect alignment, you can use the standard 20-50mm, zoom the lenses at 50mm and observe that the same object is “cut” in the upper and lower edge of the screen in both cameras (check both top and bottom because the lenses might not be matched perfectly at this end). If they are not aligned, loosen the screws slightly and move the cameras to improve the alignment.

One last observation: Since the mount extends by 3mm above the camera's top, some flash units will not fit, if there is not enough clearance from the flash shoe to the flash body. From my two favorite compact flash units, the Nikon SB-30 fits without a problem, while the Fujifilm EF-X20 does not fit. For the units that do not fit, you can use a flash adapter, to raise the flash higher.

To remove the cameras from the mount:

- Remove the lenses
- Loosen the two screws
- Pull the cameras out

In summary, the camera body mount is very simple and guarantees good and stable alignment. I am personally attracted to the functionality and simplicity of this mount. With the Samsung NX1000 cameras I am mainly interested in their minimum spacing. Variable spacing close to the normal spacing is not an attractive option for me. If I want a wider spacing, I will switch to the side-by-side configuration. The body mount takes very little space and weighs next to nothing. It has smooth edges so it will not damage other objects next to it. Even though I have made my own (traditional) z-mount, I now use the body mount exclusively.

In terms of cost, z-mounts can be expensive since if they are custom-made. The body-mount is manufactured in Germany using computer controlled milling. The material is some kind of plastic/composite (not metal). It seems to have sufficient mechanical strength to hold the cameras without a problem.

I would be interested to hear feedback from users of this mount.

Regarding the use of Samsung NX cameras for stereo photography, I have written several blogs (see: http://drt3d.blogspot.com/search?q=samsung). Here is a summary from my point of view and why I have fallen in love with these cameras:

• Lenses come very close together in the z-configuration.
• Good synchronization (1-2ms), including flash.
• Uncomplicated pairing and use of flash
• Large APS-C sensor and RAW files (I use JPEG myself)
• Inexpensive bodies and large variety of lenses (not only Samsung but also 3rd party NX lenses and vintage lenses with inexpensive NX adapters - crop ratio is 1.5x)

Compared to the Fuji W3 stereo camera, I see the following advantages:

• Stereo base closer to normal.
• Better image quality, especially in low light.
• Can use different lenses.
• Better flash (compared to Fuji’s internal flash).
• Can be fired with a wireless remote. (This is possible with the Fuji but only after modification.)
• Can be easily converted for shooting side-by-side for increased stereo base.

Of course, it also has disadvantages:

• Larger and heavier (but relatively compact and lightweight for the size of the sensors)
• A lot of things can go wrong when dealing with two cameras.
• Processing of the stereo pairs is more time-consuming.

If you have any questions regarding this mount or the use of Samsung NX cameras for stereo photography, drop me a note. I am always happy to discuss this and anything related to stereo photography.

Please see my other auctions for similar items

If you want me to combine shipments, wait until all the auctions close and then request an invoice.  I do not require immediate payment for fixed price items, so if you want to buy fixed price items, add them to your shopping cart and then request an invoice (it is a button hiding somewhere at the top right of the page).  If you pay for something, I have to ship within 24 hours.

My only "fine print": If you have a problem with your purchase, please let me know as soon as possible and I will try to make it right.  Please do not leave non-positive feedback (including neutral) or anything less than 5 star rating without contacting me first.  I will do my best to resolve any problems. I accept returns for most of the items that I sell. I always leave positive feedback.  I appreciate your business and I hope to see you back!