From corresponding with other German stereo photographers, I learned that he built quite a few stereo cameras for members of the German Stereo Club (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Stereoskopie, DGS, http://www.stereoskopie.org/) and he also maintained them if they needed repairs. All his stereo cameras were made by joining 3 camera models:
- Yashica FX-D
- Yashica FX-103
- Contax 139
In addition to building cameras, he also built a macro attachment. Several people told me that the owners of RBT learned a lot from him and used his designs for their stereo equipment, as for example with the macro attachment. It appears that the RBT company acknowledges this by mentioning that their macro stereo attachment operates by the Ochotta principle.
Another German stereo photographer who responded to my request for information is Peter Wenzig. He wrote: “I knew Fritz very well. He built 3 stereocameras for me, 1 Yashica and 2 Contax. I sold the Yashica a few years ago and now work with the remaining 2 Contax stereos. They are based on the Contax 139, which was the professional version of the Yashica FX-D quartz. I have these watches in operation since 1989 worldwide over and under water and they are working flawlessly. Only very minor maintenance work was needed in the past, but I am able to make all services and repairs on these cameras by my own.”
Following a tip from Sissi Stanek, I found another of Ochotta’s stereo cameras for sale. The seller was Hans-Joachim Rietscher and his sale web site is: http://www.realvision-3d.de/yashicas/
This camera was based on Yashica FX-103 models and was offered with linked Contax 35mm and 85mm, Yashica 50mm lenses, and also the macro stereo attachment and a complete twin camera system based on Yashica 109 cameras, including a 2 meter bar (very professionally made). Hans was accepting offers for the equipment. I made him an offer that he could not refuse so we made a deal and I acquired the entire system.
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