Anyone who has ever viewed 35mm stereo must have been impressed with how realistic everything looked. That probably is why one of the most well-known brands of stereo cameras was named, "Realistic." I would like to own one of the old stereo cameras, but it seems that branch of photography has all but perished. Leica used to have a stereo attachment. Anyone ever use it? What killed stereo?

-- Frank Horn (owlhoot45@hotmail.com), December 01, 2001

Answers

I have a Pentax stereo attachment and viewer that works on any SLR with a 50mm lens at about f5.6 to f8.0. Had lots of fun with it over the years, but haven't used it in a while. People look especially 3D when shot from about 3 feet away with a distant backround. I did some of the cliche shots like at the rim of the Grand Canyon. The viewers are a bit clumsy to use and not everyone can get their eyes to focus right to get the 3D affect. I sold those silly Nimslo 3D cameras back in the early 1980's with the funky 3 D prints, but they didn't give a realistic image in my opinion. Stereo cameras rank right up there with panoramic cameras in that they can give very interesting results, but are limited in their application.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), December 01, 2001.

Stereo is moribund as a general photo tool because VIEWING is usually so complicated - glasses and double projectors or viewers or plastic- lens coated prints.

Stereo is very much alive in some sciences - Astronomy and esp. geology/geography for mapping purposes. Run a web search on ANAGLYPHS - Here's a sample of the kinds of things you'll find - including places that sell the red/ blue glasses for viewing.

You can make your own computer anaglyphs using Photoshop. First get two images that make a stereo pair - for non-moving subjects you can just shoot two frames with ANY camera, moving the camera sideways about 2-4 inches between shots. Scan them as two separate color files and then cut the RED channel from one image and use it to replace the RED channel in the other image and save the result - it will look like these samples and show stereo with the color glasses - right on the computer screen - but also printable with a color printer.

Nat. Geo. ran some anaglyphic pictures from the recent Mars landing where the little tank thingy roamed around the surface - and also some taken of the Titanic's remains - a couple of years ago. They provided cardboard red/blue glasses bound into the magazine, which is where I got mine.

I've also made small double side-by side prints (and computer images) that can be viewed without a 'viewer' - ++IF++ you're good at crossing your eyes so that you can superimpose the left image (seen with the left eye) on top of the right image (see with the right eye).

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), December 01, 2001.

Dear Frank, Short of procuring an extremely rare Leica stereo slide bar,Stereoly or Stemar system, for about $15 and a little experimentation you can achieve 18 high quality Leica stereo images.Using a tripod mounted camera loaded with transparency film and a 35mm. or 50mm. lens shoot your two consecutive images from 2" to 4" apart as Andy suggests.The two mounted images are dropped into a pair of plastic slide viewers and of course viewed simultaneously. My viewers are joined with a swivelling hinge.The resulting image is more exciting than you would think and comes easier to photogragh with a little practice. Regards,Sheridan Zantis.

-- Sheridan Zantis (albada60@hotmail.com), December 01, 2001.

Andy,

Funny we have been experimenting on the same subject with similar tools. I have been photoshopping some test shots I did with a vintage Stereo Realist, too. I didn't exchange channels (BTW don't you lose your correct tonal information, that way?), but rather transformed the entire views to monochromes of a hue I chose according to the viewers at my disposal which were red/green. I then sandwiched the results as two layers and flattened the image after aligning the areas in focus. I'm posting a sample for everybody out there with similar viewers to check out the effect. Just in case, two filters (one red for the left eye, one green for the right eye) will do the same for you.< BR>


For stereo viewing prints (b&w as well as color), printed side by side, there are also give-away plastic prism viewers which help you to cross your eyes. Have fun.

-- Lutz Konermann (lutz@konermann.net), December 02, 2001.

Frank

I remember the old "Viewmaster" system (?8 mm) which indeed was very realistic. Leica provided stereo attachments and viewers back in the days when they still considered the Leica rangefinder as the universal system. First, there was the Stereoly attachment that went in front of the camera lens to split the image with a special viewer (I think "Natra") required to decipher the double image. The stereoly system was made in the 1930s in not very large numbers, with slightly different versions suitable for camera models A and C. A useable stereoly would probably cost about $ 1000 or so.

Later (the 1950s) Leitz introduced the Stemar system, which included a double 33 mm lens unit, a special viewfinder, a special lenshood, and a close-up attachment (for subjects less than 10 ft away). Stemars were made by Leitz, Midland Canada, in BM and SM versions. All Stemars are very rare, prices starting at $ 6000 or so.

However, your expenses don't stop there. The plastic viewer for the Stemar (OTHEO) with battery housing will probably cost $ 1000-1500 if you could ever find one. Alternatively, Leitz made several stereo lenses suitable for use on older projectors (eg., IMPUOO), all very rare, in the $ 2000-2500 range.

Unfortunately, none of the old Leitz stereo systems can be obtained at anything approaching a reasonable price, so if you are interested in testing stereo equipment, Leitz is not practical. Hope this is helpful.

-- Eliot (erosen@lij.edu), December 02, 2001.