stereo photography is dead?

Pherdinand

Pherdinand

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sorry for the clickbait title🙂)
I have recently been looking into this direction.
Somehow it seems "nobody is doing it" anymore.
I do see a lot of old stereo images, viewers and even cameras popping up for sale but nobody seems to currently be doing it in my circle of acquaintances (which includes you!)
So what happened? did it just go out of fashion mid-20th century??

Is here anyone who does/did it?

A more gearhead question. What are decent viewers for 6x13 sized stereo slides and/or prints without breaking the bank on a vintage collectible stuff?
Are the cheaper frame-on-a-stick type antique viewers any good? the ones which have some binocular-like construction on one end of a stick and a frame for stereo photos on the other end of the stick, all open frame?
Is there any caveat with viewers?


I never made a stereo image yet. i just have bought a 6x13 heidoscop with a rollfilm back so i want to look into viewers as well otherwise i will stay crosseyed.
Any advice? Any stories?
 
I am still doing it. Of course, I do, though I take the easiest way.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/accessoryreviews/pentax-stereo-adapter-49mm-52mm.html

Attachment fits on the front of (generally) my Pentax 50/1.4, shoot transparencies, view with the Pentax viewer. Using it on a dedicated Contax 139Q with M42 adapter, so, bright viewfinder, auto exposure, just focus and shoot. Easy peasy.
I generally use it for occasional pix of family on trips, and everyday things around the home, keeping a slowly growing collection of slides in a separate box stored with the viewer. After I am long gone, it might be something a little different for my daughter to browse through. For those who grew up looking at dinosaurs through a Viewmaster, this is much nicer due to the larger size of the images.
It’s not art, but few things are more fun than a 3D chrome.
Did I mention it was easy?
 
I always wondered the same thing. You would think 3D would be more popular, especially with technology making it easier to process and view.

I went through a 3D period a while ago. I shot with a Kiev stereo attachment on a vintage Contax, and also shot with a Stereo Realist a lot. The latter is a great camera, actually, and I was always surprised there was not much interest in them. I shot slide film with this camera, sometimes using a flash, and then mounting the images into half-frame slide mounts and making mini-stereo viewers. I also used Photoshop to make green/red images from these shots, printing them and making little cardboard viewers.
 
I got really excited about stereo photography because of the 3D show at LACMA. I never knew that stereographs could be so clear and “present.”
 
If you're looking to get into stereo photography, this is a great time to buy gear. Stereo Realists are going cheap these days. You can pick up a Belplasca for less than $150, they used to start at around $600 and they always needed a CLA. My favorite was always the Belplasca, followed by a 2.8 Realist, then a 3.5 Realist. Reveres are loved by many, as are Kin-Dars, Kodaks and TDCs. Avoid Ilocas, Fed-Boys, Realist 45s, and whatever you do don't go down the Viewmaster path! Viewmaster made a whole set-up to make your own reels, but the cutter hasn't been produced since the 50s and the reels are very difficult to come by. Also, it's just a huge pain in the *ss that delivers mediocre results.

As far as viewers, the Realist red button is pretty much the easiest to find and the best bang for your buck. I use a TDC viewer most of the time, but they are rare and more expensive. The modern ones(like the Van Ekeren) are amazing but very expensive and out of production. The Realist white button is a piece of junk, but the black button is a coveted collectors item.

I have tried the new digital stereo cameras(FujiW3?) but it isn't the same. Looking at a Kodachrome slide through a red button viewer is glorious, whereas looking at a digital file isn't.

If I were just starting out, I would find Dr.T on the internet and buy a camera from him. He reconditions stereo cameras and sells them fairly cheaply.
edit--Oh yeah, avoid those beam splitters for SLRs. The results will turn you off to stereo photography pretty quickly.
 
I did a bunch of 3D about a decade ago. I enjoyed it, making cards in the American conventional size for Holmes type ("frame on a stick") viewers.

I bought lenses and viewers from Berezin ( http://www.berezin.com/3d/ ), who still seem to be around and still lists lenses for homemade viewers.
 
A long time ago I dabbled in stereo landscapes using the so called Cha cha technique. Shoot a slide, take a step sideways and shoot another. My viewer was a couple of those inexpensive plastic ones you held up to the light. They were held together with a heavy elastic band. Insert slides in appropriate sides and hold up to your eyes for some amazing 3D. Some suggestions, try to pick a scene with nothing in the close foreground, and nothing that moves, like waves.
Long base 3D is sometimes referred to as hyper 3D and gives a greater sense of depth than eye width 3D.
I have memories of getting the slides in the wrong order L-R reversed. Ouch, eye and brain strain.

Several years ago I got around to trying digital Cha Cha stereo. The two image files were combined into a single file a 3D plasma TV could handle.
Seemed to work, but was limited in subjects because of the separate exposures at slightly different times.

GoPro at one time made a special case that took two cameras connected together for shooting 3D stills and video.

Glenn
 
Not sure if the 3D Nimslo type cameras fall under the stereo umbrella, but they’re very popular with the instagram crowd these days. that kind of photography is alive and kicking.
 
I have a Kin-dar and a Stereo Realist 3.5. I print side by side on 4x6 print paper and use an OWL stereo viewer from the London Stereoscopic Co. (Brian May’s company). The OWL is good for viewing digital side by side images on an iPad or smartphone as well.
 
Joe Jesus said:
Not sure if the 3D Nimslo type cameras fall under the stereo umbrella, but they’re very popular with the Instagram crowd these days. that kind of photography is alive and kicking.
Click to expand...

Yes, the Nimslo and the Nishika 3D cameras go for crazy money, with the hipsters buying them up.

The Nishika is especially crazy, since it truly is a poor example of design and execution. For example: 1) the oversized plastic case has a bar of metal within, whose sole purpose is to make the camera feel more substantial; 2) it has a fake LCD panel on top, whose fake LCD print simply serves as a reminder of the fixed focus distance; 3) the flash hot shoe has an additional contact (as for dedicated auto-exposure) -- that doesn't connect to anything inside the camera; 4) lenses are plastic, and my own test shots convinced me it wasn't worth using; 5) the wind mechanism feels like it might break at any moment; 6) after rewinding the film, the next operation of the wind lever should be a single, deliberate stroke -- which un-sets the rewind button -- otherwise, the mechanism may lock up. Various fiddling got mine free without surgery, but, I don't know if others will be so lucky.

My Nishika was worth the $10 I paid, and they may possibly be worth the $30 I think they were, new. They routinely sell for $150-200 on eBay. Some users appreciate the Nishika's 3 weather-icon selectable apertures.

Today, I was out with my Nimslo, making my first serious attempt at getting some keeper people shots with it. It is a much better camera than the Nishika. Glass lenses, more compact and solid. But, exposure is program mode, so, I could not employ a generic flash for outdoor fill.

After scanning, the 4 frames are to be combined in an animation editor, and saved as an animated GIF. This is what the Instagrammers are after. Hopefully, I'll have some to show off, here. Gotta order a C41 kit from Freestyle.

I have a Stereo Realist. Not sure if/when it will get used. I do intend to one day try my bakelite, stereo Sputnik, the only production stereo camera to use 120 film, I believe.
 
Pherdinand said:
Wwfloyd do u mean the sputnik is still in production?!
Or you mean ever? There were some more, decades ago
Click to expand...

Well, I meant ever, with allowance for possibly being wrong. I was wary of speaking in absolutes. You got me curious, so, I re-Googled for the source of my assertion. Ah... "for the mass market":

"It is a twin lens reflex stereo camera made from bakelite that was the only medium format stereo camera produced for the mass market and so it is fairly easy to find."


http://www.analogadvocates.com/page/sputnik
 
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