3d photos

[Dan Leithauser]

Michael Stone's post on his "new toy" got me thinking about something I have been looking for.

My grandfather was somewhat of a gadget guy in his day (he died at 88 years in 1970 or so, making him a gadget guy in the 40's and 50's). He passed those genes to his children, and ultimately to me. When both of my grandparents were gone, my parents inherited a couple of things I was quite interested in. Notably, one day, my mother --knowing my interest in photography-- pulled out a box containing a bunch of double slides (slides mounted side by side). These slides go into a "Kodaslide Stereo Viewer II" for viewing... producing a 3D image that can be spectacular.

Lots of slides from Yellowstone, Yosemite, etc. Although some of the slides were scratched or otherwise damaged beyond salvage, it is amazing to me that some of the "Kodachrome" blues stand up to time so well. As examples.... this pictures scanned in only one dimension (!) are over 60 years old.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/37/95330202_678500912c_m.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/35/95329907_4b63446c53.jpg


So, I ask my mother... so this viewer is still working, and we have a box of 3D slides.... WHERE is the camera? "Oh that is long gone". Nooooo..... I did find a couple on the web for over $300....
How I would have loved to have had that original camera. The "new toy" post makes me want to look a bit harder!

Dan Leithauser
Missoula, MT

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

So, I ask my mother... so this viewer is still working, and we have a box of 3D slides.... WHERE is the camera? "Oh that is long gone". Nooooo..... I did find a couple on the web for over $300....
How I would have loved to have had that original camera. The "new toy" post makes me want to look a bit harder!

Hi Dan,

It is also possible to use a different camera system to produce stereo image pairs. I'm sure there is a lot on offer on places like eBay, but one can even make high quality stereo-pairs with a single camera/lens. Even if one doesn't use split mirror/prism contraptions, a single camera with an horizontal offset between subsequent shots can produce amazing results with mostly stationary scenes. In the '70s I made my own stereo slide-viewer from 2 single slide viewers, and the viewing results are still stunning today, so lifelike only frozen in time.

Bart

[Michael_Stones]

Dan: Horseman introduced a 3-D camera two or three years ago that got good reviews in photography magazines. I'd imagine it costs in the $000s though.
Cheers
Mike

[Albert Ramos]

What about a tripod modification to allow two similar 35mm film cameras with similar lenses to be mounted side-by-side and pointed at exactly the same object, the shutters of which would be fired simultaneously. I guess the small difference in position of the cameras could produce that stereo image pair. Does anyone think it's possible to do that? I do remember seeing pictures of such a contraption many, many years ago, but I don't know if the purpose of such a set-up was for 3D pictures.

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

What about a tripod modification to allow two similar 35mm film cameras with similar lenses to be mounted side-by-side and pointed at exactly the same object, the shutters of which would be fired simultaneously. I guess the small difference in position of the cameras could produce that stereo image pair. Does anyone think it's possible to do that? I do remember seeing pictures of such a contraption many, many years ago, but I don't know if the purpose of such a set-up was for 3D pictures.

Yes, that possible and often done with great success. It can be used for stereo imaging or for photogrammetry applications.

Bart

[Grant Campos]

There is a whole community of people who do 3D photography today, using the old Realist, Kodak or other stereo cameras, or even the hand made German RBT 3D film cameras. You can even get new pin registered 3D slide mounts. Fuji is coming out with a dedicated digital 3D camera in September too! 3D is alive and well!

Grant
gccampos @ yahoo.com