Stereo Realist

Binocular vision camera (1947–1971)

The Stereo Realist is a stereo camera that was manufactured by the David White Company from 1947 to 1971. It was the most popular 35 mm stereo camera ever manufactured and started the era of popular stereo photography of the mid 20th century.

Seton Rochwite was a camera hobbyist who began designing and building his own stereo cameras in 1929. In 1938, he began working on a version suitable for commercial manufacture. The first prototype was ready in 1940. He brought it to the David White Company of Milwaukee who, interested in the design, hired him in 1943. The company began advertising the "Stereo Realist" in photography magazines in 1945, although it was not produced until late 1947. The David White Company had great success marketing the Stereo Realist system to the public. In addition to the stereo cameras there were special slide viewers, projectors, film cutters, slide mounting aids, cases, and other accessories available. They also offered a stereo slide mounting service. Several camera models were offered over the years, some with premium lenses and features. The basic camera design was shared among all of them. The Stereo Realist system proved so popular that Revere, Bell and Howell, Three Dimension Company (TDC) and Kodak marketed their own cameras using the same format. Some of the competitors' offerings had features that the Realist lacked or were easier to use, and most were less expensive, but none were as popular. The Kodak Stereo Camera in particular, which was both less expensive and easier to use, might have outsold the Realist, had it been released prior to the end of 1954. By the mid 1950s, the public's fascination with stereo imaging was fading, and by 1960 the Stereo Realist was the only stereo camera of the 1950s era that was still manufactured.) became the standard for 3 D slides, and is known as "5P" or "Realist Format". It marked a significant milestone in stereoscopy. The arrangement of images on the film (on cameras where film advances left to right 1R blank 2R 1L 3R 2L 4R ) seemed arbitrary but allowed for a simple film advance mechanism with little film wastage. Because camera lenses invert the image and flip it left to right, orienting the film strip so that the image's "up" is up, and its "left" is to the left, the left eye image of the stereo pair is to the viewer's right (see the included photograph). Note that in the Realist 45 the film cartridge is loaded on the right side of the camera, causing the images to be upside down relative to the numbers. The standard Realist and Kodak Stereo Camera have the cartridge on the left side, so the images have the same orientation as the numbers. The routine for taking a photograph with a Stereo Realist is elaborate, compared to a modern camera. One must lift the lens cover, focus, manually set the aperture and shutter speed, cock the shutter and then take the picture. The wind release button must be depressed briefly while beginning to wind the film to the next frame. The film winding is then completed so that the camera is ready to shoot another pair of images. Later model cameras featured a double exposure button, as well as a depth of field scale on the focusing knob. Many also had red marks on f/6.3, 1/50 and on 20 feet. This was called "The Three R's in Outdoor Stereo Photography" and is based on the then standard ASA 10 color slide film. Earlier cameras lacked these features but they could be added. The double exposure button would have to be installed by the factory, but the depth of field scale and red marks could be added by a dealer or even the camera's owner. Thus, older model Realists are sometimes found with red marks or depth of field scales, but without double exposure buttons. A characteristic of "Stereo Realist" type cameras is that the lenses are at a fixed separation, known as "fixed stereo base", which was slightly more than the average distance between the human eyes. The stereo base was ideal for subjects that were 7 to 20 feet from the camera, which worked well for most pictures but was somewhat lacking for more distant scenic shots. Accessories were available to effectively lengthen the stereo base for scenic shots and reduce it for macro shots, but these were seldom used.

Aside from the standard f/3.5 Realist (a. k. a. ST 41, model 1041) there were several other models.

This model featured four element f/2.8 lenses rather than the three element f/3.5 lenses used by the standard Realist. Most users under normal use will not notice the difference, though the f/3.5 lenses have slightly better contrast. The f/3.5 lenses all show vignetting at smaller apertures whereas the f/2.8 lenses do not. The f/2.8 lenses also work better with supplementary lenses. More recently, the f/2.8 Realists have been favored for 7P widening, because their lenses adequately cover the wider frame whereas the f/3.5 lenses cannot.

The Realist Custom features higher quality f/2.8 "rare earth" lenses. It also has a higher quality brushed satin chrome
finish and larger knobs. The Custom used thicker coarse grain kangaroo leather rather than the standard goat leather used on other models. The rangefinder has detents that make audible clicks as the camera is focused. The exposure counter counts down rather than up, with red marks at stereo exposure numbers 16 (for 20 exposure rolls) and 29 (for 36 exposure rolls). The Custom model has an engraved name plate reading "Realist Custom". The Custom had other refinements. Only the finest parts were used for Customs and the "rare earth" lenses were more precisely matched than on other cameras.

The Realist 45 is a stripped down version of the German made Iloca Stereo Rapid, without the rangefinder and self timer. It was marketed by Realist Inc. in the U. S., apparently as an economical, easy to use camera to compete with the Kodak Stereo Camera. Though the design is clearly different, the Realist 45 has several features in common with the Kodak Stereo Camera. It features an automatically cocked shutter. There is built in double exposure prevention with manual override. There is also a film type indicator on top. Aperture settings are on a ring mounted on the left lens, ranging from f/3.5 to f/16 with all whole f stops marked. The shutter speed is set by a ring mounted on the right lens and includes B, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100 and 1/200. Printing on the bottom includes loading instructions, flash exposure table, (both based on ASA 10 film) and suggestions for common focus settings. This was more versatile when it was released because it allowed using most contemporary flash accessories, These were similar in appearance to regular model 1042 cameras, but had a sticker on the name plate with the Olden company name. Because they were made out of left over parts, including parts intended for Custom Realists, they had a variable combination of features from both Model 1042 and Model 1050 cameras. It was invented by Clarence G. Henning. Unlike the regular Realist, it had fixed focus and fixed aperture. In many stereo slide collections there are Kodak mounted slides with handwritten dates from 1956 to 1957, as well as Kodak mounts with embossed dates from 1958 to 1971 and later. This suggests that it was actually the Realist slide mounting service that ended in 1955, as no Realist mounted slides after that date seem to exist. Kodak maintained its stereo slide mounting service into the late 1980s. There are still some companies which can process and mount stereo slides, mostly through mail order. After the David White Company got out of the stereo photography business, a company called Sigma continued to make Realist style aluminum masks without Realist branding until the supply of semi rigid aluminum dried up. These were sold by companies such as Reel 3D Enterprises well into the 1980s. Other slide mounting options are still available. For example, the cardboard Spicer Mounts. Supplies are generally available from stereo photography clubs, eBay or mail order companies. Realist photographers today usually mount the slides themselves. They have the film commercially developed and returned as an uncut strip.

The Stereo Realist was designed to use slide film. Although it is possible to use print film in it, it has never been easy to find labs that could properly print 5P format prints. Users who do not do their own film processing but which have their own 35mm film scanner and a computer with photo editing software such as Photoshop or GIMP can have their negatives returned uncut (lab dependent) and can prepare the images for printing on standard size photo paper themselves. Slide film is no longer as commonly available as it once was. Slide film remained popular for general non stereo uses through the 1980s, and as late as 2005 at least one type of slide film was available at most places that sold print film. By the end of 2006 the picture had changed and slide film became difficult to find. For general consumers, slides were replaced with technologies such as video camcorders and photo CDs (bundled with a set of prints). Film itself, both slide and print, was made scarce by digital photography. Slide film remains available as a professional and enthusiast product, and is available from camera stores and through mail order. Most vintage stereo slides were taken on Kodachrome slide film. Kodachrome was popular with stereo photographers because it had better color reproduction compared to other transparency films available at the time (such as Anscochrome) and low grain (especially in the Kodachrome 10 ASA film, which was standard in the early 1950s, and the last laboratory stopped developing it at the end of 2010. Other slide films are still available and can be used. Primarily Ektachrome, Velvia, and Provia still being available in the 2020s.

Digital photography is changing the stereo photography market. Stereo photographers have always been keen experimenters, and many are now using two digital cameras and projecting stereo using data projectors and polarizing lenses. With the recent popularity of 3D movies, 3D televisions and 3D computer gaming, there has been a renewed interest in stereo photography. Consumer stereo digital cameras are starting to appear on the market (such as the Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W1 and its successor, the W3), but have yet to become as well known as the Stereo Realist in its day, though the Fuji W3 has already outsold the Stereo Realist, and is expected to outsell all the 1950s stereo cameras combined by September 2011.

There are still dedicated Stereo Realist camera users, and active stereo photography clubs around the world.

RadioShack's hi fi brand "Realistic" was originally "Realist" at its 1954 launch, but was renamed due to the camera maker's prior claim on the trademark. The "Stereo Realist" trademark is currently registered to John J. Zelenka and is currently in use as a 3D production and services company located in New York.

Leo Villa, mechanic for Sir Malcolm and Donald Campbell's record breaking Bluebirds, was given a Stereo Realist by Campbell in 1955. Many of his photographs with it have recently been published in book form as polychromatic anaglyphs (i. e., single composite photographs viewed through colored viewing glasses). Harold Lloyd took thousands of stereo slides with his Realist and wrote the introduction to the Stereo Realist Manual published by Morgan and Lester. He also took several of the stereo pictures used in that book. Many of his pictures of Hollywood celebrities were published in the book 3D Hollywood and in Hollywood Nudes in 3 D!.