1951 Kodak Realist 3D camera
Fascinating how he finds all the weird 3D related stuff that we might have overlooked. Usually it has to do with futuristic technologies, like screens that allow you to watch 3D video with no glasses from anywhere in a room. This time it happens to be something from the last time 3D attempted to take hold of our imaginations.
The Realist was designed for stereoviews. If you don't have any, a stereoview is a standardized seven inch wide card that you load into a viewer, and observe as if you were watching the opera from the cheap seats..
Here's the wiki on all that nonsense.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereoscopy
I do collect stereoviews, but don't hold it against me.
This sweet camera is horizontally rather symmetrical, and has five front lens openings, only two of which actually expose film. The central lens gets mirrored down, and under the film area to a viewing port, and you frame your totally square picture through a tiny hole at the bottom of the back. It takes significant getting used to.
I think it is looking at you
Weirder yet, you focus through a secondary port, which splits BOTH ways to a wide pair of square rangefinder ports at the lower far corners of the camera front. Ususally in practice, at least one finger covers one or both ports, making focus impossible. Once you figure out a way to view without covering the rangefinder ports, focusing is extremely bright and easy, using a single focus dial at the upper corner of the camera. Works like a tiny Koni-Omega. Just as fast and easy
.. a what?
The koni (konica) omega was a press camera that is rather known for the huge focusing knob at the side of the camera.
http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Koni-Omega
I digress...
I was kind of blown away at the block-of-steel feeling of the Realist, and the fact that all speeds, even the one second shutter speed worked perfectly. This one is an earlier model than the one I had, and it looks like earlier is clearly better when it comes to quality. Feels like a Nikkormat, or a block of aluminum stock at the metal yard. Very impressive. It even has a flash shoe, cable release, bulb and T setting.
That the actual shutter speed dial is wrapped around the framing lens (the one in the middle,) now that's just bizarre. Why? No idea.
I know you just saw this, but there's the shutter speed dial,
meaninglessly placed around the viewing lens.
Where does he find this stuff?!
Anyway, aside from their weirdo positions of things, and the weird brass clip the holds the film to the winder/counter sprocket wheel (more on this in a sec,) the camera is totally straightforward.
Yeah, Badassery firing button, and a real flash shoe.
Look! Square pictures! The shutters are linked as one, and the aperture and focus are synched, so one control does the same thing to both lenses.
You can see the viewing and framing ports at the bottom,
and the winder sprocket with the weird tab thing at the top.
The thing we totally spaced was that the film is supposed to go UNDER the little brass tab you can see at the top. I guesss this is so there is an absolute positive frame counting to make sure noting shoots over anything else. It actually spaces the first two pics alternating, and the third is a long wind to get out of the way of the used film.... if that makes any sense. Without that correct, the camera just wound until you felt like stopping, reducing a full roll to about four wildly placed pics. In focus? not sure about that either as there is only one pressure plate for both pictures. We shall see.
This camera is fifty eight years old and works absolutely perfectly. I wonder how many more of my point and shoot cameras will be long gone before this needs it's first service. how many more digitals will I have long tossed in the garbage before one makes a picture this good. A stereo picture this good...
I hope Tim gets some good use out of this. Very cool.
