Fujifilm Finepix Real 3D W3 Digital Camera

The Fujifilm Finepix Real 3D W3 digital camera is a digital camera that can take 2D and 3D still pictures as well as record 2D and 3D movies. Just like the Nintendo 3DS, you don't need glasses to preview your 3D pictures or movies because the LCD screen is autostereoscopic.





Below are snapshots of the Fuji Real 3D W3 manual pages which deal with formats for both still picture and movie recording.



3D pictures can be saved in MPO (multi-picture) format or in "MPO+JPEG" format (a jpeg of the left picture is saved in addition to the MPO 3D picture).



Size and aspect ratio options for taking pictures. Default is L (large) 16x9.



You have the option to save pictures either in fine (low compression) or normal (high compression) quality. Default is N (normal).



You can record 3D movies in 1280x720 (HD quality), 640x480, or 320x240 formats.

Stereo Royal Group Viewer

This stereo group viewer was made by a company named Stereocraft, established at 296 Pearl St. in New York City. It's basically a 3-D stereo projector with its own little screen. You need the Polaroid polarized glasses in order to view the stereo effect. I got it quite some time ago at a camera show. Had never seen one before and haven't seen one since (not saying it's rare though).











From left to right, you can see:
- the light bulb housing;
- the slide carriage;
- the power switch at the top, the lens housing in the middle (interocular adjustment is possible by moving the right lens), and the focusing lever at the bottom;
- a pair of polarized glasses;
- two slide compartments (one at the top and one at the bottom) and the power cord;
- the mirror that projects the stereo image back onto the viewing screen.

Stereo Realist Red Button Viewer

The so-called "red button" viewer is the model ST-61, "a de luxe piece of equipment, made entirely of black plastic except for the lenses" (that's taken verbatim from the "Stereo Realist Manual" by Morgan and Lester). That's actually how it started for me since I got the viewer before getting anything else, actually even before knowing about stereo photography (apart from the ViewMaster stuff which I was collecting at the time). The viewer came into my possession right after I saw it in the "free" bin of a garage sale in upstate New-York. Had no idea what it was was but it looked cool and that's what got me started into stereo photography.

Stereo Realist Camera

I bought my stereo Realist camera at the 1996 National Stereoscopic Society (NSA) convention that took place in Rochester, NY from Mr. Harry Poster of So. Hack, NJ. Can't remember how much I paid for it but is was probably right under 200 bucks, maybe 175. It didn't come with a case but that was taken care of later on by Mr. George Themelis (better known as Dr.T) and the old 3-D mailing list. The lens cover broke at one point (long after the purchase) and got replaced thanks to ebay (no more Realist logo though). This is of course the most common model, the 1041 with the f:3.5 lens.







This is the focusing knob and, as you can see, there's no depth of field markings around it. This means that it is an early 1041 model with the hyperfocal table under the lens cover (which I don't have anymore, of course).



Rear view with the back removed. The two eyepieces are the view finder and the range finder, from left to right. You can see the notch at the bottom of the right aperture, which means it's not a super early 1041 model.



In this view from above, you can clearly see that someone (a previous owner perhaps) wrote "LEMIEN" with a very sharp object. Maybe the camera was owned by a French Canadian or a descendant of one?

Stereo Slide Mounting with Heat-Seal Mounts

The first step is to cut the film. No need to sort the film pieces and/or keep track of which ones are the left and right views as we'll figure that out later.



This is the light box with the 5 perf. Realist mounting gauge aligned with the bottom (of the light box).



We are now ready to mount our first stereo slide. Look among all your film pieces and grab a pair (of film pieces). There's always a number on the film piece and the piece with the lower number is always the right piece (has to do with how the film travels in the camera). Place the right film piece in the left aperture of the mount, between the indentations, emulsion side up (the emulsion side is always the dull side). I personally use 3M adhesive dots (one for each piece) to keep the film in place and for adjusting its position but thin strips of tape are fine as well. Close the left lid to make sure the film won't move while you're taking care of the other piece. Place the left piece in the right aperture and adjust the film's position so that it's aligned vertically and horizontally. Take a look at the 3-d slide mounting instructions for more info on alignment.



Here, the slide has been mounted and is ready to be sealed. Note the 3M adhesive dots on the left (those are usually available among scrapbooking supplies).



To permanently seal the mount, you just need a small (travel) iron.



You always view the mounted slide with the smaller apertures facing you. Now, it makes sense why we put the right film piece in the left aperture of the mount.

Heat-Seal Stereo Mount Instructions

This is the instruction sheet for the heat-seal stereo mounts that were sold by Reel 3-D Enterprises. Heat-seal mounts were/are the easiest/cheapest way to mount Realist-format stereo slides.

3-D Slide Mounting using Mounting Gauges

The following scans give you instructions on how to mount stereo slides using the mounting gauges that were available at Reel 3-D Enterprises. The content of these scans is the property of Reel 3-D Enterprises, that is, Susan Pinsky and David Starkman. The mounting gauges that were given with the instruction manual are for the 5 perf. "Realist" format (most common), the 7 perf. "European" format, and the separated 2"x2" pair format. Among other things, the instruction manual gives a good explanation of what the stereo window is.

























A mounting/alignment gauge is basically a piece of transparent plastic with:
- a vertical reference line on the left side and a near and far vertical lines on the right side to adjust the parallax (horizontal alignment), and
- a bunch of horizontal lines that allow you to align the left and right views vertically.

Note that you don't have to use a mounting gauge to make your own stereo slides. Heat-seal mounts have alignment tabs that make aligning relatively easy ... if you're not to picky (see heat-seal stereo mount instructions).

Realist Stereo Camera Instruction Manual

This is the manual for the Realist stereo camera. It covers the f:3.5 (most common model), the f:2.8 (rare), and the f:2.8 Custom (very rare). At the end (page 19), there's an addendum that was added to the original manual for the "new" film loading instructions. The origin of this xeroxed manual is probably Reel 3-D Enterprises.