Re: Stereo-Realist Jingoism? or the past/present/future of 3-D

[P3D Dr. George A. Themelis <fj834@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Now, what combination of serendipitous circumstances got the David White
>Instrument company to take the plunge.?   And can it happen again. 

Actually, the David White company is still around and Ron Zakowski still
works for them as he did when he was 15 years old... What took the plunge
is the camera division (Stereo Realist, etc.)  Why?  It's a long story...
No one has a definite answer, just some clues to offer...

One factor that has not been mentioned or explored that ties with the
future of stereo photography is the over-popularity and super-staturation
of the market... In my mind, 3-d is a special case of imaging/photography.
Due to inherent difficulties in recording and viewing the two images (as
compared to one image), 3-d should be treated as such, i.e. a special kind
of imaging/photography that requires special effort and attention to be
excecuted correctly.

If 3-d photography was treated as something unique and special, Stereo
Realist might have been still around...  If companies could have only
settled for a fixed amount of low volume sales they might have still been
making stereo cmameras...

However, when 3-d hit the stage in the USA, things went out of control...
Around 1952-1955 it appeared that everything, I mean EVERYTHING,
photography, motion pictures, TV... was turning to 3-d.  Some observers
predicted the death of 2-d imaging in favor of 3-d.  Many workers rushed to
get into 3-d so that they are not left behind.

That was a BIG mistake in my opinion... 3-D needed to be treated with
respect and special care... This did not happen... The general public got
tired of mismounted 3-d slides and bad 3-d movies... This and the market
supersaturation caused the death of 3-d...

In contrast to pupular 3-d, look at scientific 3-d.  It has been there
since the beginning and it is there... Has not died... Many engineers and
scientists use it it in a regular basis...

TODAY, we still need to treat 3-d as something special... I agree that
there is much room for 3-d to grow... There are millions of people out
there that are not aware of 3-d photography... Some of them could be
taking and enjoying 3-d pictures right now... But not all of them...

If I was going to wish something for 3-d in the future, that would be a
slow and constant growth... No more "revolutions".  Just a slow growth and
increased public recognition.  That's all.

George Themelis


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End of PHOTO-3D Digest 1277
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