Stereo's Future

[P3D Paul S. Boyer <boyer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Stereo's FUTURE

I recently attended a presentation (at my
"flat" photography club) on the latest camera technologies,
including APS and digital.  Some amazing developements will
be appearing soon.  Cameras will be lighter, some SLRs
will dispense with the weighty pentaprism, and light-weight
zoom lenses will have amazing ranges in focal length.
Sorry to report that with all this technological ability, nothing
is being applied to stereo.

Another sad fact is that the proportion
of slide film sold in the US has been steadily decreasing; even
the absolute number of rolls has been going down.   APS slide
film is not even available in North America, although it
is available in Japan and Europe, where diapositives have been
holding their own.  As one is not supposed to cut APS film (because
of the magnetic record), it is unclear to me how one is to mount the
diapositive film.  Maybe it is to be run as a film strip, but our
speaker said that, no, it is to use ordinary 5x5-cm mounts.

The new technologies are truly inspiring to a technophile like
me, but have their downsides.  I always recall how great an
accomplishment the Kodak reel camera was, and how useless
for taking good pictures!  APS has 40% less film area than standard
35 mm, so there is no way that it can give as good results,
given the same film.  The answer is that they intend to make
the film better.  That's what they said about those reel
cameras.  Two other problems: These high-tech cameras are not
easily reparable, meaning that in 30 years or so they will be
junk.  Another is that the makers intend to phase out fast
telephoto lenses, which are "too expensive" and will become
rarities strictly for professionals.  I have found that only
such lenses work well for bird photography.  Slower lenses
bring into focus distracting backgrounds.

In all this, stereo is being left in the dust, perhaps even more
so than when SLRs became popular.  [I am putting on my flame-
retardant shirt now.]  I think that we stereo-enthusiasts
should recognize that stereo for the foreseeable future
will be strictly for tinkering hobbyists.

To anticipate, I expect someone to say how great stereo is
on computers.  Sorry, but 72 dpi just doesn't make it,
no way, no how.  Stereo requires detail.  Stereo on an
insuffient medium is lousy stereo.  Stereo enthusiasts
are often so engaged by the 3-D effect that they neglect
other aspects of realism in photography, such as good
focus and fine grain.  Some even accept lenticular,
which to me is utterly unrealistic.

As one who is resigned to being a tinkering hobbyist,
I think that our task should be to make stereo cameras
with GOOD LENSES!  The Realist was great 50 years ago, but
it's lenses are way below modern standards.  Those three-
and four-eye lenticular lenses which people hack around
with are downright laughable.

My experience has been that slide-bar stereos made with
my modern SLR are incomparably better in technical
quality to anything one can make with 1940s or 1950s
stereo cameras.  The modern lenses are simply better.
So are the shutters.  So is the focusing mechanism.
[Look at the way a Realist focuses!  The film is supposed to
move in and out in back of the lenses!  Try watching that
with a blank roll, and I think that you will agree with
my decision not to bother repairing my Realist's rangefinder,
because basically it is unnecessary when the focusing
mechanism is so approximate, and one stops down for maximum DOF
anyway.]

So, friends, keep on tinkering, and enjoy it; but don't
expect any great general popularity of stereo in the coming
decades.
--Paul S. Boyer   <boyer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>


------------------------------