P3D Re: Realist a bridge, not a barrier

[Rob <lilindn@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> (Tony Alderson wrote):
>
> Boris complains about the Realist-format mount; but let's not forget that
> the Realist system was originally intended to solve these problems of
> "barriers to entry" for casual photographers. And for quite some time, it
> did exactly that.

It still does.  Most recent stereographers I know started with a used Realist or
Kodak and graduated to other things later.


> Eventually, anyone seeking to design a new stereo system
> needs to ask himself: why was this system eclipsed?

By what?  I wasn't eclipsed, it simply faded in popularity.  Why stereo began to
lose its appeal about 1954 is another matter altogether.


> (But of course, Boris
> is right; mounting 5 perf ASA stereo slides nowadays is a pain in the neck
> and certainly discourages me from taking more pictures. RBT, Albion and
> Spicer mounts just don't compare to the original EMDE and Realist masks for
> ease of use.)

      The barrier presented by mounting and viewing Realist format is not nearly as
great as the complexity barriers presented by twin-camera rigs, or the price
barrier of RBT cameras.

>
>
> But it's not just the Realist format that has faded: when I got my first
> Realist some 27(!) years ago, slide films in general were readily
> available, and significantly less expensive than prints. (And you could get
> Kodak stereo mounting thru your corner drugstore at comparable cost and
> turnaround to flattie slides) Now, transparencies are significantly more
> expensive, and many "general" stores don't even carry slide film.

Huh?    Every drugstore in the area I know of carries slide film (usually
Elitechrome 100 or Elitechrome 200).   While the slide film is more expensive, the
processing is still cheaper.  Slides don't have as great a price advantage as they
used to, but they still are a bargain.  I shoot 2D slides at a cost (film and
proc.) of about 22 cents/slide.  Since nearly all retailers are using Kodalux, you
can still get Realist format mounted at nearly every drugstore (although the last
time I did, I didn't like the results).

   Rob
   "Everything I have is Y1.96K compliant"


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