P3D Review of a Review :-)

["Dr. George A. Themelis" <DrT-3d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This year I switched my Stereo World subscription to First Class. 
Last night I received the Double Issue, Vol. 26, no. 2 & 3.  I was
curious to see if John Dennis wrote a review of my new book on the
Stereo Realist camera (I had sent a copy earlier).

Needless to say, I was almost socked to see that the review is there
but it is not half to 1/4 page as I thought it would be, BUT TWO 
AND A HALF PAGES!  And the reviewer is Realist expert, Mark Wilke!
I was totally unprepared for that... (Now I wish I had send Mark a 
copy for review before the book came out.  But I was under a lot of 
pressure to get it out before the NSA Convention.  Anyway...)

It is always interesting to read what others have to say about your
work... Mark is very through and fair, as always.  He liked the book
and, "for those who are hungry for us much information as they can
find on the subject" he considers it part of a "Realist reading trio",
together with the classics from the '50s, "Stereo Realist Manual" and
"The Stereo Realist Guide". 

But he also found that some issues are not covered well.  For example,
he finds that parts of the chapter on "Mounting-Viewing-Projection"
are overly brief.  Examples include Realist's various mounting 
systems and the issue of lack of "Medium" and "Close-up" mounts today.
He also finds that some Realist accessories, like slide storage
cases and mounting kits are not covered in any detail (some are not
covered at all.)  

To this observation I have to say that my intention was not to cover 
everything related to Realist but to focus on the camera and to help 
beginners get started in stereo.  That's why I did not cover the 
Realist mounts.  They are history.  But I did present what is 
available today.  Because I am not a collector myself, I had to
ask for help to get my hands on various Realist accessories to
photograph (and many in this list responded and helped with the
project.)   Also, the subjects of Mounting Viewing and Projecting 
stereo slides are so involved that require books of their own.  
(And I do plan to write individual books on these subjects.)
So the coverage of these issues was very brief but I thought
sufficient enough to get someone started.

Regarding the price of the book, Mark writes: "At $35, this book
is a bit pricier that Dr.T's other publications, approaching the
level where you would expect actual offset printing and fine-
linescreen halftones.  Still, I think most people will be surprised
at the quality of reproduction achieved here, especially in the
photographs."  I agree with these observations.  For the record, 
I bought and used a digital camera for this project and took 
hundreds of pictures.  Instead of plain photocopying, I used 
digital copying.  The plastic covers which I think protect the
regular covers were a new addition.  The size of the book is 3 
times my other books but the price is less that double.  But I 
do agree that the price is a bit high for the size and overall 
quality of the publication.

One advantage of having the book printed this way is that I can
easily make changes in any future printing.  I am already in the 
second printing and I did make a few changes from the first.  In 
the third printing I might address some of the issues Mark brings
up.

Mark's concluding remark is this: "For a present-day slant on a 
50-year old camera, this book is more comprehensive than anything 
else out there.  I recommend it."

Thank you Mark!  This was a very thorough, and fair review.

George Themelis