Kodak Retina Reflex S (1959-60)

The Kodak Retina Reflex S is the successor to the Retina Reflex. The main change was to have the complete lens interchangeable instead of just the front components. This allowed a wider range of focal lengths: 28 mm to 200 mm instead of only 35 mm to 80 mm. The original list price was $235. About 78,000 cameras were made in 1959-60 at the Kodak AG - Dr Nagel Werk factory in Stuttgart-Wangen, West Germany.

The Reflex S has a die cast metal body finished with black leatherette and chrome. The top of the camera has the rewind knob with a film reminder dial, an accessory shoe, the exposure remaining counter, the shutter release and the light meter. The front of the camera has the selenium cell for the light meter, a PC flash sync connector, and the lens mount. The shutter speed dial is around the lens mount and the aperture setting dial is at the bottom of the lens mount, next to the latch for the bayonet lens mount. The bottom of the camera has the film advance lever, the rewind clutch button, the tripod socket and the latch for the camera back.

The lens mount is the same Deckel bayonet used on the Retina IIIS range finder camera. Available lenses included a 28mm, a 35mm, two different 50mm, an 85mm, a 135mm and a 200mm. Setting the aperture is different from other 35mm SLRs. The aperture is controlled by a dial on the bottom of the camera instead of an aperture ring on the lens. The shutter speed is interconnected with the aperture so that the exposure value remains constant when the shutter speed is changed. For example, if the shutter speed is 1/500 and the aperture is f/2.8, changing the shutter speed to 1/250 changes the aperture to f/4 in order to keep the amount of light reaching the film a constant.

The exposure controls are coupled to the built-in light meter. Matching the yellow needle to the meter needle by turning the aperture setting dial matches the exposure value set on the camera to the light value read by the meter. The light meter can be set to film speeds from ASA 10 (DIN 12) to ASA 3200 (DIN 36).

The shutter on this example needs to be cleaned and re-lubricated.

120 Film

October, 2021, marked the 120th anniversary of size 120 roll film, introduced by Eastman Kodak Company in 1901 for the No. 2 Brownie camera.

Kodak Gold 200 Film. New in 2022

120 film consists of photosensitive film protected by opaque backing paper and rolled on a spool.  On a modern roll of film the film is roughly 32-1/2 inches (80 cm) long and 2-3/8 inches (6 cm) wide.  The backing paper is about 2 feet (60 cm) longer than the film and is slightly wider. A roll of film can be handled in ordinary room light as long as it is tightly rolled on the spool.  A strip of adhesive tape keeps the film from accidentally unrolling in the light before you load the camera.

Backing Paper

Depending on the camera, the film can hold eight 2-1/4" x 3-1/4" (6 x 9 cm), twelve 2-1/4" square (6 x 6 cm) or sixteen 2-1/4" x 1-5/8" (6 x 4.5 cm) pictures.  Picture numbers printed on the outer surface of the backing paper let the photographer space pictures on the film in cameras using the legendary little red window.  Many cameras automatically space and count pictures and do not require the red window, the more well-known probably being the Rolleiflex and Hasselblad.  Some cameras like the Pentax 6x7 automatically make 10 6x7 cm pictures on a roll without regard to the numbers on the backing paper.

The image on 120 film can be more than twice the height and width of the image on 35 mm film; therefore, less enlargement is needed to produce the final print.  This makes for less visible grain and smoother tones.  Kodak No. 2 Brownie cameras using 120 film produced negatives capable of making passable album-size, 2-1/4" x 3-1/4" contact prints.  A contact print is made by placing the negative in a printing frame, putting the emulsion side of the paper against the emulsion side of the negative and exposing the paper to light through the negative.  The paper is then developed and fixed.  The picture on the resulting print is exactly the same size as the negative.  The size of the contact print you wanted determined the size of the camera you used.  If you wanted a big picture you used a big camera.  Improvements in film and lenses now make it possible to get big pictures from small cameras.

120 film did not get the number 120 until 1908.  Kodak used to list the cameras that took a film on the film box and you specified the Kodak film you wanted by giving the name of the Kodak camera it fit: "I want a roll of film for a No. 2 Brownie."  As Kodak made more and more types of films and cameras, this system became cumbersome.  To solve the problem Kodak numbered all of the sizes of roll film it made, starting with size 101.  Some sizes were not strictly in numerical order, some numbers were reused and the last new size to be made was 240 (Advantix or Advanced Photographic System film in the 1990s).  120 film was also known as B2 or B II film in Germany.  The "B2" likely referenced the No. 2 Brownie. Kodak still makes roll film for still cameras in 120 ("medium format") and 135 ("35 mm film") sizes.  There are about a dozen brand names of 120 film, including Fujifilm, Ilford and Kodak, available at present. Because there is an international standard for the dimensions of 120 film all 120 film will fit all 120 cameras.

Prior to about 1930, Kodak 120 film was shorter and had room for only six 2-1/4" x 3-1/4" pictures; however, old cameras made for the original six-picture 120 film will take modern eight-picture 120 film.   The first spools for roll films had wooden spindles with metal flanges.  Later production spools had metal spindles and flanges. Current 120 spools are injection molded plastic.  Kodak called roll film with backing paper on a spool a "cartridge."

100 Years of Film

The Kodak Non-Curling Film in the box on the left was Kodak's standard snapshot roll film from 1903 to 1933.  The spools in the middle are empty 120 spools from different eras.  The first spools had wooden cores with metal flanges.  Beginning in the 1930s the spools were all metal.  In the modern, plastic age the spools are injection molded plastic.  The roll film on the right is a modern roll of Kodak Tri-X.

Argus A (1936-1942)

The insignificant looking Argus A is one of the most commercially significant 35mm cameras ever produced because it is the camera that popularized 35mm photography in the US.  In 1936 the Argus model A was the first camera to be built in the United States to use 35mm film in Kodak's 135 film magazines.  The magazine had been designed to fit Leica, Contax and Retina cameras.  The Argus is no Leica, but it does take a picture.

International Radio Corporation was a radio manufacturer in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the 1930s. Company President Charles A. Verschoor wanted a new product to keep his factory busy during the summer, when radio sales tended to fall off. The result was the Argus Candid Camera. The Argus was intended from the beginning to be a mass market camera, originally selling for $12.50. Later the price was reduced to $10.00. 30,000 cameras were claimed to have been sold in the first week it was offered. About 210,000 were sold altogether. The Argus camera proved to be so popular that IRC got out of the radio business completely and changed its name to International Research Corporation. Eventually it became Argus Camera, Inc.

The camera body is molded from a phenolic resin. The back is stamped aluminum. The top of the camera has the film advance knob, the viewfinder, the film advance release button and the exposure counter. The bottom of the camera has the film rewind knob. For about the first year the camera came without a tripod socket. Later production had a tripod socket.

The camera has an f/4.5-f/11 50 mm anastigmat lens in a self-setting leaf shutter with speed settings from 1/25 to 1/200 second plus bulb and time. To make the camera a little more pocketable the lens is retractable. Three sets of fingers and flanges hold the lens in the retracted position. The lens has two focus settings: distant and close. The lens is set for the distant zone, 18 ft. to infinity, when the three flanges on the lens are between the three fingers on the camera body (fig. 7 and 8). It is set for the close zone, 8 ft. to 18 ft., when the flanges on the lens line up with the fingers on the body (fig. 5 and 6). The lens isn't marked to show which setting is for which zone. You just have to read the manual to know. Lenses and shutters originally were made by Ilex Optical of Rochester, NY. The lens takes a 23 mm Series V filter adapter.

When the camera first came out word got around that the lens was closer to f/6.3 instead of f/4.5. If you unscrew the front lens element and measure the iris diaphragm with the lens wide open you do get about an 8 mm diameter and 50 divided by 8 is 6.25. But that's not how it works because the strong positive front element causes the light rays to converge before they reach the iris. The focal ratio of a lens is the focal length divided by the diameter of the entrance pupil of the lens and the definition of the entrance pupil is the size of the aperture as seen from the front of the lens. Allowing for the strength of the positive front lens element you will get an f/4.5 focal ratio.

The camera takes currently available 35 mm film in standard cassettes. The film runs from right to left, which is the opposite direction from a Leica and most other 35 mm cameras. The exposure counter counts up. It needs to be manually set to zero after the film is loaded. To advance the film you press the film release, turn the wind knob a little, then let go of the film release and wind on until the film stops, just like an Argus C3. When the film is finished you rewind by turning the knob on the bottom. The camera doesn't have a film rewind catch. If you fiddle with the rewind knob between shots you could get overlapping pictures. You can check whether there is film in the camera by lightly turning the wind knob on the top of the camera. If there is film in the camera you can feel tension on the knob.

The viewfinder is a reverse galilean finder (negative lens in front, positive lens in back) without any frame lines or parallax correction. With a close focus of 8 ft., you don't need parallax correction.

The Argus Model A underwent some revisions during the seven years it was produced.  Here is an Argus Model A Timeline.

1936: The camera was introduced.

1936: A tripod socket was added.  The rewind knob assembly was changed.

1937: A second sprocket wheel was added.  The lens labeling was changed from “Argus Ilex Precise” to “Argus IRC Anastigmat.”

Early 1941: The aperture settings were changed from "f/11, 8, 5.6, 4.5" to "f/18, 12.7, 9, 6.3, 4.5."

Late 1941: The shutter speeds were changed from “25, 50, 100, 200, B, T” to “T, B, 150, 100, 50, 25.”  The labeling on the lens face was changed to drop the word “Anastigmat.”  The lens face was changed from brass to chrome.

1942: The camera was discontinued.

The Argus A is about as simple as an adjustable camera can be. It will produce good pictures if you keep within its limitations.   An Argus A today will make pictures that are as good as ever, modern films being so much better than films in the 1930s. With a fastest shutter speed of 1/200 second and a smallest aperture of f/11, this camera works best with 80-125 speed film for outdoor pictures on sunny days.  The later ones that stop down to f/18 will work well with 200 speed film.

Mid-train Motive Power

A CSX intermodal freight with distributed power at the Berry Road, Nashville, Tennessee grade crossing. The locomotive on the far track is in the middle of the train. A train is waiting on the near tack for the other to pass. From the parking lot of the Melrose branch post office. Argus A, f/11 at 1/200 second through an orange filter on Ultrafine eXtreme 400 film developed in Ultrafine powder developer. Ultrafine eXtreme 400 has been out of stock from the distributor for a while (Photo Warehouse - https://www.ultrafineonline.com/).  I don't know whether it will be available in the future.  Kentmere 400 would be the nearest equivalent.

Kodak No. 2 Tripod

This Kodak No, 2 tripod has a patent date of 1911, making the maximum age 111 years.  Because the tripod remained in the Kodak catalog through the 1930s it could be as little as 80 years old.  This one came from Goodwill with a ball head that did not have a manufacturer's name marked on it.  The ball head probably is not a Kodak product because I did not find a match in the old Kodak catalogs that were on line.  When I got it the legs were swinging loose, so I tightened the bolts holding the legs to the top of the tripod.  The legs are brass and the remaining parts are nickel plated steel.  The tripod fits cameras with a 1/4"-20 thread.  There is a leather case.  The ball head is chrome plated steel.  The legs have pointed feet.  Kodak did have rubber shoes for the feet to keep from scratching floors, but those are missing.  The legs extend to 49-1/2 inches.

Eastman Kodak Company used to make more than just film.  There was a wide range of cameras and photographic accessories ranging from commercial and industrial products to hobbyist products.  Their hobbyist handbook, "How to Make Good Pictures", even included formulas for darkroom chemicals.

Post-WWII Leica IIIc (1946-1951)

The Leica model IIIc was introduced by Leitz in 1940 and discontinued in 1951.  This model IIIc camera is a postwar version with a serial number in the low end of a range that was assigned in 1946-47.  The f/3.5 50 mm Elmar lens was bought separately and has a serial number from 1946.  The Leitz factory was located in the American zone of occupation and a great deal of the production at that time was for the Allied occupation forces.  The civilian export market really didn't get going again until currency reform and the creation of the Deutsche Mark in 1948.  The US list price of a Leica IIIc with a standard f/3.5 50 mm Elmar lens was $332.50 in 1948.  It was an expensive camera when it was new.  By 1950 the list price had dropped to $285.00  In 1951 the same combination was closed out at a still expensive list price of $259.00.

The wartime IIIc (1940-45) differs in a few details from the postwar IIIc (1946-51).  The most visible differences in the wartime version are a step in the top plate where the advance-rewind lever is positioned and a different shape of the range finder focusing lever.  The wartime cameras also have many variations in materials and finish.  Leitz made about 33,000 of the wartime version and about 100,000 of the postwar version.

Leica is a long running line of cameras.  The first Leica camera was designed by Oskar Barnack (1879-1936) about 1912.  It was further developed as a commercial product and introduced for sale in 1925.  Originally the Leica came with a non-interchangeable lens.  The first version with interchangeable screw-mount lenses came out in 1930,  and the bayonet lens mount came out in 1954.  Leica digital cameras are still in production today.  The screw-mount Leica is one of the most imitated of cameras.  Cameras inspired by the Leica were made in the USSR, Japan, China, the UK, France and the USA.  Some lenses and other parts were interchangeable among the various makes.  My camera happens to have a Canon (Japan) take-up spool.  Canon and Nikon lenses in Leica screw mount are well regarded.  Soviet lenses range from good to "won't even fit".

The top of the camera has the rewind knob, the focusing lever for the rangefinder eyepiece, the accessory shoe, the fast shutter speed dial, the film advance/rewind lever, the shutter button, the film advance knob and the exposure counter.  The front of the camera has the slow shutter speed dial, the lens mount and the windows for the range finder and viewfinder.  The back of the camera has the range finder and viewfinder eyepieces.  The bottom of the camera has the base latch and the tripod socket.  There are strap lugs on the left and right sides.  The metal parts are chromed and the black covering is textured vulcanite.  There is a little brassing on the knobs where the chrome has worn thin.

The f/3.5 50mm Elmar lens was designed by Dr. Max Berek (1886-1949) at Leitz about 1922.  The screw mount version of the lens was introduced in 1930 and discontinued in 1959.  It was the standard lens for Leica screw mount cameras.  It has four elements in three groups, resembling a tessar design but with the aperture diaphragm between the first and second groups  instead of between the second and third group.  My lens has anti-reflection coatings.  The lens mount has a 39 mm right-hand screw thread with a 26 threads-per-inch pitch.  Supposedly the thread pitch is from a British standard for microscope objectives.   Leitz made microscopes long before it made cameras, so this seems reasonable.  Inside the camera body is a roller that rides on a cam inside the lens and transmits the focus distance to the range finder.  The focusing lever on the lens locks at infinity.  To focus closer you press in the knob to unlock the lens and rotate the lens to focus.  The closest focus is 1 meter (3' 3-3/8").  A small tab on the front of the lens sets the aperture.  The aperture scale is marked from f/3.5 to f/16 (3.5, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16).  No click stops are provided, which lets you select intermediate apertures.  There is a depth of field scale on the lens barrel.  The Elmar lens is collapsible to allow the camera to fit inside a generous pocket.  To collapse the lens you rotate the barrel counterclockwise until it unlocks and push it in.  To extend the lens you draw out the barrel and rotate it clockwise until it locks.   You need to make sure the lens is extended and locked for picture taking or else your pictures will be badly out of focus.  The lens will take 19mm diameter screw-in filters (E19) or 36mm diameter slip-on filters (A36).  A Kodak No. 18 Series V filter adapter will screw onto the lens, and a Kodak 1-13/32" Series VI filter adapter will slip on.  An A36 slip-on filter or a Series adapter covers the aperture dial so you have to take off the filter or adapter to set the aperture.

The shutter is a horizontally running rubberized cloth focal plane shutter.  Winding the film advance knob advances the film and cocks the shutter.  Shutter speeds from 1/30 to 1/1000 second are set by lifting and turning the top shutter speed dial.   Slow speeds are set on the dial on the front of the camera.  The shutter needs to be cocked in order to line up the correct setting with the index mark because the shutter speed knob rotates when the shutter fires.  The top speed knob should be set to "1-30" to use the slow speeds.  The front speed dial should be set to "30" to use the fast speeds.  The front speed dial will lock at "30" to prevent an accidental bump from changing the shutter speed.  You press a small stud above the dial to unlock it.  The IIIc is not synchronized for flash.  Several different add-on flash synchronizers were available from Leitz and third party suppliers.  Some synchronizers took advantage of the fact that the shutter speed knob rotated to fire the flash at the correct time.  The shutter was synchronized for flash at 1/30 second with these attachments.  The succeeding model IIIf Leica (1950-57) had flash sync built in.

The Leica is a bottom loading camera. There is no hinged back (like most 35mm cameras) or removable back (like the Zeiss Ikon Contax) to make loading easier. The base plate comes off for loading film. The film should be trimmed to half width for about 4 inches to make a leader and hooked onto the take-up spool before the spool is placed inside the camera. You need to thread the film between the pressure plate and film gate and get the perforations onto the sprocket wheel by feel. The advance/rewind lever should be in the advance position to take pictures. When you advance the film you should see the rewind knob spin counterclockwise. The small black dot on the shutter button also spins around. You should advance the film twice, then set the exposure counter to zero. The exposure counter will count the number of pictures taken. There are templates available to help in trimming the film, but it is easy enough to cut freehand with scissors. The rationale for the solid back is that it makes the camera body more rigid.

To remove the film from the camera you switch the advance/.rewind lever to the rewind position and turn the rewind knob clockwise until all of the film is wound into the cassette.  Then you can take off the base and remove the cassette.

The viewfinder and range finder have separate eyepieces, with the viewfinder on the right.  The field of view of the viewfinder matches the field of view of the standard 50 mm lens.  An auxiliary viewfinder for a wide angle or a telephoto lens fits into the accessory shoe.  The rangefinder is a coincident type.  When the double image in the eyepiece merges into a single view the camera is in focus.  The range finder eyepiece magnifies about 1.5 times and has a focus adjustment for the clearest view of distant or near objects.

To use a standard cable release you need a "Leica Nipple" adapter that replaces the collar around the shutter button.  The same style adapter was used on some Yashica and Nikon cameras.  The tripod socket takes a 3/8" diameter thread.  You need a 3/8" to 1/4" adapter to use most modern tripods.

The peacetime Leica IIIc probably is the most affordable Leica as a user camera.  The wartime IIIc cameras tend to be expensive collectors' items.  Photographic technology has advanced quite a bit in the 70-80 years since the IIIc was new, and the camera is decidedly quaint.  It is definitely finely made and it still is a good picture taker.

 

Street signs near Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Kodak Portra 160, f/3.5 50 mm Elmar

Voigtlander Bessa 66 (about 1939)

The Voigtlander Bessa 66 is a folding camera that takes 2-1/4" square (6cm x 6cm) pictures on size 120 roll film.  It was made from 1938 until 1950 with an interruption due to WWII.  This one was made probably in 1939 and was an export model because the distance scale and the depth of field calculator are in feet.  The Bessa 66 came with a range of lenses, shutters and viewfinders.  The available lenses were the Voigtar (three elements in 3 groups), the Skopar (4 elements in 3 groups) and the Heliar (5 elements in 3 groups).  [An element is a single lens.  Groups are separated by air spaces and a group consists of either a single element or multiple elements cemented together.]  The available shutters were the Gauthier Prontor II (fastest speed 1/175 second), the Deckel Compur (1/300) or the Deckel Compur-Rapid (1/500).  The available viewfinders were a folding open frame finder, a folding optical finder and an enclosed optical finder.  The cameras with enclosed viewfinders also had automatic frame counters.  The features on this Bessa 66 include an uncoated f/3.5 Voigtar lens, a Compur-Rapid shutter, an enclosed optical viewfinder and an automatic frame counter.  The shutter is not synchronized for flash and does not have a self-timer.  Anti-reflective lens coatings, flash synchronization and self-timers appeared post-WWII.

The top of the camera has the film winding knob and the frame counter window.  The bottom of the camera has the lens door button, the 3/8" tripod socket, the base support and the depth of field calculator.  The front has the lens door and the viewfinder window.  The back of the camera has the viewfinder eyepiece, the frame counter start slider, and the little red window.  The red window has a shutter that you open and close using the knob next to the window.  The film back hinge is on the left and the film back latch is on the right.

The lens is an uncoated, f/3.5-f/16, 75 mm, Voigtlander Voigtar lens with front cell focusing.  A 32 mm Series VI filter adapter fits the lens.  The Voigtar is a Cooke Triplet design.  The Cooke Triplet was invented in 1893 by Harold Dennis Taylor (1862-1943) at the Thomas Cooke and Sons optical firm in England.

The shutter is a Compur-Rapid leaf shutter with speeds of 1, 1/2, 1/5, 1/10, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/250 and 1/500 second.  The shutter release is on the lens door and is interlocked with the automatic frame counter to prevent double exposures.  The socket for a cable release is on the top of the shutter release mechanism near the lens door hinge.  The shutter is manually cocked with a lever on the side of the shutter.

When you press the lens door button the lens door pops open and you can pull the lens door down until the lens struts click into place.  To close the lens door you press the curved plate under the lens to unlatch the lens struts and push the lens door closed.

To open the door to the film compartment you turn the base support to the front, squeeze together the latches and pull open the door.  The film door latches when you close it.  Turning the base support back under the base moves a tab under the bottom latch to keep it closed.

The frame counter has to be at zero in order to load film.  If the counter needs to be reset you rotate the toothed roller near the supply chamber to the left until you hear a click, then cock and release the shutter.  Repeat until the counter is at zero and the film winding knob turns freely.  The take-up spool goes into the cradle on the left under the winding knob.  The new roll of film goes into the cradle on the right side.  Thread the backing paper into the slot on the take-up spool, close the back and wind the film until the number 1 shows through the little red window.  You push the start slider to the left and a one will appear in the frame counter window.

To take a picture you set the aperture and the shutter speed, focus the lens, cock the shutter, aim and press the shutter release lever on the lens door all the way down to take a picture.  The lever then locks to prevent a double exposure.  The winding knob unlocks when you press the shutter release lever.  Turn the winding knob until it locks to advance to the next frame.  You need to advance to the next frame to unlock the shutter release lever.  After you have taken 12 pictures the frame counter resets to zero and the winding knob turns freely to let you wind up the roll of film to be ready to load a fresh roll.

The focusing scale has distant and near settings for snapshots.  When the aperture is set at f/8 and the focus is set to the circle symbol (about 32 feet or 10 meters)  on the focusing scale, the depth of field extends from 16 feet or 5 meters to infinity.  When the lens is set at the triangle symbol (about 11 feet or 3.3 meters) the depth of field extends from 8 feet or 2.5 meters to 16 feet or 10 meters.  Use the depth of field calculator on the bottom to estimate the depth of field for other settings.

For long exposures you can put the camera on a stable support and use a cable release.  You can turn the base support forward to set the Bessa 66 on a level surface without tipping over.  The tripod socket takes a 3/8" screw.  You need a 1/4" to 3/8" adapter to use most modern tripods.

The Bessa 66 folds to about the size of a 35 mm camera.  The Bessa 66 and Bessa 46 (4.5cm wide x 6cm tall pictures) were known as "Baby Bessas" because they were so compact.  The camera is entirely manual.  Scale focusing takes a little getting used to.  A hand held range finder helps with focusing.  An exposure meter helps with setting the aperture and shutter.  When the camera was new, 100 speed film was "fast."  The camera settings have enough range to use current 400 speed film on a sunny day.  The frame counter on this camera is a little cranky after 80-plus years and takes gentle handling.

Voigtlander started making scientific instruments in 1756 and made its first camera in 1840.  The camera factory closed in 1971.  After 1999 Cosina Co., Ltd., Japan, made products with the Voigtlander name. 

This picture was taken several years ago on ISO 100 Arista.edu Ultra film.  The Bessa 66 makes nice pictures.

View-Master Personal Stereo Camera (1952-1955)

You might remember looking through a View-Master viewer at a reel of scenic views or cartoon favorites on a reel of color stereo slides. You might not remember that you could have made your own View-Master reels with this View-Master Personal Stereo Camera. Sawyer's, Inc., Portland, Oregon, began producing View-Master reels and viewers in the 1930s. During the 1950s stereo photography boom, Sawyer's sold a home photography View-Master system consisting of a camera and a film cutter. The photographer would shoot a roll of 35 mm slide film, have it developed, and either send the film to Sawyer's to be mounted in View-Master reels or cut and mount the film at home using a View-Master film cutter and empty View-Master reels. The cameras were made for Sawyer's by Stereocraft Engineering Company, also in Portland, Oregon. Patents on the camera were filed by Gordon N. Smith and assigned to Stereocraft. Stereocraft Engineering Company made other products for Sawyer's and eventually merged with Sawyer's. Sawyer's merged with GAF in 1966. GAF got out of the photography business in 1977. View-Master viewers and commercial reels are still sold as toys.

The body of the camera is die cast metal with a small amount of chrome. The top of the camera has the winding knob, film length indicator, exposure counter, exposure calculator/aperture setting/shutter speed setting knobs, a flash connector and a film advance indicator. The bottom has the film loaded indicator, the tripod socket and a summary of the instructions for loading film. The front of the camera has the front lens of the viewfinder, two windows for the paired lenses, the A/B shift knob, the cable release socket and the shutter button. The back of the camera has the rear lens of the viewfinder. A spirit level is visible through the viewfinder. The film door is hinged on the left and has a latch on the right. The camera weighs 1 lb. 7-1/2 oz. (0.67 kg) without film. It is 6 in. wide by 3-3/4 in. high by 2 in. deep (15 cm x 95 cm x 5 cm). The camera came in either black or, uncommonly, brown.

The lenses are matched, fixed focus, View-Master f/3.5-f/16, 25 mm, coated anastigmats with three elements in three groups. The range of sharp focus depends on the selected aperture. Close focus is as close as 4 ft. with the camera set to f/16, and 10 ft. with the camera set to f/3.5. The best stereo effect is with the aperture set to f/11 or f/16 for the greatest possible depth of field. Subjects should be no closer than 6 or 7 ft. The lenses are spaced 2-7/16 in. (62 mm) on centers, which is about the average interpupillary distance for a natural stereo effect. The lenses are located behind plane glass windows that protect the shutter blades. The window mountings hold Series V drop-in filters. The camera came with retaining rings threaded into the window mountings. Wratten 85 color correction filters were commonly used with tungsten balanced Kodachrome A film outdoors in daylight.

The shutters are guillotine types located in front of the lenses. They function like the shutter on the Minox camera. Continuously variable shutter speeds run from 1/100 second to 1/10 second plus bulb.

The aperture and shutter speed knobs are coupled to an exposure setting calculator. You set the film speed (from ASA 5 to 100) to the season (Summer or Winter) and match the weather conditions to the brightness of the subject by selecting the aperture and shutter speeds. It is a very workable system. Stereocraft put the same calculator on the TDC Stereo Vivid camera they made for Bell and Howell.

The film advance and rewind are unique to this camera. Using a 36-exposure roll of 35mm color slide film, the camera makes 69 pairs of 12 mm x 14 mm pictures. Four pictures fit in the area taken up by one full frame 35 mm picture. 34 pairs of pictures are made on the lower half of the film as it moves forward from the film cassette to the take-up spindle. A knob on the front of the camera shifts the lenses from lower to upper, and the film transport from forward to reverse. 35 pairs of pictures are made on the upper half of the film as it moves back from the spindle into the cassette. The wind knob turns counterclockwise for advance and clockwise for reverse.

The shifting lenses on the View-Master Personal Stereo Camera

The shutter is open on the bulb setting to show the lenses.

When the camera was new photographers would send their Kodachrome film to Eastman Kodak for processing and have the processed film returned uncut. They then had the option of sending the film to Sawyer's or one of their dealers to be mounted on View-Master reels or cutting and mounting the slides themselves. Sawyer's sold a film cutter and blank, View-Master personal reels. The film cutter is a necessity for do-it-yourself mounting because it is difficult to cut the slides by hand to fit a reel. Blank View-Master reels are no longer made, but old stock still appears on eBay. It might be possible to cut your own reels on a paper craft cutter like the Cricut machine. Commercial View-Master reels from a thrift store could be reused by taking out the old slides. Some commercial reels are in demand as collectibles, making it a good idea to check prices before sacrificing one of your potentially valuable commercial reels.

The model FC-1 film cutter uses a 15 watt light bulb to illuminate the slides. The knob on the front advances the film through the cutter. Pressing the handle punches out the chips for one stereo pair. To keep from mixing up the chips from different stereo pairs you should mount the slides as you go along. To punch out the pairs of chips you feed the film from right to left with the emulsion side down. Once you finish one row of pictures you turn the film over and cut the second row, feeding the film from left to right with the emulsion side up. The View-Master camera has a square notch on the right film gate and a rounded notch on the left film gate so you can tell left from right, and the notches match the guides printed on blank View-Master personal reels.  If you are intending to make your own View-Master reels it is a good idea to find the somewhat uncommon film cutter first.

The chips can be slipped into a View-Master reel holding 7 stereo pairs. The personal reels have spaces to write descriptions of slides if you write small. A 36 exposure roll of color slide film makes enough pictures to nearly fill 10 View-Master reels.The same View-Master hand viewers for commercial reels work with personal reels. Sawyer's made a 3D slide projector for viewing reels in 3D with special Polaroid glasses. You also needed a special aluminized screen that reflected polarized light. Sawyer's also made 2D projectors that projected only one slide of a pair.

There is a matching flasholder that is unique in having a built-in range finder. You looked through the eyepiece at the top of the flasholder and turned the inner part of the dial to merge the double images into one. This measured the distance to the main subject. You then set the outer part of the dial to the guide number for the flashbulb and film you are using. You read off the aperture to use according to the tonal value of the main subject.

There also were close-up attachments, which I don't have, that focused at 36 inches or 24 inches.

Stereo-Tach Stereo Photography Attachment (about 1939-1951)

The Stereo-Tach (rhymes with attach) is a gadget for taking stereo pictures with just about any camera from 35 mm to 4x5 large format. It uses four front surface mirrors to put two pictures with slightly different viewpoints side by side on the same negative. The stereo pairs are in portrait format. The stereo baseline is about 70 mm, which is roughly the same baseline on most stereo cameras. To compose the picture through the camera viewfinder you have to remember that the image is only half as wide as a normal image. The waist level viewfinder can be used to compose the picture if the Stereo-Tach blocks the camera's viewfinder.  You also need to double the exposure.

A Series VI insert is attached. The inner recess is for a

Series V insert. The outer recess is for a Series VII.

The Stereo-Tach in the pictures has a Series VI insert to attach the Stereo-Tach to an adapter ring for the camera lens. Series V, VI or VII inserts and adapter rings could be used for lenses ranging from 3/4" to 2" in diameter. When an adapter was not available for the lens an adjustable mounting bracket could be used to attach the Stereo-Tach to the tripod socket on the camera body. The Stereo-Tach needed to be level with the camera and centered on the lens to work.

A matching slide viewer was available. The images of a stereo pair appear slide-by-slide on a standard 35mm slide. The viewer uses four mirrors to reflect the images and get the separation needed. The viewer could fit inside a unit with a battery powered light for illumination. A print viewer was available.

Stereo-Tach ad from the July, 1939, issue
of Popular Mechanics, page 144A

The Stereo-Tach was invented by Charles D. Austin. It was first made by the Commonwealth Manufacturing Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, and later by Advertising Displays, Inc., Covington, Kentucky. The list price for a set containing the Stereo-Tach and the slide viewer was $22.50 plus tax in 1948. The price was cut to $17.70 about 1950. Sets were made for cameras using 35 mm film, roll film and Polaroid film. The Stereo-Tach could not fit some cameras like the Kodak Bantam Special where there wasn't enough clearance around the lens for the attachment. The Stereo-Tach stayed on the market only a few years. The beam-splitter principle used in the Stereo-Tach was used in stereo attachments from other manufacturers including Kodak, Leitz and Zeiss. Pentax made one in the '70s for 35 mm SLRs.

A stereo pair made with a Stereo-Tach

The mirrors in a stereo attachment have to be precisely aligned so the images are not tilted, which would spoil the stereo effect. The mirrors in this example are a little out of alignment. Being part of that roughly 4% of the population without stereo vision owing to strabismus, I'm not sure how bad this one is.

David White Company Stereo Realist (1947-1971)

The Stereo Realist camera is the first 3D camera made for 35mm slide film. It was invented by Seton Rochwite and made by the David White Company. Seton Rochwite (1904-2000) was an electrical engineer (Marquette, 1929) and inventor. David White Company was a manufacturer of surveying equipment. About 125,000 cameras were made from 1947 to 1971.

The camera has a black and chrome, die cast aluminum body. The front of the camera has a flip up lens cover, a matched pair of lenses, the aperture rings around the lenses, the viewfinder window, the shutter speed dial around the viewfinder window, the shutter cocking lever and the two range finder windows. Under the lens cover is a depth-of-field table or an exposure table for Kodachrome film, depending on the particular version of the Realist. The back of the camera has the double exposure button, the film release button and the eyepieces for the viewfinder and rangefinder. The top of the camera has the rewind knob, the cable release socket, the shutter button, the shutter trip indicator, the flash shoe, the exposure counter, the film rewind/advance control and the wind knob. The bottom of the camera has the tripod socket and a latch to unlock the back of the camera. The focusing knob and a depth of field scale are on the right side. Strap lugs are on the left and right sides.

The lenses are coated, f/3.5-f/22, 35 mm cooke triplets. The camera is focused by moving the film plane, and the closest focus is 2-1/2 ft. The Realist makes two 23 wide by 25 mm high pictures of the same scene through a pair of lenses spaced about 70 mm apart. Pictures of one pair are 15 perforations apart on the film and the film is advanced 10 perforations for each pair. This interleaves the pictures on the film. The film gates and lenses are positioned so the lines of sight from the left and right lenses converge about 2 meters in front of the camera. This helps create the illusion of depth. Because the images are about five film perforations wide Realist format is also called 5P format. The Realist format was the most popular format for stereo slides and was used in stereo cameras from a number of other manufacturers.

The guillotine type shutters are located behind the lenses. Shutter speeds run from 1/150 second to 1 second plus bulb and time. The shutter is interlocked with the film advance to prevent an accidental double exposure. To make a deliberate double exposure or make a time exposure pull out the double exposure button.

To load the camera, turn the advance/rewind control to "R". Unlatch and remove the back. Push up the rewind knob, put the new film cassette in the film chamber on the left and push down the rewind knob, engaging the key in the film spool with the fork on the rewind shaft. Thread the film between the sprocket wheel and the guard, making sure the teeth on the wheel engage the sprocket holes on the film. Insert the film leader into the slot on the wind spindle. Turn the wind knob a little to make sure the film is moving properly. Replace and latch the back and turn the advance/rewiind control to "A". Press the film release button and turn the wind knob until it stops. Advance the film twice more. Turn the exposure counter counterclockwise to "1". It won't turn backward.

To take a picture, focus the camera, set the shutter speed, set the aperture, focus the camera on the subject, cock the shutter and press the shutter button. After taking the picture, press the film release button and advance the film for the next picture.

To unload the camera, turn the advance/rewind button to "R" and turn the rewind knob until the film is wound back into the cassette. Unlatch the back and remove the old cassette.

The flasholder uses three AA batteries and takes 5 or 25 bayonet base flashbulbs, or M miniature base bulbs using an adapter. The shutter syncs with flashbulbs at 1/25 second. A modern electronic flash adapter is available.

Series V drop-in filters fit the combination lens hood/filter holder. There also were available pairs of push-on haze filters for daylight film, flash filters for using tungsten balanced film with clear flashbulbs, and color correction filters for tungsten balanced film in daylight.

The film identifier was a gadget that let you shoot a picture of a 1-3/8 in. square card with information about that roll of film. The identifier slipped over the left-hand lens of the Realist. A positive lens in the identifier put the card in focus. An image of the card appeared on the otherwise wasted frame between the first and second stereo pairs at the start of the roll.

The Stereo Realist was made for 35mm Kodachrome slide film, which debuted in 1936. At the time Kodak had a monopoly on developing Kodachrome film, which required an specialized development process. Customers could have their film developed by Kodak and mounted in Realist 4 in. x 1-5/8 in slides by David White Co. or a dealer. Kodachrome is long gone, but the camera does have a wide enough range of settings for current Ektachrome or Velvia film. Stereo slide mounting is no longer commercially available. For do it yourself slide mounting I like to use the plastic slide mounts available on eBay from 3d-drt-3d. Transparencies can be viewed in a stereo slide viewer or projected. As an alternative to transparencies, you could use negative film and mount prints on stereo cards for viewing with a parlor stereoscopic viewer.

The stereo illusion is supposed to be strongest using the smallest aperture allowed by the available light in order to have the greatest of field, and with the nearest object about 2 meters or 7 feet in front of the camera. The camera needs to be level. Because the Realist has sharp edges, it is more comfortable to hold when it is in its leather case.