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.