Stereo realist manual

Then: h momentarily push the "film wind release" button, start advancing and release button and i continue advancing film in direction of arrow until it clicks. The Realist has been called "a Repairman's Dream" and for a very good reason.

Anyone could open up a Realist to do maintenance and basic trouble-shooting and repair work. There are no springs flying when you open the camera.

No special tools are needed for the most part. And once you take it apart, you can safely put it back together. Open both cameras in the area of the problem. Inspect the one that works well. Figure out why the other one does not work well. Fix the problem". How to fix the problem? Most of the time no parts are needed. Just a simple bending of a piece of metal or something of this nature. I am living proof that this principle works.

I have managed to solve most of the problems my Realists developed, except for the most complicated. This does not mean that a repairman is not sometimes needed.

Some people are simply unable to handle small tools or work with small parts. Some Realist cameras are just too valuable for inexperienced people to fiddle with. Some problems are just too complicated to deal with.

Finally, parts might be needed. The following Table lists common Realist repair problems with brief comments. More information is found in my book. Here are a few key points:.

A small amount of frame overlap 1mm or less is normal and it is due to the various tolerances and it is masked by the mount for slides. If you are getting an overlap of the order of one film sprocket, then the film is jumping out of the advance wheel.

See point 4 below. If you are getting even more overlap than this and random, then you have not loaded the film properly and it is not engaged to the sprocket wheel. Make sure you understand the proper film-loading procedure, especially picture e in the section on "How to Load Film" above. If you feel excessive resistance as you advance the film, make sure that the film advance knob, gears and the rewind knob and shaft are clean. In older Realist models the ones where there is no clicking sound when you advance , some resistance on the advance side is normal since the advance mechanism works with friction.

If these areas are clean and you are still getting overlap in the order of one sprocket hole, then the film is jumping out of the advance wheel. Make sure the gap between the wheel and guard is small see picture e under "How to Load the Film". If the gap looks too wide, then I use the tip of a screwdriver to gently push the guard closer to the film plane, to reduce the gap.

If the guard is loose, you will need to tighten it up. To do this, you must take the top off and there are quite a few pieces that need to be removed. In the event that you find it hard to advance the film, especially towards the end of the film, here is a trick that makes things better: Turn the rewind knob in the opposite direction to release the tension on the film as you advance.

This will make advancing easier. Put the screws aside. Remove the shoe plate. Shown here is the original protrusion with the plastic insulators and various nuts in correct order. The flash wire is attached to the bottom two nuts via a lug. Note : A lot of people hesitate understandably to modify their cameras. Another approach is to modify the film or buy an adapter to use your existing electronic flash unit with the Realist. I now sell a modified flash unit, as well as the adapter.

You can see these items in my stereo shop: www. To check rangefinder alignment, look through it at a far away object and turn the focusing dial to infinity.

If the object is not aligned at infinity then the rangefinder needs to be adjusted. There are two ways to adjust the rangefinder: 1 "Quick and dirty shortcut", through the access hole, 2 "Long and thorough route" through the bottom.

For the long route you need to first take the bottom plate off. This is held by 5 screws covered by the leather. Start by peeling off the leather from the ends. Use the tip of a small screwdriver to get started. If everything is OK, the leather should come out relatively easily. You don't need to pull the entire leather, just the areas under the screws. Four of them are at the ends while the 5th is close to the camera's serial number or the rangefinder window. Sometimes you can see bumps raised areas in the leather where the screws are located.

This is the product of oxidation of the brass screws and can be cleaned at this point. Occasionally, it is very difficult to peel the leather without damaging it.

This happens when the leather has been improperly glued in some past repair, probably using paper glue. Use contact cement instead. With the leather partially removed, carefully unscrew the 5 screws. Be extra careful because these screws are very soft and can be easily damaged! With the screws removed, pull the bottom plate off.

The rangefinder mechanism is shown in the figure below. It consists of 4 front surface mirrors, one of which is held by a spring-loaded lever so that it can be adjusted via a screw.

To access the screw you can go through the access hole this is located inside the camera in the bottom right side of the film chamber. To adjust this screw, look through the rangefinder window while applying light pressure on the film plane. Proceed with trial and error. Use a screwdriver and trial and error turn screw in one direction and check if this is the direction that makes things better or worse and proceed accordingly.

When the rangefinder is aligned, it is important to put a drop of glue on the screw to keep it from moving in the future.

Use mild glue for this purpose a drop of shellac was used in the '50s and apply it with a toothpick or with the tip of the screwdriver. When done, put the cover back, the 5 screws in place and use contact cement to glue the leather back. Don't forget to "close" the access door.

You are done! The "quick and dirty shortcut" is going through the access hole without opening the bottom. One drawback of this is that you cannot easily apply glue when done with the adjustment.

New Note : What do you do when the rangefinder and the focusing wheel do not agree with each other? In general, I recommend trusting the focusing wheel. Chances are the the focusing wheel is accurate, while the rangefinder is off. But I have seen situations where the opposite is actually true. So before you adjust the RF, you should check the focusing. I use a high power magnifier and a ground glass to check the focusing. If the focusing is off, I adjust the focusing not easy.

The Realist light leak is such a common occurrence that some people have called it a "feature" instead of a defect! In a worldwide survey via photo-3d, 68 people reported data for a total of Realist cameras. The leak manifests itself as an orange streak running vertically concentrated at the bottom of the image usually in the right film chip.

The frequency and intensity of the problem varies widely, depending on the location and size of the opening that causes the leak and the amount of exposure to sunlight. The most common location of the leak is the edge where the back meets the body on the side by the focusing knob.

While the top and bottom edges of the camera back are protected by a double light baffle, the sides have only one and this invites light leaks. This is a design flaw that went unnoticed in the '50s with Kodachrome's very slow speed. With today's faster films, more and more users are frustrated by this leak. As a result of the Internet discussions and based on an idea by Greg Wageman I came up with a system to check for light leaks, based on the light leaking out of the camera see Figure.

A small 2. The batteries are placed inside the film canister cavity, the switch into one of the two film apertures and the light bulb by the pickup spool. A piece of white reflector is placed around the pickup spool to increase reflections and make the light more visible the interior of the camera is black, so without this reflector the bulb filament would be the only source of light, making it difficult to see the leak.

The room lights are then turned off for 5 minutes for the eyes to get adjusted to the dark. Then, with the room lights still off, the switch is turned on and the camera back is quickly closed. The dark-adapted eyes are very sensitive so any light coming out of the camera can be easily detected as a faint glow. This method will not only find the exact location of the leak but will also monitor the progress in eliminating it.

One of the last two methods, or a combination of them, will eliminate the light leak forever! For example, if you omit any screws when you put the camera back together, then you will probably get a leak from the open hole. Also, a camera that does not have a leak might develop one in the future as the back gets loose with use or if the camera is dropped or deformed in some other way.

New Note : I used to check every camera for light leak and if I found one, then bend the catch and put a light gasket. These days I do these steps in every camera I repair, without checking for light leaks I assume the worse, and it does not hurt to do these two things. One thing is for sure I've read this somewhere and I believe it is true : With the camera back in place and locked, push the back and look at the edge of the camera by the focusing knob.

If you see any movement of the back, then rest assured that the camera will have a light leak. New Note for Custom Cameras : An interesting light leak has been observed in Custom Realist cameras and also Realist cameras with oversize knobs.

When taking pictures including considerable distance over feet as well as foreground objects, it is advisable to set the focus on the hyperfocal distance. This setting gives the greatest possible depth of field. See Table on page With the camera set on this distance everything will be sharp from one-half the hyperfocal distance to infinity. If no foreground objects are included, focus the camera on infinity. The second finger of the right is used to rotate the focusing knob, and the shutter is operated by the second finger of the left hand.

The left thumb is under the camera. Be careful that your other fingers do not obscure the two range objectives. The location of viewfinder a n d rangefinder eye-pieces makes it easy to steady the camera against your forehead when taking pictures. See figure 7. Of course, the use of a tripod wherever possible will result in better pictures.

At this point it would be well to check the shutter. Then, holding thumb of left hand on rewind release button, turn winding knob in direction of arrow until exposure counter clicks. This indicates that the film perforations have engaged the sprocket and started rotating it. Now release button and continue to turn winding knob until it locks.

Press wind release button again and start to turn. Remove thumb from wind release button and continue winding until the winding knob locks. Film for the first exposure is now in place.

Set counter dial on number 1, turning it counter clockwise. You are now ready to make your first exposure. Caution: As with any camera using 35 mm. It is important thereafter the exposure counter indicates you have made the 16 or 29 exposures depending on which length of film you are using not to continue winding film' since to do so would tear it from the magazine and necessitate darkroom unloading.

Turn rewind knob in direction of arrow and continue turning until all the film is rewound back into the magazine. When the counter stops operating you will know that this has been accomplished. Keep your camera clean. Brush out the interior occasionally with a soft brush to remove dust. Remove any bits of film that may become lodged in the take-up spool slot or any other place.

It is necessary that the lenses be kept clean. Be careful not to touch them with your fingers. They may be dusted with a soft, clean, camel's hair brush or cleaned more thoroughly by breathing upon the surface and gently wiping with lens tissue. Do not attempt to remove any of the lenses.

If you prefer to have your pictures mounted for you, send them to the David White Company, using the printed forms supplied for that purpose one such form is included with your camera and carefully following the directions. Your pictures will be returned to you in cardboard mounts ready for viewing. For more permanent protection they may be easily removed from these mounts and bound in glass in the conventional way without special apparatus. I'm guessing they are out of business!

The "regular" mask is for general use and produces an apparent "window" at a distance of approximately ten feet while with the "close up" mask, which is used for portraits and other close-up pictures, the window appears about three feet distant. When taking a picture, whether with a stereo camera or a single picture camera, there are only two things to determine and set distance focus and exposure shutter speed and diaphragm. Instructions for the operation of this control have been given on page 7 Be sure that you fully understand the matching of the split field and take a little extra time and care to be sure you have the exact focus each time.

The result will be definitely better pictures. When the view being photographed includes distant objects of importance over feet best results will be obtained by setting the focusing dial to the hyper focal distance for the diaphragm stop being used. See table on page 17 All objects will then be in focus from one-half this distance to infinity. The other setting - exposure - is made up of two things: the size of the opening which admits the light diaphragm stop and the length of time the shutter stays open shutter speed.

The exposure required will depend upon the sensitivity or "speed" of the film being used and the amount of light falling upon the subject being photographed. The film speed may be found from the instruction sheet that comes with the film or from tables published by the film or exposure meter manufacturers. The amount of light is best determined with a photo electric exposure meter, although various calculating charts are available which work fairly well under ordinary conditions.

Having determined the film speed and the amount of light, you have the choice of any of the combinations of diaphragm stop and shutter speed settings which give the proper total exposure. In deciding which to use, consider the type of the subjects with little or no motion permit slower shutter speeds and smaller diaphragm openings, giving greater depth of field; that is, sharpness through a longer range of distances.

Table on page Moving objects require faster shutter speeds in order to "stop" the action. Remember, the smaller the diaphragm opening the smaller openings have the larger numbers , the greater the depth of field; the faster or shorter the shutter speed, the better motion will be stopped.

You will soon gain enough experience and judgment to enable you to choose the proper combination of these two factors to suit any set of conditions.

The instructions up to this point apply equally well to either stereo or single picture cameras. In the matter of composition, camera angle and viewpoint, however, the stereoscopic camera offers much greater range and flexibility. Since the picture seen in the viewer will be so nearly like the original, anything that looks good to you in life will make a good picture.

At will, you may hold the camera level, point it up to include tall buildings or point it down for close-ups of flowers. Aim it in any direction you would look with your own eyes and you capture what your eyes saw. Since you are now photographing things in their true spatial relationship you may let objects occupy their normal positions in space. Often your pictures will be more interesting if you purposely include foreground objects such as trees, flowers.

In composing your pictures, take them from the viewpoints that look good to you at the time, with the assurance that they will look the same later when you view them in the stereoscope. You are no longer bound by rules of composition designed for flat pictures. Yours is now a new experience in photography with almost limitless possibilities. In the stereoscope you will see not a picture but the thing itself really created in all its original I beauty.

For further information we suggest that you read one of the many available books on the general subject of photography. Leave double exposure button indicated by arrow in this position. With button pushed in you cannot fire shutter again until film is advanced.

Pull double exposure button out and off center so button remains in extended position. Take time exposure. Never former libris. May or may not have dust cover and please check condition, we are happy to check for you. Any lower condition we downgrade to acceptable. Please message any questions. Used - Hardcover Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Poor. Size: 8vo. Connecting readers with great books since Customer service is our top priority!.

Also find First Edition. Used - Hardcover Condition: Good Plus. From United Kingdom to U. Condition: Good Plus. No Jacket. Boards rubbed, closed edges and endpapers foxed, owner name to ffep, otherwise clean and tight, includes stereo glasses in rear pocket. Published by Fountain Press, London, Used - Hardcover Condition: Near Fine.

Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Minor chipping and small edge-tears to DJ; else near fine in very good DJ. From Germany to U. Schutzumschlag etwas eingerissen. Mit Brille. Zahlreiche Abbildungen. Originalleinen mit Originalschutzumschlag. Unknown Binding. This is a used book in good condition and may show some signs of use or wear. Published by , Used - Hardcover Condition: Very Good. Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good. Includes stereo viewer and part of dust jacket glued onto inside boards.

William D.