American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1952)

Amateur CINEMATOGRAPHY Stereoscopic Movies With Any 16mm Camera Simple, quickly-attached 3rd-dimension conver¬ ters for camera and projector now afford the amateur the first practical stereo movies; make unnecessary any alterations to equipment. By JOHN FORBES Cine amateurs having 16mm cameras now can make their movies in thirddimension with a simple stereoscopic at¬ tachment that costs less than an extra camera lens. Stereo movies, long in the experimental stage, are now a practical thing for the movie amateur — even be¬ fore they are commercially possible for theatres. Stereo movies are one of two recent major developments destined to rekindle interest in home movies among old time cine hobbyists, and also bring NORD STEREO converter may be used with camera hand-held or tripod-mounted. 72 • American Cinematographer many new fans into the fold. The other development is magnetic sound; but stereo is much more exciting, costs less for the added equipment. First to bring out a practical and simple three-dimension stereo attachmente for cine cameras and projectors is The Nord Company of Minneapolis. The first of these devices, the Nord 3rddimension Camera Converter, is mount¬ ed by means of a bracket which attaches to the tripod-socket on the camera, and which holds it rigidly in place in front of the regular camera lens. The camera stereo unit will operate satisfactorily with any make of one-inch lens — the standard lens normally supplied with all 16mm cine cameras. Since the camera unit does not at¬ tach to the lens itself there is no problem of adapters nor does the speed of the lens or size of the barrel affect the use or mounting of the unit. The bracket is a machined aluminum casting, and is universally adjustable so that with the aid of a screw driver it can be adjusted to suit any make of equipment. In fact, the only part of the entire kit which is “special” is a small clip used to guide the side of the camera so that the lens always points directly into the optical head. This new camera unit should not be confused with any of the devices tried in the past, which used mirrors to separate the images to form a stereo pair. The principles employed are quite new and involve several optical wedges which are achromatized. The camera lens, looking through this optical head at a scene, records two images which correspond to the right eye and left eye views required for a true and accurate 3rd dimension movie. These twin-picture images are recorded • February, 1952 CONVERTER is attached to camera by means of bracket fastened to tripod socket. Camera viewfinder is dispensed with, and pictures are lined up through the reflex viewfinder in top of converter. NORD converter unit mounted before projector. A special screen of vertical format, and special Polaroid viewing spectacles complete equipment necessary for viewing stereoscopic home movies. on the film side by side in the space normally occupied by a standard single frame image. Since the entire stereo unit attaches to the camera in the same way that the camera would be mounted on a tripod, it can readily be attached or detached as occasion demands and there is no machine work or alteration required on the camera itself. It can be used with the camera either hand-held or mounted on a tripod. With the unit in place stereo movies are made in the same way that has always been employed for the older form of flat movies. In fact, the only dif¬ ference is that you increase exposure by % stop, just as if you were using a ( Continued on Page 76)