I love 3 dimensional pictures
FMS can teach you to use your photos in your computer

Revised 3-29-2005 to modify Nishika information

Scanners, Digital Cameras, On-Line auctions

Test your ability to see a 3D picture. Click here to see a photo of a bench in the woods. If you can do 3D, there is a man and dog in the picture also
The dog is in front of the bench in the center.
The man is standing behind the bench on the right.
This photo is courtesy of Ulrich Gall who provided me written permission to display his photo many years ago on my original site. Many photos are copyrighted and should be reproduced only with permission.

BTW, 2 good eyes are required to see 3D.
If you only have one good eye,
it is not possible to see the depth in a dual photo set.

I have 3D cameras and a variety of memorabilia. There are a lot of resources on the web for 3D stuff. 3D photography has been around since the 1800's. Some of you may have seen the stereopticons of the early 1900's. This was a device that was used to view photos taken with a dual lens camera and mounted on a "stereo card". Here are some photos of some old viewers and cards.

Each thumbnail picture is linked to the full sized photo. To view the full size photo, click on the thumbnail photo. If you want to keep this page open and view the full size photo on a separate page, Right click the thumbnail and choose "Open in new window".

1. Typical stereopticon	2. A fancier model handle down	3. Fancy model Another view	4. An unusual model	5. A library or school model with a light	6. Another view of the lighted model
7. Typical stereo card, 2 photos	8. Another card with a scene	9. Typical reverse side with info	10. A kit used for eye exams	11. The brochure for the kit	12 One of the cards in the kit
13. Another card in the kit	14. Special card with numbered areas	15. Another card in the kit	16. Label on box explaining use	17. A lighted model without a stand	18. Another view of the handheld lighted model
19. ViewMaster	20. Keychain Viewmaster	21. A collection of ViewMaster cards	22. Typical cardpack	23. Carlsbad Caverns	24. Scenes of Ecuador
25. Magic Eye Book	26. A page from the book	27. How to see the 3D illusion	28. The solutions in the back of the book	29. Products available from the authors	30. A different Magic Eye book
31. Random Dot 3D illusion	32. A special tribute	33. Description of photo 32.	34. Double dot viewing method for random dot	35. Double dot viewing method for dual photo	36. A real eyestrain to pull these together
37. Credit for number 36	38. Another double dot picture	39. 3D bugs ugly!	40. Credit for the bugs	41. Another style of stereogram	42. A modern 3D camera with 4 lenses

Some explanations for the above photos from my collection:

1-4 Show different styles of viewers used in the late 1800's and early 1900's

5 & 6 Are views of a lighted model on a stand probably used in a library or school.

7-9 Show some typical cards of the era. I have boxed sets of cartoon and the San Francisco Earthquake. I have hundreds of miscellaneous cards of different scenes around the world.

10-16 Are a few shots from a special boxed set in perfect condition used by an optical doctor for special eye training.

17-18 Is a special handheld viewer with a light similar to the one in 5 & 6.

19-24 Are views of the more modern ViewMaster. These were popular in the 40' and 50's with kids and adults alike. I have hundreds of the circular cards with cartoons and views from all over the world. ViewMaster's are still being sold new as depicted by the keychain model. I even have a ViewMaster projector to show them on a screen.

25-41 Depict the modern craze of random dot stereograms. These are computer generated pictures with slight distortions that create a 3D picture when viewed properly. When I first saw one of these a number of years ago, I saw people gathered around a poster exclaiming amazing things. I tried it and since I could not see the 3D effect, I assumed it was a scam like snipe hunting (there are no such things). I really think grunion are fake also. I know tons of people that swear they have seen one, but I never have. We used to go grunion hunting on the beach in California and they never seemed to be running on the night I went. They even put photos in the newspaper showing grunion on the beach. Never saw one for real. Just like snipe. Anyway, I thought this was another scam until I was able to get the illusion to pop out and I was hooked.

This is for real. If you stare at any repeated pattern, even tile on the floor, you get a 3D effect. The devices in the first few pictures made your eyes look straight ahead, each eye at a different picture, taken by a different lens separated by a distance like a persons eyes causing the appearance of 3 dimensional depth.

42 is a modern camera made by Nishika. It uses regular 35 MM film and shoots one shot from each lens on a different piece of negative. Each shot uses 2 frames in the film, so a 24 shot roll only gets 12 developed photos. The photos used to be developed by Nishika here in Las Vegas and the 4 shots are layered onto one photo and gives the appearance of phenomenal depth. The Las Vegas store is out of business. Actually the whole company is out of business but you can still find them on E-Bay. However check the links below & you will find at least 4 models of inexpensive cameras available new.

You can check these sites for more current information on cameras & processing: http://clik3d.com/services.htm & http://www.orasee.com/ or just search the web for 3D film processing. http://www.3dstereo.com/ is another place for 3D stuff.

The final type of 3D photos around now are the holograms. I did not put a photo here because they are everywhere today on cereal boxes to watches. It is a fascinating area of illusion. I hope you enjoyed my little tour. If you want more detailed information, there are lots of books in the gift shops about 3D photos. The web is a good source of info also. Just try a search for 3D. You will be amazed at the results you get.

There used to be a couple of programs available for generating your own stereograms on your computer. One was included with a book called "Making Random Dot Stereograms" by Bob Hankinson and Alfonso Hermida (QUE Publishing Co.)
The other one I have is Stereolusions v1.55 by I/O Software from 1995. Both are on floppies, so that tells age.

Sites for more info on 3D:
http://www.nott.ac.uk/~etzpc/sirds.html has "The mother of all SIRDS links" Jan 2006 gone. Search for Sirds to find lots of sites.
http://www.nott.ac.uk/~etzpc/gif.html a gallery of photos. Click the thumbnails to see the larger version.
Most of my old links went south. Here are some current as of 3-29-05: (If they go bad, just search for 3D, 3D photos or stereograms)
http://www.3djournal.com/001/
http://www.stereo3d.com/3dhome.htm
http://www.3dphoto.net/stereo/stereo.html Which seems to include a 3D webring.

January 2002: Thanks to E-Bay and the generousity of my wife, I have added numerous unique items to my collection that I never knew existed. I may take some photos of them later and add them. They include some smaller formats on negatives and glass slides, some small ones produced in Europe as givaways for cereal promotion, a French viewer for the glass and negative slides, a couple of cameras and some really strange viewers and projectors.