This camera is from a very large, long-neglected collection of photography equipment that I recently acquired. It consists of photo-related products that I have not used or tested unless I have stated otherwise. I make no claims or guarantee regarding its operation unless I have stated otherwise. I do, on the other hand, only tell the truth about what I know or believe about the equipment that I’m selling. I won’t lie, I won’t lead you to believe something that I don’t, and I won’t misrepresent any item with which I am connected. I have a number of cameras, lenses, and accessories to sell, but it’s not going to make me rich and I’m not quitting my day job. A couple of extra bucks are not worth my self-respect or my reputation.
The item you are bidding on is a Stereo Realist 22 X 23mm camera. It uses standard 135 (35mm) film, and these very popular (250,000 units sold!) cameras were produced from 1947 to 1971 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is a reliable, sturdy, easy-to-repair camera. It is somewhat heavy, at approximately 820 grams. The shutters are located behind the lenses, and range from 1/150 second to 1 second, with a flash synch at all speeds. Although this camera is a rangefinder, there is no parallax due to the placement of the viewfinder directly between the Taking Lenses. The Taking Lenses themselves are two David White Anastigmat 35mm f3.5 coated triplets (I believe this refers to each lens containing three elements. If I’m wrong, please feel free to email me and I’ll modify the listing). One may make 19 pairs of exposures with a standard 24-exposure film roll, or 29 pairs with a 36-exposure film roll. The format that was introduced with the advent of this camera is 22 X 23mm, and this format became the standard format for stereo slides all over the world. Another interesting feature of this camera is the fact that when one focuses the image, it is the film plane that moves and not the lenses.
The particular camera up for auction has a serial number of A35171, indicating a likely manufacture date during 1951. It comes with a 2-piece screw-on and snap together brown leather case (original) with the Stereo Realist logo in yellow on the front of the lens protrusion. All of the original stitching is intact, and the case is in beautiful condition with very minor scrapes on the bottom of the snap-on piece. The front of the leather on the lens bump-out has three small scrapes or indents that are darker than the brown finish of the leather, but they are very small. Two are above the “s” and the last is below the “t” in “Realist.” The matching (original equipment) brown strap is in excellent condition.
The camera itself is very nicely preserved. The metal has become somewhat dirty or dull with age, and the very rear edge of the base of the camera (protecting the film compartment door) has a small amount of metal showing through the lacquer. The front elements of the viewfinder need to be cleaned – they don’t appear to be pitted or scratched, just dirty. The shutter operates and (to my ear, fairly experienced) seems accurate, although I have not timed it. The light-seal on the camera back and body appears to be without flaw.
Need more details? A different camera make or model? I’m not a dealer but I do have HUNDREDS OF OLDER CAMERAS that need to be sold! IF YOU WANT A PARTICULAR MAKE AND MODEL OF CAMERA PLEASE CONTACT ME! I’ve got: Argus, Kodak, Canon, Nikon, Bell & Howell, 3M, Rollei, Yashica, Minox, Pentax, Olympus, Minolta, Vivitar, Falcon, Ricoh, and more in 35mm, 35mm half frame, medium format, SLRs, TLRs and more. I’ve got lenses, accessories, attachments, etc… Is there one you’ve been looking for? Email me at bikeman476@gmail.com for more information. Thanks for looking!