Traduction de Sylvain Halgand.

Kodak was not with its first attempt with stereophoto, since at the beginning of the century, several stereo cameras formed already part of the catalog of the firm to the yellow and red mark.
The originality of this one lies in the fact that it is intended for a very large audience. To try this public, the camera does not require a special film, but a film size 135, and more particularly Kodachrome (film slide), easy to get in this middle of the Fifties. Kodak sold even Kodachrome with the processing and the assembly under stereo mask.




The camera is made of brown bakelite , sheathed of an also brown preparing, with metal parts. It is light in spite of its size. The general aspect points out that of Pony 135.
The two lenses (Anaston 3,5/35 mm) are coupled, without one being able to see the device of coupling. The setting of distance can be done indifferently on one of the two lenses. That of right-hand side is graduated in feet, whereas that of left with for reference mark of small pictograms. The lenses are protected by a bakelite mask, also brown.
The former window of the finder of the camera is between the two lenses, whereas the posterior window is on a more traditional site. The finder thus comprises mirrors. With the bottom of the former window of the finder is a green fluo spirit level, in order to allow a perfectly horizontal framing. This spirit level is visible in the finder. The settings of the aperture and speed are located above the lenses, between those. There is also a single coupling to regulate simultaneously the two diaphragms and the two shutters. The setting of these two parameters is done on a horizontal plate located at the top of the finder.


On the top of the camera are two large buttons for the advance of film and its rewinding . These buttons are finely sheathed. The advance of film involves the winding of the shutter. The button of rewinding is provided with an also sheathed folding crank.
In symmetry of the shutter release is a metal prominence, which proves to be the mask of a catch synchro.

With the use the viewfinder disconcerts by its small size. The spirit level is practical, because it is difficult to have an idea of the horizontality of the image, so much it is small. The settings are simple. The shutter release is soft, much more than it what one expects. The rewinding of film requires that we maintain a small latch under the camera, while rewinding. The camera is long and it is necessary a little to juggle to arrive there. The fear of making fall this bakelite antiquity does not arrange the things.

On the American market of the Fifties, the cameras of this type were rather numerous. One of the principal competitors of Kodak (and also its model) were Realist (which gave its name to the format of views obtained with film 135, so 24 X 23 mm, with distance between centers of 70 mm), but this last, certainly equipped with lenses opening with 2,8, were much more expensive. The originator of Realist was called Seton Rochwhite. Before war, it had already manufactured stereo cameras, remained with the state of study. It is with Kodachrome that it will develop industrially its idea .
In France, at the same time, we had only the Verascope 40. Many other models of pre-war period not having survived the development of film 135, and perhaps also with a disaffection of the French public for stereophoto.

At the hour when the digital cameras become legion, the use of this camera in the middle of crowd causes considerable glances of interrogation. Some would almost come from there to ask for the number of pixels of this funny of trick.