E
easy to create your own V-M reels. It had twin
precision cutting dies and a rock-solid film-strip-advance mechanism. With a twist of the
knob, the film’s sprocket holes automatically
locked into position. Press the lever down —
kaCHUNK! — and both left and right images
were crisply punched out with a single stroke
(Figure F).
Each chip of film was inserted into its
matching slot in an empty V-M reel. No tricky
alignment needed: the precise slots snugly
held the film in perfect registration. There
were even blank spaces on the reel to write
your own captions for each of your seven
images.
Because the V-M reels you made would
fit any V-M viewer, you could send reels to
friends that they could view with their own
(or borrowed) viewers. But for the ultimate
in sharing your 3D V-M pictures with a group,
Press the lever down — kaCHUNK! — and both left
and right images were crisply punched out with
a single stroke.
there was the Stereo-matic 500 projector,
the last part in the V-M system.
The Stereo-matic 500 projector featured
twin lenses that automatically aligned the
left and right views as you focused. Its polarized filters matched the lenses in the special
glasses the audience wore. Your photos were
projected in bright, colorful, thrilling 3D for
all to see up on the silver screen (a metallic
screen surface was required to maintain the
polarization).
The entire V-M 3D system worked quite
well — and still does! With their rugged construction and clever design, my camera, film
punch, and projector still work flawlessly after
50 years. I’ve taken thousands of 3D images
— birthdays and holidays, wedding albums,
baby pictures and family events, scenic travel
photos, even some “artsy” shots — all with
great results (Figure G).
62 Make: makezine.com/28
