I saw an old ad for one of these-it was a 35 mm camera that somehow made a “3-dimensional” image on a color print. Anybody ever have one? And, how well did it work?
About 3-D technology, the Russians actually made some 3-D movies in the 1980’s-nobody seems to be persuing this technology anymore-why?
It’s a lenticular process. The camera takes multiple pictures from slightly different angles. These are then printed in stripes on the print with tiny lenses glued over them. The lenses make it so you only see one stripe at a time, but which depends on at what angle you’re looking at the print. The effect depends greatly on the depth of what you’re taking a picture of–it can be dramatically 3D, or so subtle you barely notice. It does look like you’re looking at the picture through a screen, though. Maybe if the print were larger and further away, the seams between the stripes would be less noticeable. The prints also have a tendency to curl.
You could still buy disposable lenticular 3D cameras well into the late '90s. If you look around, someone might still be making them and processing the film.
I have a Nimslo camera on the shelf. Maybe I’ll have to get it out this Spring. 
3D would be nice, but so far no one’s come up with a system good enough to quite be worth it. The perceived demand just doesn’t balance the cost and performance of the technology, as well as the “steepness” of the barriers to introducing it yet.
The flat-screen TV is the perfect example. It was an obvious idea that remained firmly in the realm of science fiction for decades. But no one could develop a system good enough and cheap enough to jump into the TV market. What did finally happen was that a new market arose- for flatscreen laptop monitors. The first generation were monochrome, low res and had lousy refresh times- but they were good enough for the task. Once a market was established and revenue feeding back into the system, there was impetus for developing better monitors. Incremental improvement could happen, as well as multiple trial technologies that could be market tested for demand and potential for further refinement. Eventually a flatscreen good enough to market as a TV was developed. It probably could never have happened in one jump.
Quite possibly, 3D will arise due to gaming demands long before 3D movies or TV shows.
Where are you? If you haven’t seen 3D lately, either you’re in a remote location, or you’re just not looking.
For the last 20 years, IMAX theaters have been among the only places outside theme parks where one could see 3D movies. More than 50 IMAX 3D films have been made since 1990. There are now a little under 200 IMAX 3D theaters world.
However, the big news today is digital 3D in multiplexes. In North America there are now about 1,000 such screens, with about 750 more elsewhere in the world. These numbers are expected to more than double in the next couple of years.
Three 3D films – Beowulf, U2 3D, and Hannah Montana in concert – have been released since November, and two of them were also released in IMAX 3D versions. Many more 3D films are expected in the next few years. Next up is Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D in July. James Cameron’s Avatar is coming out next year.
Progress has been made in converting footage shot in 3D, and that there has been talk of re-releases of all the Star Wars films in 3D.
3D is definitely The Big Thing in movie theaters these days.