Stereoscopic Society Annual Convention

The Annual Convention in 2012 will be held at The Crowne Plaza Hotel, Nottingham from 11th to 14th May.

This is a firm booking, so put it on your calendar now!

Above pairs are for parallel viewing. The images are also in a small gallery where you can choose different viewing methods.  Click here! We will be expanding this area soon.

Meanwhile, the 2011 Convention has taken place and was a great success! The information below is for information only and will be replaced with 2012 information as it becomes available.

Meanwhile there have been positive results following the many personal chats that took place at the Convention. Just two that the WebMaster is aware of are:

On the some members' Fujifilm W3 cameras, the Parallax Control was not working. One member contacted Fujifilm and reports that this is a known issue which is easily solved! The W3 has three "Power Saving" settings and the Parallax Control does not work if the first one is chosen! Select the second and the problem is solved!

There is a new piece of software that is being used for creating 3D AV shows, but which can be a little difficult to set up to achieve the required 3D AVI output. Sharing of dialog box settings has allowed a short movie to be created which will be shown at the stereoscopic meeting in Bury less than 2 days after the end of  the Convention!

And, it is this sort of interaction, as well as the opportunity to see lots of top class shows and handle many different pieces of equipment that keep people coming back to the Convention year after year. Have you been to one, yet? If not, plan NOW for 11th - 14th May 2012

Ideally situated within sight of Chesterfield's world famous ‘Crooked Spire’ church of St Mary’s, the 2011 convention will be held at The Legacy Chesterfield Hotel which stands proudly on the fringe of Chesterfield town centre.

This is a great occasion to meet up with friends or make new ones with a like minded interest in 3D.  Come along and learn some new ideas or see the latest 3D cameras and equipment. The highlights of our convention are the 3D projection sessions held on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.  These present an opportunity to see some of the best 3D shows from our members and around the world.

After last years convention members said how enjoyable the shows had been and praised the quality of the society's new digital projection system for delivering sharp, bright and vibrant images which are now acknowledged by some of the most die hard slide fans as of acceptable, if not superior, quality.  Certainly, from the organiser's point of view, the convenience of using one set of compact digital equipment is a great improvement.  However the real advantage lies in the ability to quickly gather digital shows from anywhere around the world, to be shown without risking the loss of the originals in the post!

We will also have the usual mix of workshops, demonstrations, AGM, sales tables and talks.  Plus the new competition allowing you to submit an audio-visual 5-minute show (AV5), following the successful pilot organised by Barry Aldous in Letchworth last year.

Please let the organisers know as soon as possible if you would like to offer a 3D show, workshop, sales table or display for the convention. (ALL shows will be projected digitally.  Shows on film must be available for digitisation by 1 March 2011.)

Remember this is your convention so please let us have any new ideas you would like us to consider, or any previous features you would like to see return.

For example, we are currently debating whether to hold the usual two yearly auction normally due at this convention. The last few auctions have been low on items and even lower on bids!

Should we still have an auction this year?  Let us know your views.  Unless we here soon from sufficient members in favour of an auction we will simply organise tables for members to display sales items (instead of the normal 10% auction commission, a contribution towards society funds at the discretion of the selling member would be appreciated).

Saturday in Chesterfield is a market day and our hotel is the perfect base to explore on foot the town centre which is steeped in history including one of the oldest and largest out door markets in the country dating back to 1204. There are several shopping arcades to discover plus The Shambles with connections as far back as The Middle Ages, or for the real shopaholics Meadowhall Shopping Centre near Sheffield is less than 30 minutes away either by car or by train from the station opposite the hotel.

Also near by are the tranquil surroundings of Queens Park with its wonderful floral displays, cricket ground and bandstand. For the thrill seekers on Saturdays you can go up the tower of St Mary’s church with the 'Crooked Spire'.

After a hearty breakfast on Sunday morning, we can embark on our regular coach excursion for a day in picturesque Derbyshire.  We are spoilt for choice here since Derbyshire and the surrounding area has a wealth of unique attractions all well worth visiting, not forgetting the peaks and dales and their stunning landscapes.

Chesterfield and The Peak District National Park, which was our first National Park contains some of the best historical houses and stately homes in the country, all within a short drive.  These include the magnificent Chatsworth House together with Haddon Hall, Bolsover Castle, Hardwick Hall and Renishaw Hall to name but a few.  Castleton and the Blue John Caverns are also ‘must-sees’ as are the Derbyshire towns of Matlock Bath, Buxton and Bakewell (home of the famous pudding).  Not forgetting Derbyshire's unique Well Dressings staged across the county between May and September - How will you fit it all in?  Why not extend your convention weekend? Stay an extra night or two at the special discounted rate for additional nights and see more of this delightful area at your leisure.

A most likely candidate for our outing as a curious and photogenic attraction is for us to step back in time and visit the Crich Tramway Village Museum as part of our day out plus one or other of the many attractions in this picturesque area.

Enthusiasts of industrial heritage and railways have a special affection for Derbyshire and the Peak District, Sir Nigel Gresley was a Derbyshire man and Sir Richard Arkwright's Cromford Mill is part of a World Heritage Site of industrial importance.  Also George Stephenson who built the famous 'Rocket' locomotive is buried in Chesterfield.  With such a heritage there are many railway attractions in the area.

Chatsworth House is a marvellous place to visit and is very close to Chesterfield.  It has been the outing at both previous conventions in this area at Buxton in 1964 and 1983.  However, the weekend of the convention is their International Horse Trials and we have been warned that Sunday would be very busy.  For those interested we are prepared to organise an additional group trip to Chatsworth on Monday 16^th May. (If you have far to travel you may wish to book an extra hotel night now.)  Please let us know on your registration form if this additional excursion on Monday 16^th May is of interest to you.

Our Convention Hotel is large enough to accommodate us all under one roof.  The large modern restaurant will be able to seat us all for dinner and the 4m high ceiling of the ballroom, seating over 200 theatre style, should allow trouble free viewing of our projection shows.  The Ballroom is air-conditioned and fully blacked out having often been used by the Institute of Amateur Cinematographers (IAC) international competition (BIAFF) who also use large screen projection shows.

The hotel has spacious public lounge bars with free Wi-Fi and a restaurant where you can relax and enjoy the friendly service for which the hotel is renowned.  There are 73 en-suite bedrooms, including three rooms adapted for wheelchair users. In addition the hotel boasts full leisure facilities, with a 17 metre swimming pool, sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi, as well as a fully equipped gymnasium.

(Please note; the passenger lift can accommodate a manual wheelchair, but due to the size is unable to carry a motorised buggy.)

The Chesterfield Hotel is situated immediately opposite the railway station that has direct trains taking less than two hours from London St Pancras.  Chesterfield is also within easy reach of the motorway network (10 minutes to M1 J29).  Nottingham East Midlands International Airport is within a 45 minutes drive as is Doncaster Robin Hood Airport and Manchester International Airport is just over an hour away.  There is ample free car parking opposite the main hotel entrance.

We have organised a special hotel rate of £50 per person per day, which includes a three course Dinner, Bed & Breakfast.  This price applies to the convention nights of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, if you would like to extend your stay either before or after the convention additional days can be booked at the reduced rate of £45 per person per day, Dinner, Bed and Breakfast.

We are conscious of the current economic climate and that the ISU convention in Holland next August is very accessible for UK members.  With this in mind we have endeavoured to organise a convention we hope will allow members to support both conventions if they wish, but maintain the usual standards we have all come to expect and enjoy.

Please book your hotel accommodation BY POST using the Hotel Booking Form and Convention Registration Form you should now have received with your annual subscription renewal, or you can download the forms from the links above..  Please also note the ability to register at a discount before 31^st March 2011, or to register for individual days if you would just like to visit us briefly.

Final details for the convention programme and outing are still being worked out and will be announced in future issues of the journal and regularly on the web site.

We look forward to welcoming you all to Chesterfield in May 2011 and hope that you will have a very enjoyable convention.