Stereo slide viewers can mean different things to different people. Each of us has a different set of “must have” features. Some commonly mentioned features are:

• Range of focus
• Accuracy of colors
• Limited distortion
• Eye relief
• Interocular adjustments
• Field of view

Different people value different features. No single viewer is going to make everyone happy.

There are those who strive to realistically recreate the the scene the camera saw at the time the image was made. I have, however, long been intrigued by wide-angle viewing regardless of the focal length of the lenses on the camera. I’ve wanted to get closer to the image and become part of it. more…

There are many devices to assist viewing large print and screen images. I’ve tried a few, though certainly not all. I’ve just been working with a Wheatsone viewer from Mark Golebiowski who is selling them in kit form at www.fullscreenviewer.com

I had the opportunity to try this viewer at the 2010 NSA convention in Ohio. It felt nice in my hands, was easy to use and worked well with very large prints. When the opportunity came along to exhibit a couple of my own images, I knew I wanted to use this viewer. more…

Immediately behind the lenses of the 3D World focusing viewer are visible, rectangular apertures.  I found them distracting so I thought I would find out if I’d like my viewer more if they were gone.  The answer is, “yes”!

Details can be found on the Viewer Mod page.

3D World has shipped the second version of their illuminated, focusing viewer for medium format slides. I’ve updated the page devoted to the viewer to reflect these changes. It really wasn’t too hard an edit to make because it involved removing the following from the “deficiencies” list:

• Inability to focus past infinity
• Internal reflections from a glossy plastic parts

Another change a few people haven’t enjoyed is the change in the lens retension system. In the original viewers, the lenses were retained with rings which threaded on the front of the lens barrels. In the new viewer, the lenses are retained with rings threaded behind the lenses (inside the lens barrel).  This change doesn’t affect day-to-day use, but it does make it harder to install shorter lenses in place of the stock 75mm achromats.

I still say this viewer is a bargain.  If you shoot medium format slides, you need to have one of these viewers.

Behind every good viewer is a good light source.  3D World has built an LED powered edge-lit panel for use in their new focusing viewer.  While I think I can build a good illuminator, I know I wouldn’t be able to build anything this good at the price 3D World is offering their viewer.

Because it’s so neat to see someone else’s work in an area I’ve long pursued, I have an entire page devoted to the 3D World Illuminator.

Alan Lewis has created such wonderful items as the Saturn Viewer for medium format slides. He has published photographs of how he modified his viewer to increase the interocular spacing to 70mm.

The new viewer from 3D World has some enticing features:

• Focus
• Adjustable interocular
• Illuminated

I costs and weighs a bit more than their steal-the-light (STL) viewer, but it is otherwise superior in all areas.  If you shoot medium format stereo images, and you don’t already have an illuminated viewer, you really need one of these.

I actually have a whole set of pages devoted to this viewer which cover its strengths, weaknesses and potential improvements.