VM vs. Realist

[fj834@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Dr. George A. Themelis)]

Allan Carrano brings a very interesting subject for discussion.  Why is 
it that VM-format images (viewed in a model D viewer) do not hold the 
same degree of mesmerizing captivation as Realist-format images viewed 
in the red-button viewer?  Allan has observed that he and his friends 
spent more time looking at Realist vs. VM slides.  His suspicion is that 
this is due mainly to image size but he is wondering if there are other 
factors involved.

My personal observations agree with Allan's.  And that's the reason that 
I have stayed away from the VM format.  I am a VM collector but for my 
own personal photography I shoot Realist format and I am hooked to the 
mesmerizing captivation of the Realist-format images.

The amount of time spent looking at an image depends primarily on the 
size and the quality of what we see.  Allan talked about image size.  
Image quality is also a factor.  Bad slides roll much faster than 
good ones.  Even though one could project or view both formats with 
appropriate viewers so that they occupy the same size, the quality of 
the Realist format image will be slightly better because it is magnified 
less.

But, there is an even more important factor IMO, which is often 
overlooked.  This is the quality of the viewer used to view the slides.  
Is the Model D viewer comparable to the red-button?  Certainly not!  The 
model D has two simple lenses in each eyepiece and the image shows 
considerable chromatic aberration off-center.  The red-button has top-
quality achromatic lenses which deliver sharp, undistorted and color-
corrected images all the way to the edge.  Images roll much faster when 
viewed with inferior optics.  More time is spent for viewing pleasure 
than viewing torture.  Not many people realize and recognize how much a 
good viewer contributes to our viewing pleasure.

It is not fair to compare VM to Realist images because of the different 
viewers used and also because of the sequential VM format which invites 
the viewer to flip them faster.  For a fair comparison one should use 
either a good-quality VM viewer where the slides are fed one at a time, 
or instead of a Realist red-button viewer use an Airequipt.  The lower 
quality and lower magnification of this viewer and the sequential format 
will make Realist-slides roll out much faster.  BTW, the Airequipt and 
the VM model D have very similar optics.  Also, it sounds as if Allan
is comparing personal Realist slides with commercial VM reels.  I wonder 
if Allan can repeat his experiments using an Airequipt viewer (instead of 
a red-button) to view personal slides and a Model D for personal reels.  
Also, it would be interesting to do this test with images projected
to the same size and brightness.

George Themelis


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