P3D Re: Viewers for 2x2 systems

["Greg Wageman" <gjw@xxxxxxxxxx>]

From: Michael Watters <mwatters@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>


>How about a conversation about viewers for 2x2?

I've asked this same question on this list in the past, and gotten
pretty much the same response you did, namely, none.

> I've usually used
> one of the old 50's viewers and mounted in standard sized
> mounts (mostly 7P).   I'd like to switch to something
> where I'm not forced to chop down the slides
> too much though.

If you switch to RBT mounts, you can use their 33mm width and only crop
1.5mm from each side of your 36mm image.  Much better than 7P mounts,
anyway.  You need to crop a little bit to set the window.

>What are other 2x2
> shooters using to view?   Seems the viewers
> I've seen tend to be either the ultra cheapo plastic
>things or VERY expensive handtooled jobs.  Anything
>in between?

I've not found anything satisfactory.  I remount my 2x2 slides into RBT
mounts for the purposes of viewing in American standard format viewers.
I leave them in 2x2 mounts, in Carousel trays, for projection.
Sometimes I intentionally take duplicate shots so I can have both, if
the subject matter is appropriate (read: stationary) but usually I just
put the pairs on a light table and pick-and-choose.  Lighter, less
contrasty exposures usually go to projection.  Darker, contrasty and/or
saturated images have more impact in a good (Red Button, Revere) viewer.

> I find myself torn between two forces when thinking
>about this myself.   I really like the idea of a "stereo mount" where
>you can mount the slides together.  Makes flipping through
>slides in a viewer handy.  But twin 2x2 slides are
>appealing in that it's easy to send one off to
>be printed (if you want that) or to project in twin projectors.


Yup.  The convenience of Carousels for projecting slides shouldn't be
overlooked, either.  They're simple to load and unload, they feed the
slides automatically and reliably, and using the remotes one can sit in
the ortho seat and still work the projector.  And if you decide to get
REALLY serious and ramp up to multi-projector shows with dissolve, it's
pretty much the only way to go, unless you can afford to spend/are
willing to spend $3,000 each on the RBT projectors, in which case you
just remount EVERYTHING into American standard format and be done with
it.

     -Greg W. (gjw@xxxxxxxxxx)



------------------------------