P3D Re: How best to sell your stereo slides.

[Peter Davis <pd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 08:55 PM 6/26/98 , Boris Starosta wrote (among other things):
>
>And what about ViewMaster?  Aside my little barb above, I could also
>produce and sell V-M reels, which are both low cost, well known, and have a
>broad user base.  But I feel that the image quality is inadequate.  (In
>fact, moreso than even the Realist, V-M degrades the general public's
>perception of what really good stereo can look like.  In marketing my work,
>I fight what I call the "ViewMaster Effect":  the notion that stereo
>imagery is small and cardboardy and for kids).

I don't agree with this.  While the V-M format is limited by frame size,
and the resultant magnification of grain when viewed, I see no other
limitations in this format which prevent it from producing superb results.
Personally, my interest in 3-D is largely the result of my interest in
View-Master slides at an early age, and I suspect that same can be said of
many other enthusiasts.  Far from hurting the perception of 3-D, the format
has perhaps contributed more than anything else to the survival of 3-D
photography.

I will grant that newer reels seem to pay less attention to composition,
photographic quality and stereo effects.  Still, that is the fault of the
"software" and not the medium itself.  Older scenic reels can still be
quite breathtaking.

Note that I don't shoot V-M format myself, but that's largely because I
haven't found a set of equipment I can afford, complete with cutter, etc.
It's certainly a format I'd like to experiment with.

I don't dispute Boris's choice of 2x2x2 format for image quality and aspect
ratio, but this doesn't mean that V-M format is inherently inferior.

-pd


--------
                             Peter Davis
               Funny stuff at http://world.std.com/~pd

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