P3D Mount merits

[Paul Talbot <ptww@xxxxxxxxx>]

A lot of discussion lately about various stereo mounts.
Many good points have been made.  I'd like to add a bit
to the discussion, if I may.  And also add a number of
questions of my own.

Paul Ivester wrote:

> Up until now, I had been mounting with the larger opening
> toward the observer.  Now, when I use heat seal mounts, I
> mount with the chips facing downward, right image on the
> left, left image on the right. 

I really encourage everyone to mount with the smaller
opening toward the observer!  In folios I see a lot of
heat seal mounted slides with the large opening toward
the observer.  It is *very* distracting to view a slide
with that partially shaded strip of image around the
edges of the window.  I understand that at one point
the Reel-3D instructions said to use the mounts this
way, but that they have now been corrected.

David Kesner wrote:

> Now let's compare slip-in mounts to Spicer Cardboard mounts:
> 
> 1) Cost:
> slip-ins $12.95/50 (Reel 3D)
> Spicer $5.50/50 $10.00/100 (RMM)

Actually, the 4P and 7P slip-in mounts are even higher
($13.95 and $14.95 for 50, respectively).

> 2) Mounting: Spicers do take a short amount of time to
> learn, but using the RBT jig method you can learn in
> one roll, be confident in two or three, and by five or
> six proficient. After that you will be able to cut mount
> and view a roll in less than one hour.

There are a lot of variables that affect mounting speed.
The choice of mount is only one.  I would not go so far
as to guarantee any particular maximum time per roll!

> 3) Re-use: for the most part you cannot re-use a Spicer mount.

This is more a personal choice than an inherent feature
of the mounts.  Heat seal mounts are inherently non-
reusable, if you heat seal them.  Spicers are inexpensive
enough that you might *choose* not to reuse them.  But
it's really your choice.

> 4) Previewing: Using the RBT jig and a modified SV1 viewer you 
> can preview all your images before you permanently mount them.

You can preview by freeviewing, either with or without
the assistance of reading glasses, if you have learned to
freeview.  This is the quickest way to preview.   Or you
can drop the modified RBT mount "jig" into the red buttom
viewer and preview the slides that way.  The modified
SV1 is not a requirement.

> 5) Spicers are a precision die cut mount - no fuzzy edges.
> 
> 6) Spicers allow full and complete freedom to set the window and 
> adjust for vertical, horizontal and rotational errors.
> 
> 7) Spicers sealed in silver tape just make a damn fine looking 
> finished product.

This is a point that deserves emphasizing.  You would
be amazed how much a strip of silver tape dresses up
your stereo slides!  Incidentally, we now carry the
economical and "DrDave endorsed" brand of silver tape
in both 1/4" and 3/8" sizes.  See
http://www.rmm3d.com/supplies/silver_tape.html

> Give your images the quality mounting they deserve.  It
> doesn't cost any more (actually less!) and it only takes
> a little more practice. You will enjoy your images more,
> your friends will thank you, and the judges at club
> competitions and exhibitions will give you acceptances
> rather than rejections.

David's enthusiasm is admirable, but I can't guarantee
that a slide mount will convert a dud image into an
award winner.  ;-)   However, in folio voting I *have*
dropped an image out of the top three due to the fact
that it was mounted in a slip-in mount.  I found the
slip-in detracted enough from the overall presentation
that the image was no longer in the top three of that
group of slides.

For salons, I still recommend using aluminum mounts
with binders, or RBT mounts.  I confess that I have
sent Spicer-mounted slides to salons when I was too
lazy to re-mount the images.  But as a rule I suggest
restricting cardboard mounts to hand viewers and home
projection.

> For those not so easily convinced of the ease of mounting
> using Spicers mounts I will be giving a workshop at NSA
> Y2K. Come see me and I guarantee that I will have you
> precision mounting in no time at all - as long as you
> have two hands, all ten fingers, and at least a little
> manual dexterity!

David's excellent techniques can also be used by those
who "push down" the little mounting guides in the heat
seal mounts, so as to permit them to be used more like
a precision-mounting mount.

While writing this, I just received a phone call from
the stereo refugee from Dallas mentioned in a prior post.
He is ecstatic over how much time he is saving using
the RBT mount jig approach, which I taught to him when
he visited our Austin club meeting.  He sounds like he
is ready to become a crusader like DrDave for this
technique!

For more on the RBT jig mounting technique, see my
next message.

Jon Golden wrote:

> Jan and I have been going through almost a decades
> worth of our own RBT mounted images, and between the
> two of us we have now culled out over 500 RBT mounts
> we can re-use as if brand new.
> 
> culling through ones collection (if one does so) as I
> did....provides me with lots of mounts....at no extra
> cost.

I love RBT mounts, but let's put this in proper
perspective.  The cost differential between 500
Spicer (optionally reusable) mounts ($50) and 500
RBT (easily reusable) mounts ($300) is $250 (or
more with shipping factored in, less if buy in
volume).  Or, put another way, $300 will buy you
500 RBT mounts, or 3,000 Spicer mounts...or 500
Spicer mounts and almost 10% of an RBT camera!  ;-)
It's all your choice, of course!

(I'm surprised DrT hasn't commented on the math of
culling 500 slides from a decade's worth of shooting
by two stereo photographers!  What would that work
out to for you George?  One percent??)

Paul Talbot