[photo-3d] "Giveaway" Viewer Review

["Paul Young" <paul.young@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I just got my order from 3DStereo.com. I had ordered all the $3-4 
dollar "giveaway" viewers I could find there (3 of them) and I 
thought I would post my opinions of them (since you asked). 

The first is the famous Radex plastic viewer that is really nice. 
Doesn't allow for focusing, but I didn't find a slide (in my 
extensive collection of about 30 slides) for which focusing was 
necessary with this viewer. Only drawback to this viewer is it 
doesn't fold flat for mailing. This will be a viewer I carry with me 
for "show and tell" with anyone that I don't trust with my Red Button 
viewer. This viewer can be found at the following web address. 

http://www.3dstereo.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-store/scstore/p-
svn-101.html?L+scstore+krvw2052+968944998

Next is a foldable cardboard viewer that is made of very light-gage 
cardboard with a grey/white starbust design. I had a lot of trouble 
viewing with this viewer. Very difficult to focus accurately. The 
thin cardboard made it flimsy, such that the right and left lenses 
required individual focusing (squeezing both sides independently) and 
I still had trouble ever seeing the slide in focus from window to 
infinity. The lenses are small and are on tabs that can be easily 
scewed. The biggest positive with this viewer is the clear plastic 
sleeve that it comes in. One half holds the flat viewer, and the 
other half holds three slides in individual slots. Perfect for a gift 
of 3 slides. Maybe the interocular distance wasn't right for me, or I 
am inept, but I wouldn't give this to someone with no experience with 
them, after my first impression, which is the way it would be for the 
novice giftee. This viewer can be found at the following web address. 

http://www.3dstereo.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-store/scstore/p-
veu-202.html?L+scstore+mtcc2841+968944343

The third viewer I tried is, again, a foldable cardboard viewer. This 
one is made of thicker, stiffer, black cardboard. It is much more 
rigid, the lenses are large, and I found it very easy to focus and 
see the image clearly. It comes in a clear plastic ziplok-style 
pouch, with no slots for slides. The only complaint I had with this 
one is that the light diffuser in the back of the viewer seemed very 
dirty when I first looked through the lenses, with black stuff all 
over it. I later discovered that this was particulate matter from the 
cut edges of the cardboard. I was able to remove most of it by 
blowing real hard into the side openings of the viewer. This viewer 
can be found at the following web address. 

http://www.3dstereo.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-store/scstore/p-
svn-301.html?L+scstore+krvw2052+968944376

Overall, the Radex is my favorite for a bang around, safe for 
handling by anyone viewer, and the Black cardboard viewer will 
probably my favorite for sending with "gift-pairs".

Anyone who is considering giving a cardboard foldable viewer as a 
gift should consider both of the ones that I reviewed here, as any 
viewer will work a little differently for each person who uses them.

Paul Young