Re: [photo-3d] Re: Medium format viewer

[Paul Talbot <list_post@xxxxxxxxx>]

Linda Nygren wrote:

> a good stereo viewer such as a Red Button with halogen bulb...
> makes a huge difference in viewing your results.

Yes, it certainly does!  But why is that?  I think the answer
varies for different people, but in my experience the first
huge step up in viewing satisfaction came from using adequate
brightness.  I would hold a "$3 viewer" within about an inch
of a 100-watt equivalent circular fluorescent light.  DrT may
consider this heresy, but the step up from there to a "T'd RB"
may not have been as big as from a dim $3 viewer to a bright
$3 viewer.  (The Red Button was a whole lot more convenient,
however.)

> IMO, the step up in quality and brilliance from
> cheap viewer to a Red Button is a greater leap than from 35mm to MF.

Each person has to make their own choices, but in my experiences
both viewing for myself and doing demos for countless other people,
I'd say moving up to MF is a more significant improvement.

Here's a great quote that should be preserved forever in the P3D
Hall of Fame:

| I was pretty happy with my Realist until I saw the RBT and what it 
| was capable of, then I had to remortgage my house to buy one. This 
| just isn't an option for most sane people.
| 
| I have been mounting some medium format slides for other people 
| and can't believe what I have been missing with my RBT. Now what 
| am I supposed to do? The house is already mortgaged, does that 
| mean I have to sell the Harley?

Although the post does not discuss the viewers being used, I think
the author can confirm that he was using a good, bright viewer to
view his RBT slides.  Now that doesn't tell us which step was bigger,
but Brian gave a great example with the brick buildings in New York.
His story illustrates that no matter how good the viewer, it can't
show you something the film format was not capable of recording.

Although I've always found Realist format slides "more realistic"
than flattie prints, I never once experienced the feeling of "being
there" or feeling like I could "step right into the scene" when
looking at Realist format slides, even in a turbo-charged Red Button.
It wasn't until I saw medium format stereo slides (even from a lowly
Sputnik) in a good viewer that I experienced the thrill of 3D good
enough to believe it was real.

Paul Talbot