Best slide viewer (binocular style goggle)?

Helge · Jun 21, 2020

What is the best non stereo (or also stereo) viewer made, or just ones to recommend?

Again, I’m not looking for tabletop models.
I’m after dual lens, mono viewers.
And I’m after viewers that has the largest projection.
The best optics.
And preferably the ability to use daylight, or your own light source instead of a weedy little yellow flashlight bulb.

AgX · Jun 21, 2020

"Best" ... Well, it would be fine for me to even have a choice at all.

Helge · Jun 21, 2020

AgX said:
"Best" ... Well, it would be fine for me to even have a choice at all.

Well, there is a tonne if viewers out there. A few of them new (though generally crappy FWICS)

A good one, with a large projection would be ideal for showing and enjoying slides, when a slide projector would not be possible or practical (ninety percent of the time).
A large projection with a good strong backlight would really show off the slide to best effect.

AgX · Jun 21, 2020

I got a lot of stuff, and have come across a lot of stuff, but not binocular, monoscopic slide viewers.

Helge · Jun 21, 2020

AgX said:
I got a lot of stuff, and have come across a lot of stuff, but not binocular, monoscopic slide viewers.

Well, just two examples:

I have a crappy Minette viewer, whose only redeeming feature is that it collapses into pocket size.

AgX · Jun 21, 2020

If you came those across in the wild you must be a lucky guy.
Interesting to learn if others did so too.

Helge · Jun 21, 2020

AgX said:
If you came those across in the wild you must be a lucky guy.
Interesting to learn if others did so too.

Problem is they are not really very good.
What I’m looking for is some that has a big projection. Like use more than the usual (for these) fifteen to twentyfive percent angle of the FoW.

Bill Burk · Jun 21, 2020

Would you consider a loupe and light table, seems it would be better opticallyand require less handling

AgX · Jun 21, 2020

Between loupe & light-table and binocular goggle-viewer still is the classic one-lens stand-alone viewer. Some of these kind have quite large lenses.

Helge · Jun 21, 2020

AgX said:
Between loupe & light-table and binocular goggle-viewer still is the classic one-lens stand-alone viewer. Some of these kind have quite large lenses.

Could you give us an example that doesn’t look like a television for mice?

AgX · Jun 21, 2020

The largest stand-alone viewer I have at hand rihght now has a square lens of 66x66mm. I would not call it a mice-viewer.
That size was typical for such viewers marketed in West-Germany.

The current Kaiser models have a lens of 76x76mm.

Another way of viewing would by a automated tray-projector with built in rear-projection screen. By this two or more people can view the slides without having the hassle of a big set-up, but just having to flip-open the projector.

Helge · Jun 22, 2020

I have a carousel rear projector, but that tech kills most sharpness and resolution.
It is also far from portable. More like draggable.

76x76 is barely larger than medium format 6x6 slide.
Certainly not large enough to get the grandeur and magnificence of even a half frame slides detail.
Those kinds of viewers are all over the place too. Very common.

Have you ever tried VR goggles?
That’s what I’m talking about, and perhaps even with bigger projection than that.

AgX · Jun 22, 2020

VR googles are contrary to my approach to analogue photography.

And should not be discussed in this analog-only forum.

AgX · Jun 22, 2020

As you are not satisfied with the enlargement of the monoscpopic binocular viewers you tried, you might try binocular stereoscopic viewers that take 35mm slides. Block one part of the slide stage and view the other side, in effect with just one eye.

Helge · Jun 22, 2020

AgX said:
VR googles are contrary to my approach to analogue photography.

And should not be discussed in this analog-only forum.

I’m talking the optics purely of course.

AgX said:
As you are not satisfied with the enlargement of the monoscpopic binocular viewers you tried, you might try binocular stereoscopic viewers that take 35mm slides. Block one part of the slide stage and view the other side, in effect with just one eye.

Same problem, now only with one eye.

AgX · Jun 22, 2020

Helge said:
Same problem, now only with one eye.

Not necessarily, as models might offer higher magnification. And as, to my understandingm, there are far more stereoscopic than monoscopic goggle-viewers, one should have a look at the stereoscopic ones too.

But, yes, than you also could include the one-lens ocular viewers too...

Helge · Jun 22, 2020

Well the problem with stereoscopic ones are that they don’t have a lot of magnification.
Show me one that has (that was the original query).

And, more importantly, they are more often than not, masked off for Kodak Realist, halfframe or other non standard formats.
And they don’t take standard slide frames, but only hard to find ones like Realist.
Effectively locking you into only goggle viewing and no projection.

Otherwise it could be fun (though a tad expensive) to just shoot two cameras with slide in a homemade stereo setup.

AgX · Jun 22, 2020

If one makes the image of the viewer fill the whole maximum angle of view of the eye, one would have to move ones eye around over the image for sharpest view. This again would be experienced by many as not comfortable.

Thus you should consider acquiring a one-lens ocular viewer, or a monoscopic binocular viewer and substitute the eyepiece(es) by something DIY.

Back in those days the EMO Macromax ocular viewer was advertized as the best of its kind. But it was very expensive too...
It got a 5x magnification (whatever EMO meant by this).
I never ever came it across.

Helge · Jun 22, 2020

AgX said:
If one makes the image of the viewer fill the whole maximum angle of view of the eye, one would have to move ones eye around over the image for sharpest view. This again would be experienced by many as not comfortable.

Thus you should consider acquiring a one-lens ocular viewer, or a monoscopic binocular viewer and substitute the eyepiece(es) by something DIY.

Back in those days the EMO Macromax ocular viewer was advertized as the best of its kind. But it was very expensive too...
It got a 5x magnification (whatever EMO meant by this).
I never ever came it across.

Imagine a cinema, center seat. That kind of magnification.
Never heard anyone complain about having to look around there.
Ideally you’d be able to zoom in and out, and perhaps shift the center of view.
But that is perhaps asking a bit too much.

The Macromax is just a photo loupe. I have plenty of those.

I guess the “easiest” DIY thing would be to get a set of busted VR goggles with intact optics, and then insert the beam splitter from a mono goggle instead of the two screens.

It would be a lot easier to just find the thing had already been made though.

AgX · Jun 22, 2020

Helge said:
The Macromax is just a photo loupe. I have plenty of those.

To my understanding the Macromax yields an image of a 24x36mm slide as a 120x180mm print seeen at 20cm.
And that is the same what a 2Euro Agfa Gucki yields.....

But the Macromacx has better optics and an adjustable eyepiece.

Helge said:
I guess the “easiest” DIY thing would be to get a set of busted VR goggles with intact optics, and then insert the beam splitter from a mono goggle instead of the two screens.

The easiness depends on whether the screens are 24x36 (resp.have got 45mm diameter) or not.

Best slide viewer (binocular style goggle)?

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