Slide viewers, suggestions

I'm thinking of getting a slide viewer (not projector) and I'm

wondering if any of you've got some suggestions, or tips on what to

look for. I've seen one that's more or less a rear projection screen

with 5X magnification that looks interesting but is a bit spendy. I

think anything less than 3 times magnification might not be worth

bothering with vs just looking at the original on the light table.

I don't see any point between a hand-held (aerial image) one and a projector. A small rear projector, you won't see detail due to the screen grain.

Thanks, I hadn't considered that. The one I've seen does indeed appear to have a sort of ground or frosted glass screen. And it costs as much as a projector.

My Kodak slide projector has a little rear-projection screen and mirror that pop out from underneath in front of the lens. Shows an image about like a 4x6 print. Not too grainy.

5x magnification? What about a small light box and a 5x magnifier? Schneider and others make them. The advantage is that you have no grain, and the magnifier is adjustable to your eyesight. The colors are not washed out from room light. When you need more magnification, you just use a stronger magnifier, like a 7x Hakuba. You can get loupes as strong as you like. I have a 12x Edmund Scientific, and an Emoscope that can be used at 15x, or even 30 or 35x.

I use a small hand held daylight viewer (Kaiser #2012, $3.20). It works best in a sunny window but is not bad with a fluorescent bulb. Don't know the magnification.

The only method of 35mm slide viewing I've ever used that was efficient was like Ben

Z's...a fold-out screen from a kodak slide projector. The big disadvantage of that was you

had to load the slides one...at...a...time...in...the...carrousel.

 

To speed things up, I tried a Kodak 'drop-in' thing to solve the one-at-a-time problem. It

accepted around 30 stacked slides at a time and fit on top of a Kodak slide projector, but

it jammed all the time.

 

I also picked up a Sirostar rear slide viewer years ago; it jams all the time too. When it

works, it projects approx. 8x8 inch.

 

I hate using a lupe (I've got an old neck injury that prevents long time periods of looking

down). As much I loved slides, viewing and sharing them was too much of a pain. I've

resorted to prints out of the wonderful Fuji Frontier machines found at pro-labs and many

consumer locations.

Another vote for the daylight viewer. You can have one at work, one in the car, one at home... And it won't break your bank. Quality is better than the backlighted one's.

Dean,

 

The best slide VIEWER is the Leitz or Leica Desk Viewer Model B. It

has an enormous magnifying lens so that slides may be viewed with

both eyes. It is quite expensive but no longer made. I have seen one

on eBay. It is my favorite viewer.

 

The Kodak Desk Viewer is a superb back projection viewer with a push

pull slide changer. It projects into a 10x10 Black Ektalite screen.

This is sometimes available on eBay at wildly varying prices.

 

Jerry

the leica 5x loupe has a slide adaptor to allow you to "slide" in one slide at a time. also has a negative holder to allow stips of negs. can be used on a light table also. very versatile with the expected excellent optics. extremely portable.

I still like my Sawyer "Pana-Vue" 2 x 2 slide viewer which I bought on ebay a couple of years ago to replace a GAF model that frequently jammed. The benefit is you load the slides in a stack and slide them through the viewer "automatically" which is lit by 2 D cell batteries. It is effortless to use to preview a roll and is suprisingly sharp for a plastic lens. The unit is well made for being all plastic and inexpensive.

 

I was surprised to see new GAF models for sale last week in a camera store for $30.00. I thought they were long discontinued. The GAF was a copy of the Sawyer or vise-versa.

I use my Leica P2000 with the dust cover which includes a white screen inside placed on the same surface as the projector - you then project the image onto it - a very neat arrangement as it happens. Leica also used to make (and still may) a special mirror and ground glass screen for use like this - this also works very well.

 

I also have one of those Agfa slide viewers - pile the slides on one side and the arm pushes them through to be deposited in the other tray. Neat too. The Agfa is great for viewing and showing them to someone else, but you cannot reverse it nor is it much good for critically examining the slides. Once a slide has passed throught the viewer you can't bring it back in without moving the slide stack from the out tray back to the in tray. They are very cheap.

 

To be honest for looking and sorting and early editing I use a light table with a 4X Schneider loupe or a slide sorting unit.

Thanks for all the information. The Sirostar that David Carson mentions is the rear projection type I saw, but it's about $150.00 and if it jams that doesn't sound too good. Basically I'd like a device that allows at least one other person to look at the slide with me, without requiring setting up a projector, screen etc, or making them peer through a loop. I've got a loupe (a better one would be nice) for examining and selecting what I might want to scan, but it would be fun to share the experience of how amazing the slides look when directly viewing them. I'm getting some nice enough prints now, but they really become a different thing in their own right, and I don't see any way they can match the dynamics of the slides, at least with my basic scanner/computer/printer kit. The pana vu type or some other 3X lens thing might suffice, considering the low cost, from the sound of it. The local camera place, NCE, has them for around $30.00. I appreciate all the input, helps me think it through.