Last weekend I unearthed my old View-Master and a ziploc bag full of reels. It was so fun to see my son discover images from my childhood in 3D, and the only thing that could be more special would be images from his own childhood. This kit makes it possible.
Using a digital camera and Photoshop, users can create custom reels that fit a standard View-Master. It is painstaking work, layering tiny pieces of slide film to produce a 3D image, and the maker of the kit recommends using tweezers, a head-mounted magnifier and a light table. Still, I think the payoff would be pretty awesome. I have a soft spot for archaic technology and think that a reel of baby's first year or an annual reel of the family would make the most incredible keepsake. The View-Master has been around since the early 1950s. It's not going anywhere and it would be an exceptional way to document a moment in time.
Shab Levy's Make Your Own View-Master Kit goes for $49.95 at 3Dstereo.com, where you will find everything a 3D enthusiast might possibly want, including stereoscope kits, 3D glasses and new and vintage View-Master reels. The Classic View-Master viewer is still in production by Fisher-Price and retails for $6.
(Image: Flickr member enokson licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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My husband proposed to me through a series of pictures in a view-master...so now I want all major life events documented this way! This is awesome!
I made two reels from old scanned-in photos for my grandma's 90th birthday party. Everyone loved them! I used Image3D.com, which prints the photos on the reel--no assembly necessary. The reel doesn't look like an old-fashioned one, it looks more like a circular negative, if you can picture that. Price is similar.
@avimom - fantastic. i love image3d.com. thanks for letting us know about it!
These are some great ideas and sweet stories. Where in SF do you recommend a person look for gems like vintage viewfinders and slides? I would love to know.
So funny! I just purchased some vintage reels of Lake Tahoe for my hubby for Christmas 2 nights ago on Ebay- we honeymooned there.. Still have to pick up a viewer though! There's a company that makes reels and customized viewers as well which I'm considering....
Srsly - I found an original Viewmaster at an estate sale. That's the best thing I've ever found. This DYI kit sounds good, but even better would be sending the images to somebody who would do it...sigh.