What is this called? Old film camera viewer?












4















enter image description here



I don’t know what it is, but I found it at a thrift shop.



You put the little white squares that are in the back into it, look through the lens and you can see the pictures.



I found it super fascinating and I really want to know what it is called so I can look more into it! Thank you :)










share|improve this question









New contributor




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  • 1





    You can still buy new slide viewers and reversal (aka slide aka transparency) film. Very easy to find/buy a good used 35mm film camera too. Have a go!

    – osullic
    yesterday






  • 8





    the little white squares that are in the back. Boy. I. Am. So. Old.

    – Tobia Tesan
    yesterday











  • "look more into it" ha , yes look more.

    – Alaska man
    5 hours ago
















4















enter image description here



I don’t know what it is, but I found it at a thrift shop.



You put the little white squares that are in the back into it, look through the lens and you can see the pictures.



I found it super fascinating and I really want to know what it is called so I can look more into it! Thank you :)










share|improve this question









New contributor




isabel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
















  • 1





    You can still buy new slide viewers and reversal (aka slide aka transparency) film. Very easy to find/buy a good used 35mm film camera too. Have a go!

    – osullic
    yesterday






  • 8





    the little white squares that are in the back. Boy. I. Am. So. Old.

    – Tobia Tesan
    yesterday











  • "look more into it" ha , yes look more.

    – Alaska man
    5 hours ago














4












4








4








enter image description here



I don’t know what it is, but I found it at a thrift shop.



You put the little white squares that are in the back into it, look through the lens and you can see the pictures.



I found it super fascinating and I really want to know what it is called so I can look more into it! Thank you :)










share|improve this question









New contributor




isabel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.












enter image description here



I don’t know what it is, but I found it at a thrift shop.



You put the little white squares that are in the back into it, look through the lens and you can see the pictures.



I found it super fascinating and I really want to know what it is called so I can look more into it! Thank you :)







old-cameras






share|improve this question









New contributor




isabel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|improve this question









New contributor




isabel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited yesterday









Tobia Tesan

1053




1053






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asked yesterday









isabelisabel

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isabel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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Check out our Code of Conduct.








  • 1





    You can still buy new slide viewers and reversal (aka slide aka transparency) film. Very easy to find/buy a good used 35mm film camera too. Have a go!

    – osullic
    yesterday






  • 8





    the little white squares that are in the back. Boy. I. Am. So. Old.

    – Tobia Tesan
    yesterday











  • "look more into it" ha , yes look more.

    – Alaska man
    5 hours ago














  • 1





    You can still buy new slide viewers and reversal (aka slide aka transparency) film. Very easy to find/buy a good used 35mm film camera too. Have a go!

    – osullic
    yesterday






  • 8





    the little white squares that are in the back. Boy. I. Am. So. Old.

    – Tobia Tesan
    yesterday











  • "look more into it" ha , yes look more.

    – Alaska man
    5 hours ago








1




1





You can still buy new slide viewers and reversal (aka slide aka transparency) film. Very easy to find/buy a good used 35mm film camera too. Have a go!

– osullic
yesterday





You can still buy new slide viewers and reversal (aka slide aka transparency) film. Very easy to find/buy a good used 35mm film camera too. Have a go!

– osullic
yesterday




8




8





the little white squares that are in the back. Boy. I. Am. So. Old.

– Tobia Tesan
yesterday





the little white squares that are in the back. Boy. I. Am. So. Old.

– Tobia Tesan
yesterday













"look more into it" ha , yes look more.

– Alaska man
5 hours ago





"look more into it" ha , yes look more.

– Alaska man
5 hours ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















17














It is called a slide viewer.



Unlike photographic negatives, where the darkest parts of the image are lightest and vice-versa, photographic slide film produced a positive image directly on the film that could be viewed as is. "Slide" film is more properly called reversal film. Color slides are sometimes called "color reversal film" because not only are the brightest parts of the image preserved on the film the brightest parts of the scene, but the colors were correct instead of inverted as they are with color negative film.



One common way of viewing slide film was via a slide projector that shone light through the film and a lens that projected the image on a screen, much like an analog movie projector did. This usually required viewing in a darkened room with a screen (kind of like a movie theater, only on a smaller scale).



An easy way to view slides without a projector or a darkened room with a screen was to hold them up to a light source and let the light shine through them. But 135 format ("35mm") film slides are fairly small. A viewer like the one you have found included a set of lenses that magnified the slide while allowing ambient light from behind the slide to illuminate it without the need for a projector, screen, and a darkened room.



enter image description here



More contemporary versions include their own light source and are viewable without needing to hold them up to one's eye.



enter image description here



One popular toy that was around back when I was growing up was called a 'Viewmaster'. It was basically a stereoscopic slide viewer that used discs with 14 small slides. This produced seven stereoscopic images, as each image required a right and left slide for each eye. The images were captured by a stereoscopic camera with two lenses arranged next to one another like two eyes. The discs were arranged in such a way that each push of the lever on the side advanced the disc by two sets of frames, with the intermediate set of frames upside down to be viewed when the disc had been nearly half-rotated around.



enter image description here



enter image description here






share|improve this answer





















  • 1





    Think we clicked to post at almost the same moment. A lot more detail in your answer, so it's getting my vote.

    – ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere
    yesterday











  • it should have a large matte translucent element at the opposite end to diffuse the incoming light into an uniform glow. Basically, it serves as a loupe permanently coupled to a "passive" lighttable.

    – Agent_L
    yesterday






  • 1





    I have a couple of issues with terminology in this answer. "Photographic negatives made from conventional film"... colour negative, reversal and traditional black & white film were all conventional films. Kodachrome for example was extremely popular and widely used for a time. I think a different term is needed here. "Slide film produced a positive image on the negative"... this made me laugh :) We can talk about a film strip perhaps. There can be negative images or positive images on the film strip. There is no "positive on the negative".

    – osullic
    yesterday













  • Lastly, you don't mention at all one of the most common ways to view slides - with a loupe on a lightbox. Could be worth considering adding info about this.

    – osullic
    yesterday











  • An interesting historical note: Tru-Vue

    – junkyardsparkle
    yesterday



















8














That's a slide viewer - the "little white squares" are 35mm photographic slides.



I have one just like the one in the picture - it's a nice way of checking slides before putting them into a projector or scanner.



More expensive versions would look like a miniature TV and have battery power, but it's been a while since I've seen any of those.






share|improve this answer























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    2 Answers
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    active

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    17














    It is called a slide viewer.



    Unlike photographic negatives, where the darkest parts of the image are lightest and vice-versa, photographic slide film produced a positive image directly on the film that could be viewed as is. "Slide" film is more properly called reversal film. Color slides are sometimes called "color reversal film" because not only are the brightest parts of the image preserved on the film the brightest parts of the scene, but the colors were correct instead of inverted as they are with color negative film.



    One common way of viewing slide film was via a slide projector that shone light through the film and a lens that projected the image on a screen, much like an analog movie projector did. This usually required viewing in a darkened room with a screen (kind of like a movie theater, only on a smaller scale).



    An easy way to view slides without a projector or a darkened room with a screen was to hold them up to a light source and let the light shine through them. But 135 format ("35mm") film slides are fairly small. A viewer like the one you have found included a set of lenses that magnified the slide while allowing ambient light from behind the slide to illuminate it without the need for a projector, screen, and a darkened room.



    enter image description here



    More contemporary versions include their own light source and are viewable without needing to hold them up to one's eye.



    enter image description here



    One popular toy that was around back when I was growing up was called a 'Viewmaster'. It was basically a stereoscopic slide viewer that used discs with 14 small slides. This produced seven stereoscopic images, as each image required a right and left slide for each eye. The images were captured by a stereoscopic camera with two lenses arranged next to one another like two eyes. The discs were arranged in such a way that each push of the lever on the side advanced the disc by two sets of frames, with the intermediate set of frames upside down to be viewed when the disc had been nearly half-rotated around.



    enter image description here



    enter image description here






    share|improve this answer





















    • 1





      Think we clicked to post at almost the same moment. A lot more detail in your answer, so it's getting my vote.

      – ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere
      yesterday











    • it should have a large matte translucent element at the opposite end to diffuse the incoming light into an uniform glow. Basically, it serves as a loupe permanently coupled to a "passive" lighttable.

      – Agent_L
      yesterday






    • 1





      I have a couple of issues with terminology in this answer. "Photographic negatives made from conventional film"... colour negative, reversal and traditional black & white film were all conventional films. Kodachrome for example was extremely popular and widely used for a time. I think a different term is needed here. "Slide film produced a positive image on the negative"... this made me laugh :) We can talk about a film strip perhaps. There can be negative images or positive images on the film strip. There is no "positive on the negative".

      – osullic
      yesterday













    • Lastly, you don't mention at all one of the most common ways to view slides - with a loupe on a lightbox. Could be worth considering adding info about this.

      – osullic
      yesterday











    • An interesting historical note: Tru-Vue

      – junkyardsparkle
      yesterday
















    17














    It is called a slide viewer.



    Unlike photographic negatives, where the darkest parts of the image are lightest and vice-versa, photographic slide film produced a positive image directly on the film that could be viewed as is. "Slide" film is more properly called reversal film. Color slides are sometimes called "color reversal film" because not only are the brightest parts of the image preserved on the film the brightest parts of the scene, but the colors were correct instead of inverted as they are with color negative film.



    One common way of viewing slide film was via a slide projector that shone light through the film and a lens that projected the image on a screen, much like an analog movie projector did. This usually required viewing in a darkened room with a screen (kind of like a movie theater, only on a smaller scale).



    An easy way to view slides without a projector or a darkened room with a screen was to hold them up to a light source and let the light shine through them. But 135 format ("35mm") film slides are fairly small. A viewer like the one you have found included a set of lenses that magnified the slide while allowing ambient light from behind the slide to illuminate it without the need for a projector, screen, and a darkened room.



    enter image description here



    More contemporary versions include their own light source and are viewable without needing to hold them up to one's eye.



    enter image description here



    One popular toy that was around back when I was growing up was called a 'Viewmaster'. It was basically a stereoscopic slide viewer that used discs with 14 small slides. This produced seven stereoscopic images, as each image required a right and left slide for each eye. The images were captured by a stereoscopic camera with two lenses arranged next to one another like two eyes. The discs were arranged in such a way that each push of the lever on the side advanced the disc by two sets of frames, with the intermediate set of frames upside down to be viewed when the disc had been nearly half-rotated around.



    enter image description here



    enter image description here






    share|improve this answer





















    • 1





      Think we clicked to post at almost the same moment. A lot more detail in your answer, so it's getting my vote.

      – ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere
      yesterday











    • it should have a large matte translucent element at the opposite end to diffuse the incoming light into an uniform glow. Basically, it serves as a loupe permanently coupled to a "passive" lighttable.

      – Agent_L
      yesterday






    • 1





      I have a couple of issues with terminology in this answer. "Photographic negatives made from conventional film"... colour negative, reversal and traditional black & white film were all conventional films. Kodachrome for example was extremely popular and widely used for a time. I think a different term is needed here. "Slide film produced a positive image on the negative"... this made me laugh :) We can talk about a film strip perhaps. There can be negative images or positive images on the film strip. There is no "positive on the negative".

      – osullic
      yesterday













    • Lastly, you don't mention at all one of the most common ways to view slides - with a loupe on a lightbox. Could be worth considering adding info about this.

      – osullic
      yesterday











    • An interesting historical note: Tru-Vue

      – junkyardsparkle
      yesterday














    17












    17








    17







    It is called a slide viewer.



    Unlike photographic negatives, where the darkest parts of the image are lightest and vice-versa, photographic slide film produced a positive image directly on the film that could be viewed as is. "Slide" film is more properly called reversal film. Color slides are sometimes called "color reversal film" because not only are the brightest parts of the image preserved on the film the brightest parts of the scene, but the colors were correct instead of inverted as they are with color negative film.



    One common way of viewing slide film was via a slide projector that shone light through the film and a lens that projected the image on a screen, much like an analog movie projector did. This usually required viewing in a darkened room with a screen (kind of like a movie theater, only on a smaller scale).



    An easy way to view slides without a projector or a darkened room with a screen was to hold them up to a light source and let the light shine through them. But 135 format ("35mm") film slides are fairly small. A viewer like the one you have found included a set of lenses that magnified the slide while allowing ambient light from behind the slide to illuminate it without the need for a projector, screen, and a darkened room.



    enter image description here



    More contemporary versions include their own light source and are viewable without needing to hold them up to one's eye.



    enter image description here



    One popular toy that was around back when I was growing up was called a 'Viewmaster'. It was basically a stereoscopic slide viewer that used discs with 14 small slides. This produced seven stereoscopic images, as each image required a right and left slide for each eye. The images were captured by a stereoscopic camera with two lenses arranged next to one another like two eyes. The discs were arranged in such a way that each push of the lever on the side advanced the disc by two sets of frames, with the intermediate set of frames upside down to be viewed when the disc had been nearly half-rotated around.



    enter image description here



    enter image description here






    share|improve this answer















    It is called a slide viewer.



    Unlike photographic negatives, where the darkest parts of the image are lightest and vice-versa, photographic slide film produced a positive image directly on the film that could be viewed as is. "Slide" film is more properly called reversal film. Color slides are sometimes called "color reversal film" because not only are the brightest parts of the image preserved on the film the brightest parts of the scene, but the colors were correct instead of inverted as they are with color negative film.



    One common way of viewing slide film was via a slide projector that shone light through the film and a lens that projected the image on a screen, much like an analog movie projector did. This usually required viewing in a darkened room with a screen (kind of like a movie theater, only on a smaller scale).



    An easy way to view slides without a projector or a darkened room with a screen was to hold them up to a light source and let the light shine through them. But 135 format ("35mm") film slides are fairly small. A viewer like the one you have found included a set of lenses that magnified the slide while allowing ambient light from behind the slide to illuminate it without the need for a projector, screen, and a darkened room.



    enter image description here



    More contemporary versions include their own light source and are viewable without needing to hold them up to one's eye.



    enter image description here



    One popular toy that was around back when I was growing up was called a 'Viewmaster'. It was basically a stereoscopic slide viewer that used discs with 14 small slides. This produced seven stereoscopic images, as each image required a right and left slide for each eye. The images were captured by a stereoscopic camera with two lenses arranged next to one another like two eyes. The discs were arranged in such a way that each push of the lever on the side advanced the disc by two sets of frames, with the intermediate set of frames upside down to be viewed when the disc had been nearly half-rotated around.



    enter image description here



    enter image description here







    share|improve this answer














    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer








    edited yesterday

























    answered yesterday









    Michael CMichael C

    134k7152379




    134k7152379








    • 1





      Think we clicked to post at almost the same moment. A lot more detail in your answer, so it's getting my vote.

      – ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere
      yesterday











    • it should have a large matte translucent element at the opposite end to diffuse the incoming light into an uniform glow. Basically, it serves as a loupe permanently coupled to a "passive" lighttable.

      – Agent_L
      yesterday






    • 1





      I have a couple of issues with terminology in this answer. "Photographic negatives made from conventional film"... colour negative, reversal and traditional black & white film were all conventional films. Kodachrome for example was extremely popular and widely used for a time. I think a different term is needed here. "Slide film produced a positive image on the negative"... this made me laugh :) We can talk about a film strip perhaps. There can be negative images or positive images on the film strip. There is no "positive on the negative".

      – osullic
      yesterday













    • Lastly, you don't mention at all one of the most common ways to view slides - with a loupe on a lightbox. Could be worth considering adding info about this.

      – osullic
      yesterday











    • An interesting historical note: Tru-Vue

      – junkyardsparkle
      yesterday














    • 1





      Think we clicked to post at almost the same moment. A lot more detail in your answer, so it's getting my vote.

      – ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere
      yesterday











    • it should have a large matte translucent element at the opposite end to diffuse the incoming light into an uniform glow. Basically, it serves as a loupe permanently coupled to a "passive" lighttable.

      – Agent_L
      yesterday






    • 1





      I have a couple of issues with terminology in this answer. "Photographic negatives made from conventional film"... colour negative, reversal and traditional black & white film were all conventional films. Kodachrome for example was extremely popular and widely used for a time. I think a different term is needed here. "Slide film produced a positive image on the negative"... this made me laugh :) We can talk about a film strip perhaps. There can be negative images or positive images on the film strip. There is no "positive on the negative".

      – osullic
      yesterday













    • Lastly, you don't mention at all one of the most common ways to view slides - with a loupe on a lightbox. Could be worth considering adding info about this.

      – osullic
      yesterday











    • An interesting historical note: Tru-Vue

      – junkyardsparkle
      yesterday








    1




    1





    Think we clicked to post at almost the same moment. A lot more detail in your answer, so it's getting my vote.

    – ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere
    yesterday





    Think we clicked to post at almost the same moment. A lot more detail in your answer, so it's getting my vote.

    – ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere
    yesterday













    it should have a large matte translucent element at the opposite end to diffuse the incoming light into an uniform glow. Basically, it serves as a loupe permanently coupled to a "passive" lighttable.

    – Agent_L
    yesterday





    it should have a large matte translucent element at the opposite end to diffuse the incoming light into an uniform glow. Basically, it serves as a loupe permanently coupled to a "passive" lighttable.

    – Agent_L
    yesterday




    1




    1





    I have a couple of issues with terminology in this answer. "Photographic negatives made from conventional film"... colour negative, reversal and traditional black & white film were all conventional films. Kodachrome for example was extremely popular and widely used for a time. I think a different term is needed here. "Slide film produced a positive image on the negative"... this made me laugh :) We can talk about a film strip perhaps. There can be negative images or positive images on the film strip. There is no "positive on the negative".

    – osullic
    yesterday







    I have a couple of issues with terminology in this answer. "Photographic negatives made from conventional film"... colour negative, reversal and traditional black & white film were all conventional films. Kodachrome for example was extremely popular and widely used for a time. I think a different term is needed here. "Slide film produced a positive image on the negative"... this made me laugh :) We can talk about a film strip perhaps. There can be negative images or positive images on the film strip. There is no "positive on the negative".

    – osullic
    yesterday















    Lastly, you don't mention at all one of the most common ways to view slides - with a loupe on a lightbox. Could be worth considering adding info about this.

    – osullic
    yesterday





    Lastly, you don't mention at all one of the most common ways to view slides - with a loupe on a lightbox. Could be worth considering adding info about this.

    – osullic
    yesterday













    An interesting historical note: Tru-Vue

    – junkyardsparkle
    yesterday





    An interesting historical note: Tru-Vue

    – junkyardsparkle
    yesterday













    8














    That's a slide viewer - the "little white squares" are 35mm photographic slides.



    I have one just like the one in the picture - it's a nice way of checking slides before putting them into a projector or scanner.



    More expensive versions would look like a miniature TV and have battery power, but it's been a while since I've seen any of those.






    share|improve this answer




























      8














      That's a slide viewer - the "little white squares" are 35mm photographic slides.



      I have one just like the one in the picture - it's a nice way of checking slides before putting them into a projector or scanner.



      More expensive versions would look like a miniature TV and have battery power, but it's been a while since I've seen any of those.






      share|improve this answer


























        8












        8








        8







        That's a slide viewer - the "little white squares" are 35mm photographic slides.



        I have one just like the one in the picture - it's a nice way of checking slides before putting them into a projector or scanner.



        More expensive versions would look like a miniature TV and have battery power, but it's been a while since I've seen any of those.






        share|improve this answer













        That's a slide viewer - the "little white squares" are 35mm photographic slides.



        I have one just like the one in the picture - it's a nice way of checking slides before putting them into a projector or scanner.



        More expensive versions would look like a miniature TV and have battery power, but it's been a while since I've seen any of those.







        share|improve this answer












        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer










        answered yesterday









        ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHereItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere

        649129




        649129






















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