3-D Viewers and Cameras - make your own 3-D views!

If you haven't researched the mid-century 3-D viewing craze, you might think that View Master was the only option out there.  Actually, there were a few 3-D viewer options.

This item is great because of the colors, the design, and it featured side-by-side viewing of 35mm-sized color slides taken with a 35mm stereo camera.  I have a single slide that came with this viewer, it shows a couple of middle-aged ladies enjoying cocktails in a 1950s decorated living room.  I wish I could easily get a shot of the slide, it's very cool.

This is another viewer similar to the one above.

Here's the projector you can use to show View Master reels on a screen or bare wall.

I also have the 1950s era View Master stereo camera and accessories.

View Master Personal stereo camera

Cutter and storage case

The film cutter makes a die cut and you use a special tweezers tool to place them in the correct pockets of blank reels.

With the right color-slide film and some blank reels and a film cutter made especially for the film shot with the camera, you can make your own Viewmaster reels!  But with film developing services getting scarce, and color slide film not too commonly available anymore, making your own reels will take some extra effort.  It's on my long long long term To Do list!