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Within the trendy world the place the whole lot is heading in direction of digital, the older methodology of capturing on movie looks like a far cry. However whether or not you’re an previous hand with bins of movie transparencies within the attic or a youthful technology experimenting with the appeal and character of movie for the primary time – you’ll want some option to see your work and that’s the place a slide viewer is available in.
I lately obtained maintain of two standard and really reasonably priced fashions from Photolux (additionally known as Zuma within the States) – the SV-2 and SV-3, although it’s the bigger and barely costlier SV-3 mannequin I’ll be assessing right here. You’ll be able to see opinions of the smaller SV-2 amongst different prime merchandise in our greatest slide viewers shopping for information.
Photolux SV-3 LED slide viewer: Specs
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Magnification |
3x |
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LED |
6500k |
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Dimensions |
165x155x80mm |
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Weight |
467g (565g with batteries) |
Photolux SV-3 LED slide viewer: Value
Costing $39/£24 on the time of writing, the Photolux / Zuma SV-3 LED slide viewer is not way more costly than the smaller SV-2 which prices ~$13, and it is positively price the additional cash in case your price range can stretch a bit of. The SV-3 is a good bit bigger and is extra of a desktop mannequin than the transportable handheld SV-2, although its construct high quality and options make it completely price the additional spend: bigger viewfinder, increased magnification, a pass-through for rolls of movie, and a way more even mild supply. The larger query you must ask your self is whether or not to go much more up-market and splash out on the $40 Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer which seems near-identical, although in my checks supplies a greater consumer expertise with the upgraded construct high quality, a bodily handbook, and a USB energy cable.
Photolux SV-3 LED slide viewer: Design & Dealing with
The Photolux SV-3 is the larger brother to the Photolux SV-2 and takes up a a lot bigger footprint although this comes with the advantage of having a stable base in order that the viewfinder is all the time pointing in direction of you which ones may make lengthy picture culling periods extra comfy.
The SV-3 is someplace between two to a few occasions bigger than the SV-2, so in the event you’re in search of an choice that doesn’t take up a lot house, otherwise you need to journey with it, then the SV-2 may very well be the higher contender.
In comparison with the SV-2 this SV-3 mannequin has a bigger viewfinder with a extra highly effective magnification of 3x in comparison with the 2x of the SV-2. In actuality, this meant a 35mm colour slide measured throughout the lengthy aspect was round 6cm on the glass viewfinder and round 4cm on the smaller SV-2.
There’s a battery door on the underside of the unit which might take 4 AA batteries. There’s additionally a port for DC 6v 500mA energy on the left aspect, although sadly no energy adapter is included which does hamper its worth a bit of.
On the smaller Photolux SV-2 you must press the slide encompass firmly down into the machine to energy on the sunshine, nevertheless it’s simpler with the SV-3 as there’s an influence change. You additionally load the slide in through the again and push one other button to eject it out the entrance, it takes about 10 slides earlier than that is full and overflows, although it could have been good to have the ability to stack up a batch of them on the rear to save lots of you having to push each slide in individually.
The SV-3 additionally has the power to have a strip of destructive movie handed by way of it (above) and though this is usually a little difficult to push by way of because it typically will get caught on exit, it was a characteristic I used to be glad to have and one thing the smaller, extra reasonably priced SV-2 isn’t capable of do.
Photolux SV-3 LED slide viewer: Efficiency
My expertise with the Photolux SV-3 was very optimistic and it was definitely extra handy and takes up much less house than a big mild field and busting out a loupe. There’s a entrance tray to catch your ejected slides, although I do want there was a loading mechanism to tee up a number of slides within the rear finish so that you don’t need to manually insert each, although it is a minor nitpick.
The glass viewfinder supplies 3x magnification so you may see your slides and negatives very clearly. The backlight is kind of uninteresting and flat which is definitely a great factor because it means the slide is lit up persistently from nook to nook – the smaller Photolux SV-2 was notably brighter however with a vibrant hotspot within the centre that creates the phantasm that your photos have a heavy vignette. The SV-3 makes use of 4 small LED nodes unfold out evenly so the slide is lit up effectively throughout the picture, however the SV-2 makes use of a single highly effective LED in the course of the backlight.
On the SV-3 the show could be very sharp and crisp, although it’s best utilized in a darkish room as daylight can catch the big viewfinder and trigger flare which makes it difficult to see the image – it may do with a lens hood to dam out exterior mild. It could even have been helpful to have the ability to change the angle of tilt because it’s locked.
One challenge with each the SV-2 and SV-3 fashions I checked out is that the big glass viewfinders are uncovered and straightforward to catch dues. The big opening on your slides can also be a little bit of a mud entice and there’s not delicate case supplied with them. I resorted to draping a big microfibre fabric over the units when not in use to cease mud increase.
Plastic slides maintain their form loads higher than cardboard ones and customarily the SV-3 coped with each effectively and I had no issues. Nevertheless, there have been a few my cardboard slides that had warped considerably and these did are inclined to get caught within the Photolux SV-3, however didn’t trigger any points with the very related Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer, so clearly the Kodak had extra forgiving tolerances.
Costing £20 / $26 the SV-3 doesn’t break the financial institution, although I didn’t anticipate a lot by way of construct high quality. For twenty six bucks I’m clearly not anticipating it to be as much as the standard of a Leica or something – among the plastic joints have a little bit of play in them, although it’s greater than adequate to serve its goal and I used to be general proud of the outcomes. Though a largely plastic development among the plastic seems fairly thick and I can’t see any issues with it taking a tumble if by accident knocked off a desk.
Photolux SV-3 LED slide viewer: Verdict
When you’ve solely obtained an excellent tight price range and also you need to spend a while sorting by way of your previous assortment of slides and movie then this isn’t the worst choice for checking out the keepers, however a query you may have to ask your self is what do you need to do after this?
The SV-3 has no capacity to scan so that you’ll want one other gadget to digitize them, or stump up the money to have them despatched off to a lab to be scanned professionally.
The SV-3 is a wonderfully nice slide viewer and does precisely what it says on the tin. For this value, you may’t anticipate an excessive amount of – it’s a really primary and bare-bones affair and the big uncovered glass viewfinder is kind of simple to get dusty and soiled so that you’ll have to improvise some kind of cowl to maintain it clear between makes use of. However in the event you want a easy machine to mild up and see your previous transparencies and destructive rolls then the Photolux SV-3 is a good shout. When you’re after a extra stress-free expertise, the Kodak 35mm Slide Viewer seems very related however has the higher construct high quality and is much less more likely to jam with warped slides, it additionally comes with a USB energy cable so you do not have to faff round with AA batteries.
If nevertheless, you need to digitize your previous movie you may be higher off saving up and going for a product such because the Kodak Slide N Scan which admittedly is costlier however hits two birds with one stone – as it is a slide/movie viewer with the power to scan and digitize them additionally.
There’s additionally the Kodak Cell Movie Scanner which lets you use your cellphone to zoom in and see your movie clearly, plus use the app to invert your negatives so you may clearly see them appropriately (for each B&W and colour). It is not the very best machine at scanning on the earth, however it’s respectable for going by way of and culling your previous movie and transparencies.
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Options |
The characteristic set is OK given its value level, although the massive omission isn’t any scanner to digitize your movie. |
★★★☆☆ |
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Design |
It’s fairly massive so is healthier suited to putting on a desk quite than utilizing handheld and I do want there was a option to load up a stack of slides within the again quite than loading them individually. |
★★★★☆ |
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Efficiency |
The SV-3 is respectable, nevertheless, the design tolerances within the SV-3 felt a bit of free and rickety and really warped slides tended to get caught within the SV-3. |
★★★☆☆ |
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Worth |
The Photolux SV-3 hardly breaks the financial institution and there’s not a lot at stake if it’s not fairly best for you. |
★★★★☆ |