Along with GI Joes, Slinkies and Sea Monkeys, View-Masters are probably one of the most-remembered childhood products of the past few generations. Even if you yourself never got the chance to flip through disks of still images using one of the manually-operated stereoscopic viewers, chances are you at least knew someone who did. Well, now that you're all grown-up, you have the chance not only to relive your childhood by buying a View-Master-like Image3D viewer, but also to create a reel of your own photos to view in it. As a ten year-old, you would have thought that was pretty amazing.
Users start by going to the Image3D website, uploading the photos they want to View-Master-ize, then creating one or more disks (or "reels") online - they can add captions to the photos at that point, if they wish. Once they've payed up, the physical reels will be created and mailed to them. New customers can also buy an Image3D viewer at the same time, although the company tells us that the reels will work in existing authentic View-Masters.
Despite the product's name, potential buyers should be aware that regular two-dimensional photos will remain in 2D when viewed through the device (although any text added to them will appear in 3D). It is possible to create reels of fully-three-dimensional pictures, but users need to start with photos that were taken in 3D in the first place.
A complete Image3D set containing a viewer and one reel of seven photos will set you back US$24.95, while a reel only costs $21.95 - additional copies of that same reel cost less. The company is also big on corporate orders, if you're looking for wacky give-aways to promote your business.
One interesting side note: the company was founded by Rich Dubnow, who was lead photographer at View-Master for over 20 years.
Source: Red Ferret