Skin Deep?

[P3D Eric Drysdale <Eric_Drysdale@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello all,

On this recent thread of liking the 50's cameras for their looks...

One of the things we have to remember about industrial design is that
it's the  _meeting_  of form and function.  That is to say, what's great
about the
looks of the 50's cameras can't be separated from what make them great
cameras. 

One of the things that attracted me to the Realist was the way it was built
and put
together.   I initially noticed this in the way the case was made.  I looked
at it and realised
that when the David White company set out to make the Realist, they thought
"O.K.,
what would be the best case?" and answered to themselves "A thick, strong
leather with
a felt insert and _very_ strong stitching.", and proceeded to make just that.
 Though
cost must have been a consideration, they didn't skimp on what was important.
 That 
kind of attention and craftsmanship just ain't around anymore.

That's true of the camera itself.  They wanted a strong camera, which is why 
they chose the materials they chose... the two metal plates that make up 
the top and front.  That sleek black lens cover with the lovely logo was 
made, obviously, to cover the lenses...but each were designed in harmony with
eachother...  that's what makes it so damned handsome.  

The Realist is a wonder of art and science.  I'll have to disagree with Dr. T
here,
and say that its beauty isn't just in the pictures it takes.  People stop me
on the
street because it's unusual, yes, but they also say it's "beautiful."  I
think they 
are right, but I _love_  the Realist  because I know that its beauty isn't
just
skin deep, that it's a lovingly  engineered machine, and its external beauty
is 
simply a manifestation of it's function, which is itself beautiful and
unusual. 


-Eric Drysdale in NYC
Eric_Drysdale@xxxxxxxxxx




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