Have faith in the Realist system!

[P3D Dr. George A. Themelis <fj834@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Oops! again.  First the Realist camera light leaks and now red button
>viewer air bubbles.  If I weren't such a Realist fan, someone might
>mistake me for one of those Realist bashers out there! 

That was a good one Allan!!!  Yeah, we give those guys lots of ammunition
to crticize or beloved Realist!!!

>Truthfully, I have not been bothered by the viewers with the lens
>bubbles.  I can't tell which viewer has the bubbles when viewing slides.
> Image quality looks pretty good to me in all 4 viewers.

Unfortunately, the red button viewer has more lens' problems than other
viewers.  I have personally never seen defects in Kodaslide IIs, Revere/
Wollensak or even Realist green button viewers.

Air bubbles are rather common (1 out of 5-10? just a guess).  In most cases
these are not noticeable.  There are varying degrees of bubbling.  Light
small bubbles are perfectly OK.

Another problem is a "haze" between the lenses.  This is a more serious
problem in my mind because it leads in overall reduction of contrast that
can be noticeable especially if you use a bright light and compare it with
a viewer that has "clear" lenses.

Your chances of hitting a "crystal clear" viewer are better in older and
newer viewers.  My first and, until recenly, ONLY red button viewer was an
older one with clear sharp lenses, that's why I have become addicted to it
and have promoted this viewer.  

If you have a viewer with internal defects you can either try and do the
"Bercovitz Trick", i.e. shoaking it for a short time in acetone, or go the
entire way as Dennis described (separate the elements and reglue them), or
you can go the simple Dr. T way and replace the lenses with a nice pair of
Revere lenses (these match perfectly in size and FL and opical quality is
about the same).

Right now I have many defective Realist red button lenses in my basement. 
I have tried to separate and reglue a pair one time for a customer.  Did
not work very well.  I need more practice and perhaps some tools.  One day
I'll find the time and courage to attempt this operation to all these
defective lenses.

Conclusion:  If your Realist viewer has minor internal defects (or end
chips or light scratches) that do not bother you, then there is no problem.
If there is a problem, consider some of the solutions outlined above.

Realist camera light leaks and viewer bubbles have not changed my opinion
for the quality of the Realist products or my faith in the Realist system. 
I am very thankful that Realist came along in 1947 and introduced to the
world the modern do-it-yourself approach to stereo photography with slide
film and incredible realism.  Kodak, etc., followed only after they saw
the bussiness opportunities opened by the Realist.  Thank you Realist for
taking the first step!  -- Faithful George


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