Jess Powell repair videos

[P3D Elliott Swanson <e3d@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Our camera club (Puget Sound Stereo Camera Club) just authorized me to buy
the Powell videos for the organization.  Currently there are five
(Realist, Kodak, Busch Verascope, TDC Colorist 1 and 2, and
Revere/Wollensak. (Jess doesn't touch the TDC Vivid-- sometimes called the
VM Personal on steroids. That puppy's a real monster in a box.) I skimmed
thru several and watched longer sections of the one on Kodak camera
repair. (With two kids, access to our single television set is a
negotiated truce, even though they only get to watch selected videos and
PBS!) 

First, I think every club library ought to consider acquiring these. 
There is simply no other source of information like this I'm aware of. 
Even if you never take a camera apart, you get an idea of how it does what
it does, and gain the ability to assess problems. 

The caveats are that this is home video and image quality is not broadcast
standard. Frankly, it's kinda rough. Fortunately, there are enough closeup
shots-- in fact they're mostly close-up shots-- to follow along.  Jess and
I have a different approach to lubrication and solvents.  The Stereo Jedi
Master who taught me said lubricate only where essential.  He also taught
me that the best solvent was naptha, because it doesn't harm most optical
coatings or plastics. Note the word "most" in that last sentence-- use any
solvent at your own risk. Jess uses a wide range of lubricants including
WD-40, and his recommended cleaning solvent is Rubber Cement thinner. I
have no idea what rubber cement thinner is in terms of chemistry-- but on
the good side, Jess says it's mild and won't harm optical coatings. I run
my Kodaks darn near dry-- and my approach to avoiding lubrication is
adjustment. This is as it was taught to me, and it seems to work. Maybe
Jess' approach works equally well. Some camera parts operating in
threaded, geared, or sliding sections of the camera may require a
non-migrating grease to operate correctly. But I try to limit shutter
lubrication-- at least in the Kodak, which is the only camera I'm fairly
familiar with-- to none, or a minute bit of Mr.Zip Extra Fine graphite at
the specific location. In any case, this is minor stuff-- Jess has been
doing this for a whole lot longer than I have. 

Jess knows a thousand times what I know-- something that became pretty
clear from watching him go into a camera, and the tapes are *loaded*
with tips and techniques. He's apparently self-taught, and takes a very
pragmatic approach to fixing cameras. The tapes have a funky, homey
ambiance that I enjoy.

Despite the amateur video production values, you'll receive many times
your $30 investment back from each of these tapes. For many, this will be
the only place you have an opportunity to actually see repair demonstrated
in real time. And seeing it takes away a lot of the fear of doing it.

Dalia sells them, and so does Jess (same price). BTW, kudos to Dalia for
supporting the field of stereoscopy by providing distribution for things
like this. If you buy them all Jess will offer a discount, but this is
between you and him to figure out. (Maybe Dalia will also-- I haven't
checked with her.)  Jess is planning a total series of about 12 tapes on
camera repair. Jess also has a series of booklets with supplementary info
on various cameras, but they're pretty anectotal. $15 a pop. Not really
repair booklets, but a way to approach the raison d'etre of the camera.

I may not always agree with Jess, but you can bet I always pay attention.
Just another FYI, movin' west... 

--Elliott



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