Re: George T.'s Dilemma

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

Bill the "snapshooter" writes:

>George T has solicited opinions of users of three different antique cameras.  

"Antique"?  

>Cons:
>If I had my 'druthers I would like slower shutter speed available (1/10,
>1/2 sec.) for a very few shots.  

Also, the rangefinder is good to have for close-up shots even if it is not 
used very often.

>For a clumsy guy like myself, can't beat the advance and rewind knobs.  
>Bright green level

Agreed that these are convenient featues, even though after using a Realist
for 9 years now the film advance procedure has become second nature to me...

>Have any steel-bodied camera users ever gotten one stuck to
>their foreheads, I wonder?

Not me!  I think the leather cover is offering some protection...

>I live in Kodak land, and repairs (not needed nearly as often as rumored,
>but keep rumoring, it keeps the camera cost down) are easy to get.

I have read (in a PSA folio) your long, sad and 
frustrating story about your first Kodak stereo, how many problems you had
with it, how many times it went to expert repairmen and came back for the
same (slow shutter?) problem to develop later.  The "expert" gave up and
offered to buy it for spare parts... Don't remember the end of the story...
I think you took it apart and fixed it?  Reliability is _very_ important
for me.  I don't wont to get stuck with a non-working stereo camera in
Greece or come back to find out that my 15 or so rolls were not exposed
properly.  I have had problems with some Realist cameras too, but I handle
those better...

I am still evaluating my Kodak (and other "antique" cameras)  Soon I'll
have the first results and will be able to judge for myself.  The
conveniece in using the Kodak might be a factor for a beginner but it is
not for me.  Weight advantage?  Here are my measurements:
- Kodak: 1.5 lbs (0.7 kgr)  - Realist: 1.8 lbs (0.8 kgr)  The difference is
just too small to be of any advantage for me.  I will only keep the Kodak
if I see that the pictures are more "appealing" (this can mean anything) to
me than those from the Realist.

-- George Themelis


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