Re: George's Dilemma

[P3D Bill Davis <bd3d@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

George writes:
>
>"Antique"?  

Mine's 40+ years old.  Have you got a new one?

>... after using a Realist
>for 9 years now the film advance procedure has become second nature to me...

Actually, you were one of the Realist users I was referring to.  When you
were taking a pic of Marie-Francoise Brasquies and me in Atlanta two years
ago, there was the oops, wait a sec Realist mantra.  Were you just nervous
in front of two Kodak users? Or are you saying that it took just over 7
years to perfect the advance technique? :--) It should have improved the
picture, though as I'm sure my smile widened when that happened.

>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?  

Well, you remember selectively.  That was only *one* sticky shutter problem
(oil had migrated to the blades)and *one* "expert" repairman.  He never did
get it working right, even though he got a good chunk of my money. (Well
recommended guy, too)  He "fixed' it and the problem recurred on the first
roll.  I returned it to him and he "fixed" it again.  Got two rolls out of
it that time.  I figured, if the best repairman can't fix it what chance
have I got?  After I got over my anxiety about tearing it open (him
offering me $15 for parts on a camera I had paid him $90 to fix helped!) I
had no real trouble fixing it.  As Elliot S. says, they're really simple
cameras. 

Don Fraina (a *real* Kodak expert)only set the focus for me that time(4
years ago; I can do it myself now that I have a 30x magnifier) and fixed an
advance problem a couple of weeks ago.  Maintenance once every four years
isn't too much to ask from a regularly-used antique, or do you require a
greater degree of reliability than that?

I talked to this other repairman at NSA '95 in Atlanta and he mentioned
that his cleaning method involved an ultrasonic bath in distilled water,
claiming that the impingement was sufficient for oil removal.  Maybe for
soils, but obviously wrong for oils.  I used a very low viscosity solvent
to flush the shutters.  Better living through chemistry. 

> Weight advantage?  Here are my measurements:...

Who mentioned weight? Not me. Me strong like bull.  Little cameras like
flies to 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.

I thought you were evaluating the features?  Now you're looking for it to
give you more appealing pictures? (I'll give you $50 for the cheap,
unreliable thing when you decide not to keep it.)

>-- George Themelis
>

Best regards and the highest good humor,
Snapshooter Bill


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