P3D Realists taking a beating...

[John Toeppen <toeppen@xxxxxxxx>]

"I have cases full of Nikon equipment and other stereo cameras but
if I need to choose one camera to take on a once in a
lifetime shoot, I would take a Realist."
A person like this seems very much like me. My twin Nikkormats ar a bit
to lug about.  They are not as able to take the mist, rain, and banging
about that my Realists see.  I  grind thru a Kodak in a few years, do
damage to a nice Revere in 6 trips, or trash a TDC in an afternoon where
I go.  If It is just a day hike I will only carry a Realist camera - a
spare Realist and the twins would stay in the truck.  Water,
sweatshirts, flashlights, etc. are enough to drag up a mountain pass.
If I take a cold swim my camera does too, it's attached.  I dunked a
meter in a creek last month, it could have been me.  I wouldn't like
dunking a $150 camera.  The shots that I got by following the last rays
of the sun down the creek run were worth the small risk.  But I wonder
how many owners of more expensive cameras will jump from wet rock to wet
rock or use small fallen trees as bridges.
I know the cameras that I use, how they sound, feel, and sense when they
need attention or retirement from extreem service.  I always like to run
a few dozen rolls through a camera before I really trust it.  I have a
photo that I took last spring of an avalanch down the backside of Half
Dome in Yosemite - a once in a lifetime shot that I took with my
Realist.

John Toeppen
see a thumbnail of the avalanch:
http://members.home.net/toeppen/index2.htm