...I am starting to wonder when to use my Spud and when to
use the Realist. Do any of you old pro's have comments or suggestions?

I think you'll find that MF mounting gets much easier with practice. I can just about
mount most of my MF slides with my naked eye, making final fine adjustments with a pair
of loupes taped together. I always needed magnification to work with 35mm. In my own
case, once I figured out how to get focused pictures from my Sputnik I never picked up my
35mm twin rig again. I would much rather have six sharp MF slides than 36 sharp 35mm
pairs. I did find myself at times wishing for something to do lots of 3D pictures of my
kids with though.

The advantages of a Realist are obvious. You've got many more pairs between loading
film, and you've got quite a bit more depth of field, which makes "snap shot" photography
more practical. You can also shoot at wider apertures which can yield much better results
with a flash. If you're photographing a kid's birthday party I would say the Realist is a
better option. Also if you like to project your slides 35mm is your only practical option at
the moment.

Last year I picked up a Viewmaster camera/cutter outfit. I find this is a perfect
complement to my MF rig. There's no focusing and depth of field is 5 feet to infinity.
Shots look just fine at f5.6 or even wider. I use the VM to take pictures of my kids in
action, and the reels make great gifts. I still use a medium format camera to take
portraits and everything else though.

Jim Harp