How do you carry your Leica?

Toasty · Jun 6, 2019

Leica M2 on a Peak Design stap, carried sling style. I don't baby it but I do take care of all my gear, I'm not afraid to use it but I certainly don't abuse it.

I have a Voigtlander meter on top which is a recent addition. I used to us my phone or Sekonic Twinmate but it's way more inconvenient then having the top mounted one

Jim Jones · Jun 6, 2019

I suspend the M-4 around my neck on a fairly short strap. Four extra lenses, light meter, film, and a few small accessories fit in a 8x6x5 Tamrac bag. The whole kit weighs about 6.5 pounds.

BradS · Jun 6, 2019

I have a iiif and the problem I'm having is that the strap, a one inch wide Domke gripper, interferes somewhat with my ability to operate the film advance....It doesn't actually interfere of course, it's more of an annoyance - a psychologically awareness the the strap is in the way. I have straps on all of my small format cameras and have never really been bothered by this "awareness" that the strap is somehow "in the way". I've tried going strapless and carrying it in a small LowePro shoulder bag...but I really prefer the convenience and immediacy of carrying a camera on a strap...perhaps, I need to try a wrist strap on the rewind knob side....

I know, much ado about nothing.....

choiliefan · Jun 6, 2019

I have the same problem with my IIIC.
The 1" wide strap is a bit lighter than a Gripper but is an annoyance.

mgb74 · Jun 6, 2019

I've used a wrist strap made from paracord that's been braided on smaller cameras. Dirt cheap on ebay from China. I do replace the split ring with the heaviest that will fit in the camera's strap eyelet.

removed account4 · Jun 6, 2019

BradS said:
I know, much ado about nothing.....

you need a butler !

Toasty · Jun 6, 2019

Jim Jones said:
I suspend the M-4 around my neck on a fairly short strap. Four extra lenses, light meter, film, and a few small accessories fit in a 8x6x5 Tamrac bag. The whole kit weighs about 6.5 pounds.
View attachment 224764

WOW!! That's a well used Leica, it's nice to see. How long have you had it?

NB23 · Jun 6, 2019

What does a Leica have to do with it?

Cholentpot · Jun 6, 2019

NB23 said:
What does a Leica have to do with it?

Some have no lugs, others are a little awkward...er than an slr. They're small and light and that can cause issues with it banging around. Not to mention they have value.

Jim Jones said:
I suspend the M-4 around my neck on a fairly short strap. Four extra lenses, light meter, film, and a few small accessories fit in a 8x6x5 Tamrac bag. The whole kit weighs about 6.5 pounds.
View attachment 224764

That's gorgeous!

Peter Schrager · Jun 6, 2019

jnantz said:
you need a butler !

I have a photo slave...
Oops dont own like..ah!

NB23 · Jun 6, 2019

Cholentpot said:
Some have no lugs, others are a little awkward...er than an slr. They're small and light and that can cause issues with it banging around. Not to mention they have value.

I’m sorry to be a pita, and I’m hard to convince especially when I get a (non)-answer such as yours, so here I go again:

What’s so specifically related to Leica? What would have been different if the OP asked about how do we carry our Nikon FM (Or fm2, Fm3a, nikon s2,s3, s4, contax g, minolta x700, nikon sp, canon 7, canon p, zenit, zeiss ikon, rolleiflex 3.5f, 2.8d, e, f, hasselblad swc...).

Or if it’s exclusively specific to Leica, is the M5 a part of it?

Or maybe we’ll all be stupefied when we learn that it was specific to the R4. Man, that would be killer. Imagine. R-fo!

I’m still scratching my head, trying to answer. I do have an answer as to how I carry my Leica but then I realize that I carry my Nikon the same way and it kills the whole thing for me. It’s like a catch 22.

Sweetlou42 · Jun 6, 2019

Very very carefully! Leather strap but thing wrist strap would be better

BradS · Jun 6, 2019

NB23 said:
What does a Leica have to do with it?

Please see my follow-up post (#28 above).

BradS · Jun 6, 2019

jnantz said:
you need a butler !

Had one. He asked to borrow one of my Bentleys for the weekend...ostensibly so that he could take long drive across the state to visit a dear old friend...anyway, about a week later, I found the car parked out behind the tool shed-just as good as ever. Washed waxed and a full tank of petrol but I never did see the old man again. He left a terse and rather cryptic note.

Eh, oh well. He used to handle the old screw mount Leica as if it were a plastic bag full of dog shit.

Kodachromeguy · Jun 7, 2019

This young lady does not appear to have a problem with the strap on her M5. It must have something to do with the geometry.

Kodachromeguy · Jun 7, 2019

On a more serious note, for my Leica IIIC, I use some braided nylon cord directly through the eyelets. I burn the ends to make a big blob of nylon as well as tie a knot to prevent the cord from ever slipping out. The IIIC plus lens is light enough that the cord is adequate; I find I do not need a wide strap. For my slightly heavier M2, I bought a red leather strap about 1cm wide from a place in Italy - I know, I know, much too expensive.....

Jim Jones · Jun 7, 2019

Toasty said:
WOW!! That's a well used Leica, it's nice to see. How long have you had it?

Bought new in 1970. It was still working perfectly when I shifted everyday photography to digital about 10 years ago. Two years well north of the artic circle with cold temperatures and very low humidity may have affected the Vulcanite covering.

guangong · Jun 8, 2019

As for winding difficulty due to strap interference, when lifting camera to eye with Leicas and similar rf cameras such as Contax IIa and Canon P, I wrap strap between curse finger and ring finger and turn hand outward, thereby pulling strap away from winding knob or advance lever. This grip also steadies camera. Thumb is free to advance lever or press against side of knob and push to advance film, without removing camera from eye. I learned this trick from my friend the late Bernie Boston, who was recognized as dean of White House photographers.
While I would enjoy a camera bearer such as pictured by Kodachromeguy, that is a dangerous way to carry a camera.

Renato Tonelli · Jun 8, 2019

https://optechusa.com/bino-cam-harness.html

I use it with the M2, IIIf, Pentax Spotmatic II and others. Keeps the camera in front of me (just below my chest - adjustable), doesn’t dangle around (I don’t have to hold on to it), I don’t have to worry about it slipping off of my shoulder or hand (handy in crowded situations where people are bumping into you).

With the cameras without a built-in light meter, I use a Voigtlander light meter attached on the shoe mount:

https://www.cameraquest.com/voivcmet.htm

ballisticone · Jun 9, 2019

leather strap , on my shoulder

anfenglin · Jun 12, 2019

Like this.

kivis · Jul 21, 2019

I use the strap that comes with a Leica M6. Works well and is light weight.

M. Axel Wikstrom · Jul 22, 2019

I carry them much like I carry my other cameras.

Arklatexian · Jul 23, 2019

Cholentpot said:
With a wish...

Honestly I'm looking for a fully functioning beater of a Leica. I want to shoot with a camera not baby it.

I do not consider keeping my camera from bouncing off of concrete "babying" it, rather it is "common" sense. I also don't let the sun shine directly through the lens thereby burning a hole in the shutter as babying it. It is far cheaper to "baby" it than have a shutter replaced. A "beater" with a hole in the shutter is sort of worthless except to look at.........Regards!

Cholentpot · Jul 23, 2019

Arklatexian said:
I do not consider keeping my camera from bouncing off of concrete "babying" it, rather it is "common" sense. I also don't let the sun shine directly through the lens thereby burning a hole in the shutter as babying it. It is far cheaper to "baby" it than have a shutter replaced. A "beater" with a hole in the shutter is sort of worthless except to look at.........Regards!

I don't think you follow.

A beater camera is well treated but I don't look twice before putting it down. If it ends up in some schmutz I wipe it off. It it bounces off a wall when it's slung over my shoulder that's ok. Maybe I take it out in light rain or snow, or use it when my hands are a little dirty. I'm not rubbing it into the concrete or dropping it off the roof. I will shoot one handed and throw it in a backpack.

I'll do all this with some of my cameras but not others. I baby my F3 but not my ME Super. My F3 is mint and my ME Super is now missing a part and has been stabled. One knock too many.

How do you carry your Leica?

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