DIY Leica M Eyepiece protectors

S

Stu :)

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Being eye-glasses wearer and M2 owner, I foresaw my optician making more money out of me in the near future and decided to put a eyepiece protector on my M2. So living at the bottom of the world I decided it would be easier to make something then try and buy it from overseas and/or pay the silly postage prices.

To cut a LONG story short, I've discovered that the O-Ring from the 'click-clack' garden hose adapter/connectors (see picture) shares the same diameters (both inside and outside measurements) as the metal ring around the eye-piece of my M2, so in theory this should also work for M3, M4, M4-2, M4-P and M5 users here.
Not only is it a nice soft rubber, it's also rounded and black.

Equipment Needed:
One (1x) Packet of garden hose O-Rings (my local garden center sold me a pack of 7 for 50¢ NZ)
A Sharp scalpel or hobby knife (I used an Exacto blade and holder)
Some strong doubled side tape or rubber/latex cement (I used some kind of double sided tape made by 3M, not sure what kind or it's product name, as the packing went in the trash ages ago, sorry)
Cutting mat or chopping board (a cutting service of some kind)

Instructions-
Take one O-ring and cut in half across the ring, from leading edge to leading edge. This should give you two rings, curved on one side, flat on the other. If you're not use to doing this kind of work with a sharp knife, it may take a couple of attempts.
Take a piece of some strong double sided tape, enough to fully cover the surface of the O-ring, peel off one side and stick the O-ring flat side down onto the exposed sticky tape.
Place the newly adhered ring onto a cutting service and using the knife again, trim around the outside and inner edges of the O-ring.
Remove the final backing from the double sided tape and stick onto your Leica M-whatever... done!

Other than double sided tape you could substitute it for a rubber or latex cement, what way it shouldn't damage or de-value your lovely Leica when it comes time to remove the O-ring

I made four (4x) in one go, put one on the camera and placed the other three inside the camera bag if one should go astray or the tape becomes un-stuck in the field.

Go nuts peolple :D

Stu :)
 
Some people have been known to use the little round plastic slip on key indicators. I got a package of six for .29USD. They are six different colors so I can change them to match my mood of the day.
 
i was thinking about this just the other day, should the donut from CQ wear out (he also sent a spare, nice). you can use an olfa circle cutting guide to make a really clean donut out of a rubber sheet, and glue it on carefully with something or another. i'm thinking crazy glue (the thicker kind) because it hardens up and you can chip it off with an exacto blade.
 
I got some nice felty ones from Aki-Asahi. The sticky side does stick well but rubbing the eye piece against my glasses still makes the felty protector shift. I also got the plastic eye piece cover from Lutz. It works very well but boy-o-boy it's BIG! I have to take it off to open the back plate of my M2.
 
I once asked about this in the Russian camera users' forum and someone suggested silicon sealang. I have used the stuff on a Kiev and a Fed, just laying a circle of the stuff on the metal ring and it seems to work. I don't use either of these cameras enough to know about durability but since it was suggested to me and seems promising, I figured I should share.

Alan
 
I was thinking of using liquid electrical tape on my Fed " rotary wood rasp " eyepiece. Sounds as if it would also be good for minor vulcanite touchups. Anybody used it?

Dean
 
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