Do you guys use a half case for leica?

Silva Lining said:
This is another one of those threads where there is no 'right' answer, only a range of preferences over which it senseless to argue as they are, by their very nature, individual, and therefore perfectly correct in themselves.
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Dear Phill,

True, except that the OP did say that he was frequently frustrated by it, which leads me to suspect that getting rid of it may be the best route for him. If it's not, he'll have to learn to live with his frustration. Or adopt your approach of using it some times but not others.

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Sorry, that was indeed badly phrased, and your point is very well taken; I apologize for giving the wrong impression. What I meant -- and it's hard to phrase -- is that it's often stuff where if they miss it, there will be something similar along later.

I was really thinking of the way I work. If I'm not shooting for a specific purpose -- money, to help a cause, to illustrate a book -- I find it much easier to shrug and not worry about missed pictures; I can shoot my local village any time, for example. But I'm shooting seriously, not just for amusement, I'm not going to waste time faffing about with anything that slows me down unnecessarily. 'Shooting seriously' would, I think, include shooting my children (if I had any).

In other words, I pretty much said it backwards. If I'm shooting anything of consequence (regardless of how you define 'of consequence'), I'll shoot it one way; if I'm shooting 'nothing of consequence' I'll shoot another way. Thus if I walk to the next village -- a couple of miles -- for the sake of the walk, I'll cheerfully take my Retina IIa in an ERC, even slower than a half-case. After all, I may take no pictures at all. But if I have several pictures in mind, and they are the reason for the walk, I want something I can use faster.

Cheers,

Roger
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Understood - and agreed fully. 😀 That's exactly how I work as well. If I might add, even when using a (slower than a MP) IIIc, I still feel that the extra time I use up to load the film is "well spent", so to say, as in used to do something useful to be able to use the camera, while if I had to fumble with a half case I would feel the extra time to be, irremediably, "lost". Others, of course, may feel different and will keep loving their beautiful half-cases. 😀
 
Leica half cases are one of those things that have grown to be an expectation among Leica users, much like the flip up scope covers on rifle scopes. Much of it fostered by the manufactureres of such devices. They really don't add any value and frequently get in the way but advertizing has sold the idea and few question whether needed or not.
I never use a camera case on any camera, Leica or whatever.
My M7's have Motor M's and my M6 Classic, a Leicavit. All work just fine.-Dick
 
Roger Hicks said:
Dear Phill,

True, except that the OP did say that he was frequently frustrated by it, which leads me to suspect that getting rid of it may be the best route for him. If it's not, he'll have to learn to live with his frustration. Or adopt your approach of using it some times but not others.

Cheers,

R.
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I would certainly agree.


RichardB said:
They really don't add any value and frequently get in the way but advertizing has sold the idea and few question whether needed or not.
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Its true, I have been sucked in. I have not and would not consider something as ludicrous as a half case made from luxurious hand-stiched leather for my Hasselblad, even less so for my EOS 40D, It would just look absurd! I don't know why I feel the need to dress my Leica in Leather....it is either deep and meaningful or completely vacuous!😀
 
Roger,

I wasn't addressing the reloading time as much as the missed opportunities. If I was that concerned about the extra seconds it takes to remove the case I sure wouldn't be using Barnak cameras as much as I do. I think its a tempest in a teacup.

Ray

Roger Hicks said:
Dear Ray,

So do I. But that doesn't cut down the reloading time.

Cheers,

R.
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Oh well, I will get back to my diabolical half case and my photos of no consequence 😛

(Joke Roger. You have explained your POV well and I may well feel differently about all things half case if I needed photography to put food on the family table. Truth be told, if that were the case I would probably be using a D3 or two loaded with two 8 GB cards and stll use the Leica for my stuff 🙄)

David
 
antistatic said:
. . . I may well feel differently about all things half case if I needed photography to put food on the family table. Truth be told, if that were the case I would probably be using a D3 or two loaded with two 8 GB cards and stll use the Leica for my stuff 🙄)

David
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Dear David,

That's what it comes down to, really. Although personally I cannot begin to understand half cases, if you're happy with them, great. It's just that the OP wasn't happy, so I couldn't quite see why he was using one.

If I were back on top of Thekchen Choeling next year -- as I have given serious thought to doing, as 2009 is the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese occupation -- I'd probably have the M8.2 and MP. Or possibly M8.2 and M8 if I could get both, but probably MP as well. In the 80s, as I recall, I had M4-P, M2 and Nikon F.

Cheers,

R.
 
Thirty or forty years ago nobody I knew wanted to be seen out on a shoot carrying a pristine looking camera. Brassed edges, dings and dents, paint rubbed off the film remider dial, chipped vulcanite, scratched up base plate...they were all signs that you owned and USED a tool. You can never make time run backwards. You're either ready to shoot or your not. This isn't the time nor the place to be fiddling with half cases: http://thepriceofsilver.blogspot.com/2008/11/4.html Kisses don't last forever!
 
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While the half case removed much of the "Never Ready" case syndrome, I never use them. Bumps are part of life, as are scars, balding and other wonderful things. Even with a beautiful S3-2000, it's not for me. I use a camera bag to keep things protected. My favorite is a small Leica Hard case.

B2 (;->
 
For all cameras except the M6 I do not use a half case. I like the half case for the for the M6 because of the extra grip it gives to me. I wrap the strap around my hand and hold the camera by the grip.
 
Thanks guys. I agree that it is a personal choice to have case or not. I really like the grip with the half case on because my hands sweat a lot and I am afraid the camera is gonna slip out of my hands. But the case really gets in my way while I am doing the work. I wish there is a better way.
How about a leica grip or something similar? Do you have to take the grip off in order to reload? Any input?

Thanks all.
 
Yes and No

Yes and No

On a specific shoot, NO. If I'm doing the tourist thing, YES.
When out with the M3 or IIIc, I like the camera without, smaller fingerprint(small size).
Touristing(is that a word/) out and about, with the M8 and the 1/2 caes, I will put in a 16Gb SDHC card and shoot to my hearts content. I find that walking around with the M8 cased, I don't worry so much about screwing up the LCD glass cover, as it is protecting the screen.
If doing something I'm getting paid for, NO case as I am not hanging the camera, but I do put the grip on, and down size to 2GB cards.
Just my 2¢, YMMV.
 
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My M3 came with one, but I've never used it. It just adds bulk, which defeats the purpose of carrying a rangefinder in the first place. For those instances where carrying a large camera is not a problem, I usually take my DSLR.
 
I don't on the R-D1 but do on the M8. I think LCD protection has increased the need of these cases. And no, I do not want the sapphire upgrade 😉
 
First time I visited Los Angeles in 1984 I saw a lot of cars driving around with some sort of strap on vinyl cover over the nose of the car. It was quite common on Porsche, Ferrari etc. They were called 'car bra' & the concept was that it protected the front end of the car from gravel damage etc. At first it looked absurd but after being there awhile I got used to it & was eventually entertaining fantasies of cruising around in a Porsche with a car bra. Never saw them anywhere else in the world & the few times I've been back to LA since no cars seem to have them anymore.
 
MichaelW said:
First time I visited Los Angeles in 1984 I saw a lot of cars driving around with some sort of strap on vinyl cover over the nose of the car. It was quite common on Porsche, Ferrari etc. They were called 'car bra' & the concept was that it protected the front end of the car from gravel damage etc. At first it looked absurd but after being there awhile I got used to it & was eventually entertaining fantasies of cruising around in a Porsche with a car bra. Never saw them anywhere else in the world & the few times I've been back to LA since no cars seem to have them anymore.
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I used to work in an auto accessories store and sold many of these bras. It was a good idea but in practice not so good for your car. Dirt will get trapped under the bra and will scratch the paint. And if you are driving along and it starts raining you must pull over and take it off else it will get wet and cause all kinds of problems like falling off.
 
My current set of Ms shoot naked. All of them.

A brief exception was when I had bought a ZI; I found it slightly loud compared to my Leicas. So I bought a case to dampen the shutter sound. But using the case with the ZI annoyed me a lot. Yet I can understand the practical need for audible stealth in certain situations, and a half-case will help a bit with that.
 
I have half cases on my Leicas, though not on any other cameras, mainly because I like the look and feel of them and - I rationalise to myself - to give them a little protection. Frankly, if I'm going to need to change films quickly, I don't take the Leicas.
 
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