Grip or Half case or nothing?

Grip or Half case or nothing?

  • Sidegrip

    Votes: 38 18.0%
  • Half case

    Votes: 85 40.3%
  • Something else

    Votes: 14 6.6%
  • Nothing, pure body only

    Votes: 85 40.3%

  • Total voters
    211

kshapero

South Florida Man
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Do you use a side grip, a half case or nothing or something else, when you shoot. I use a sidegrip but sometimes I miss a lovely leather halfcase.
 
Great idea for a poll, Akiva. I'm not comfortable with half cases; I want to feel the body... especially of a Leica.

Since the Bessa R [used] came with a sidegrip, I use it.
Cheers, Mike
 
Luigi halfcase with built-in grip. Best of all worlds - nice leather case, ready access to shoot, nice "grippability" for hand carrying, still relatively small form factor.

-Randy
 
It depends.

For some lenses the grip feels better, like the 50/1.2 is awkward to remove
with a half case.

For some lenses using a grip makes my fingers go in the picture, like
small 21 or 15mm lenses.

If possible I use a grip, if the lens allows, a Luigi built-in grip case.

Cheers,

Roland.
 
One or two of my cameras seem to work better in a half case (the Konica IIIA springs to mind), and my Bessa R3A has the trigger winder with grip, so that's what I use with that; usually I just carry the camera in my left hand, with a wrist strap to stop me dropping it.
 
Well, why don't include a softie in the list?

The question is what is the purpose and which is the camera, as we are not going to develope cults for sub-devices too.

If the purpose is feeling good, then cada chancho a su rancho. It is personal.

If the purpose is silencing, cushioning and stabilizing the camera as much as possible, then all the already mentioned means are suitable and help. How much each of them helps ? It depends on the specific camera.

Thus for example, the panoramic Horizon with a light plastic side grip "Kaiser", achieves an enormous advantage than without it.

On the other hand, a Yashica Lynx 14 cannot be further silenced by the use of a half case, as most of the shutter sound is projected TTL outwards.

For a Contax or a Kiev an original old half case will do the job.

OK, I leave now as there is no much point for generalizations, unless this is an Eureka Luigi thread. Not that he doesn't deserves it, but let's do it by the front door.

Be aware of your particular ergonomic issues and original in your own solutions. "The truth is always concrete".

Cheers,
Ruben

PS
As for Mike Goldberg prefering the metal over the case, the issue is that none of you have an idea of Mike's height and the size of his hands. :)


And he still manages to manipulate the tiny Oly RC :bang:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
ruben said:
As for Mike Goldberg prefering the metal over the case, the issue is that none of you have an idea of Mike's height and the size of his hands. :)

And he still manages to manipulate the tiny Oly RC :bang:

I'm sure I can compete with him :)

I mostly agree with you, Ruben. And I'm not favoring Luigi, necessarily.
There are several good sources for half cases.

But to take your point from the reverse perspective: lots of Leica
users highly value the quietness and ruggedness of their camera, but conversely
shoot "naked", when a half case makes a Leica, Bessa, ZI and
others (except for TTL shutter-based cameras) much quieter and even more "rugged" :).

Roland.
 
Since buying a Luigi half case for my M6 I wouldn't want anything else on a Leica.

On a plastic bodied DSLR I am still very happy with the simple wrist strap since the camera is fairly impervious to minor dings and has a substantial handgrip as part of the body design.
 
My only complaint - I'm talking about BESSA - was shutter noise ... it was a big suprise when I realised that Kiev is quieter, and as we know both cameras has metal shutters ... than many people suggest me a half case - ordering one for 50 Euros ( I don't know is it correct price ) was too expensive for me,
so I decided to ask a frind to make something like cases that you use on RFF.
When he asked me why I need it, I siad about shutter noise problem. He took
an old case from Zorki 4 and said : try with this. That case was slightly larger
than body - I've pressed the shutter realise - and I didn't notice any changes
about shutter sound :confused: .
That why I like only one accesory : wrist strap :) ( original de luxe neck strap
is too short , when I try to put camera on eye, it blocks viewfinder).
With wrist strap, I can always hold camera in hand, ready to shoot. It's also
less noticable, with camera on neck I'm more ''visible''
 
In may case, silencing the camera is ussually the most important, although not the only issue.

For my kievs, which i wear with their first model old cases, i have dedicated lots of time thinking how to cover the empty front space at the self timer side. The problem there is that if you manage to stich a rectangular piece of the same material, you will be loosing the grip of the finger destinated to sustain the camera below the yellow patch window...

Incidentally, Luigi came with a nice solution, covering diagonally half of the rectangle. Unfortunatelly, on the other hand, symetric design led him to design the same diagonal for the other side too, thus uncovering what was previously covered. But design is design, beauty is beauty, and who I am to denny i love the Kievs very much for their superb external beauty ?

Cheers,
Ruben
 
Used various 35 mm cameras -- a Canonet, an M3, a IIIc, two SLRs -- without case. Obliged to use a half case with Zorki 1C, which has no strap lugs.
 
While I love the grip the winder gave me on my Bessa Ts, I do not have the same (a grip) on any others. Never used a case, half or full. I've grown quite fond of Gordy Wrist Straps lately. I find that they give me a great handle on my Nikons (RF and SLR).

B2 (;->
 
I keep one canon P in the half case, and the other with a GMP side grip.

The Side grip one I use most. It is more comfortable, and the grip gives added support when using the 50 1.2 and other large lenses.

The half case camera I keep loaded with high speed film, and wide angle lenses - I mostly use it for more "point and shoot" purposes - the difference in case also helps me remember which camera is which, so I know what film speeds I'm dealing with.
 
I rotate film too quickly to use a halfcase, I really like them and I really would love to have my cameras in them but they are just too inconvenient for me to actually use. I really like the Luigi M7 case for a Motor-M and the Leicavit case.
I use a sidegrip because its highly practical, I use it with a Sling and a Gordy Strap, and it means that I can rewind, pull off the baseplate and stick it under my arm when loading and have no fear of it falling out from under my arm because the side grip is as much an anchor when its off the body as to when its on the body.
 
I've been using the M grips for a long while, and just got a grip from Tom- amazing! I absolutely love it. Much better in my arthritic hand. Another is soon on the way!
 
I bought a black Leitz Ever Ready Case years back for my M4-P and it really helps keep it in good condition as well as providing a more comfortable grip. (The half case is probably even better in the grip department because of how it is designed.) Most times I only use my ERC as a half case in nay event, and find that when out shooting it not only provides a better grip for hand holding the camera but I do not need to obsess quite so much about minor bangs or scrapes. So, long story short - I would go for the half case. Having said that I have now just bought a grip to try with my M3 which has no case.
 
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