Griptic covering or leather?

A vote for the GripTac from CameraLeather.com

It looks the real thing but also makes the camera stick to your hand like nothing else. I re-covered an M3 with it, had the GripTac cut for a Buddha-eared strap lugs camera without preview and self timer lever, old sized back door. It fitted like a glove when sticking it on.
 
Griptac for working cameras. Leather for looks. Just wish my covers would ship. Waiting since February for a cobalt.
 
I think griptac looks as good as it works. See the M3 in the classifieds. He shipped my griptac order (four cameras) in one day.
 
I have GripTac on basically all my M bodies (save an M3 and an M2 BP which I recently got and which are in good enough conditions), plus 2 IIIc bodies, and I wouldn't use any other cover. But then again, aesthetics for me is way less important than camera handling & usability (I do actually use my Ms to take pictures and to a degree to make a living - digital is Nikon though), and while I find the post-industrial look of GripTac cool I understand that others might like leather better. My advice: go for it. 😀
 
feenej said:
I got an email from him asking if I got it (nope), then nothing.
Click to expand...

At first, I got the wrong set. It fitted an M6 with all the levers. I e-mailed, he responded the other guy had allready mailed as well, told me to keep the set I had and hed sent out the correct set at the same day, no extra charge.

Very decent and thoughtful fellow, recommended. Send another mail, he'll help you out, for sure.
 
vieri said:
. . . But then again, aesthetics for me is way less important than camera handling & usability (I do actually use my Ms to take pictures and to a degree to make a living . . .
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Same here. For some decades. I've never found ANY camera to be so slippery that the covering made any difference -- including the enamelled white Ilford Advocate. None of them had ever popped out of mt sweaty fingers. The whole idea of finger-grips, sticky finishes, etc., seems utterly bizarre to me from the point of view of functionality. Aesthetically? De gustibus disputandum non est, you can't argue about taste. If I wanted to spend a wodge of money on making the camera look prettier, I'd back leather.

Sorry I can't offer advice from experience on where to go, but I'd suspect that Leica could stick a pretty cover on for you, and it would probably be the one that was least likely to cause fungus, etc., at least if the camera was used regularly. With third party covers, you're going to have to rely on long term reports from people here on RFF -- not people who had their camera recovered on a whim and then sold it.

What I'm asking, basically, is why the OP wants his your camera recovered, and how much he will use it afterwards. 'Because I want to' is a perfectly legitimate answer to the first, and 'not at all' to the second; but I think we need more information.

Tashi delek,

R.
 
feenej said:
Griptac for working cameras. Leather for looks. Just wish my covers would ship. Waiting since February for a cobalt.
Click to expand...

Thats doesn't sound good. I ordered cobalt about two weeks ago, but Morgan has been in contact with me via email a couple times since then. I needed to get the back door dimensions of my M3 to them.


BTW, has anyone here ever covered an M3, or any other M with the exposed 4 screws on the front? With a black covering, they blend in since the screws themselves are also black. But I'm trying to figure out how to address this when covering in the cobalt. Morgan said when cameraleather covers an M3, they cover up the screws, which produce slight bumps on the surface. Again, not so much as issue with black covering. She suggested if I don't care to have the bumps, that I try to find some lower profile screws that will sit flat. Hmmm...maybe I'll give DAG a ring.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Same here. For some decades. I've never found ANY camera to be so slippery that the covering made any difference -- including the enamelled white Ilford Advocate. None of them had ever popped out of mt sweaty fingers. The whole idea of finger-grips, sticky finishes, etc., seems utterly bizarre to me from the point of view of functionality. Aesthetically? De gustibus disputandum non est, you can't argue about taste. If I wanted to spend a wodge of money on making the camera look prettier, I'd back leather.

Sorry I can't offer advice from experience on where to go, but I'd suspect that Leica could stick a pretty cover on for you, and it would probably be the one that was least likely to cause fungus, etc., at least if the camera was used regularly. With third party covers, you're going to have to rely on long term reports from people here on RFF -- not people who had their camera recovered on a whim and then sold it.

What I'm asking, basically, is why the OP wants his your camera recovered, and how much he will use it afterwards. 'Because I want to' is a perfectly legitimate answer to the first, and 'not at all' to the second; but I think we need more information.

Tashi delek,

R.
Click to expand...

Hello Roger! I completely agree with you on the use of cameras and on wether it's wise to rely on forum advice or not according to the advice-giver's use of a camera (or lack thereof). In my experience, I found that many 2-hand Ms' old vulcanite is so dried up that it makes the camera very slippery with wet hands (sweat, rain, whatever); plus, as we all know Ms do not have any ergonomically-shaped grips or anything that could help handling; and, as you, I don't like to add grips & stuff to my cameras. So, removing the old vulcanite (a bit of a pain to do) and replacing it with GripTac has been for me a fantastic solution: definitely faster and less expensive than having Leica replacing the cover, and the results are fantastic: GripTac does what its name suggest it does, it offers great grip even with wet hands and makes the handling of M cameras (and of all cameras I put it on, for that matter) easier and safer. I even replaced my new MP's cover with it and could be happier. GripTac'ked cameras in my possession which I regularly shoot:
- MP;
- M2;
- 2 x IIIc;
GripTac'ked cameras that I ended up selling after quite a lot of use:
- MP;
- 2 x M8;
GripTac'ked camera that I sold after putting just a few rolls trough it:
- Yashica-Mat (had to change the cover anyway due to its being falling apart!)
cameras in my possession which I regularly use and that are going to be soon GripTac'ked:
- M2 BP;
- M3.
An happy GripTac'ker here, as you can see, and one that uses his cameras every day to take pictures too - not to put them on a shelf and admire them (nothing against collectors here, of course). Just my .02! 😀
 
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Roger Hicks said:
What I'm asking, basically, is why the OP wants his your camera recovered, and how much he will use it afterwards. 'Because I want to' is a perfectly legitimate answer to the first, and 'not at all' to the second; but I think we need more information.

Tashi delek,

R.
Click to expand...

Hello, Roger,

I like the look of custom leather for starters. However, what got me thinking about Griptic is that while all my M's sport a Leica handle my M7 wont take the handle because the handle's screw won't mate properly with the camera's base plate. My options are to have it re-drilled, or replaced. Or, I can forgo the handle and rejacket with Griptic for firm hold.

Saludos,

Paul
 
Hi to everyone, I hope I won't bother asking about how griptac looks on MP... Anyone has a pic of theirs?
Because "look" also matters considering Leica M... but not against functionality... I have been also hesitating between a "classic" goat leather or gritac for my MP... since I have experienced the leather feel on different M, I thought I was convinced... precious and comfortable... but the griptac feedback I could read here makes me reconsider this point... speaking about "fungus" might be exagerated to my eye, but I guess Griptac holds better in time, especially under exotic climates (considering I am European)... such as African extremely dry or wet season or Asian moonsoon...
Thanks
 
Is fungus really an issue? I would have thought tanned leather was fairly immune to issues. Is this a real problem or speculation?
 
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