How strong ar the strap lugs?

klas.buren

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Hi everyone!

Yesterday I recieved a Sling and Hook from Leicagoodies and are very pleased with these new gadgets! My only concern is if it really is safe to carry my M4 with a strap attached to only one of the strap lugs (using the Hook). To be honest, the lugs look quite small and weak to me. Does anyone here know how the lugs are attached to the main housing?

Klas
 
No idea but my experience is that the lugs are pretty strong. I personally wouldn't worry about using the Hook .
 
Here is a link to another forum that may help answer how the lugs are attached to the body. http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00D5LP&unified_p=1
In short, I gather that the lugs pre M6 were made of brass and riveted to the body and M6 and later were steel held in place with a nut. How strong they are is anyones guess. I never worried about it with my Nikon FM2n but my M4 weights 3X as much and has lugs of brass so I too wonder.

Bob
 
I always support the camera with my hand and use the strap as secondary support. This I believe is safer than the other way around. In other words I never dangle the camera by the strap.
 
I've never had a lug or strap break but I've always had a rule that even when I have athe strap around my neck I keep a grip on it with one hand--just in case.
 
How old is your M4? Camera lugs can wear out, especially the brass lugs of older cameras. Later cameras had steel inserts or all steel lugs. On rare occaisions, I have known photographers that have had camera lugs break, they were very worn, or pull out. I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Thanks for that link Bob! It seems nobody has heard of a lug failing, but nevertheless I will keep an eye them. For me, the entire purpose of a neck strap is to have my hands free for something else, i.e. by hanging tha camera over my shoulder or neck.

Klas
 
My M6 had one lug that fell out during a walkabout, not sure how it happened at the first time,because when it fell out i saw it was reattached with some super-glue .
Think the first owner of the camera did something strange there, but the camera had no marks, no dents, no nothing that showed a dropping. Maybe the lug fell out during polishing the camera ? 😉

The M6 sn is 16656xx so that might explain some, been told that the early M6 had some problems with that.

--
Edit : forgot to mention that i´v got the lugs changed so no it works.
Don´t even think about gluing on your camera, at least not a M6.


vha.
 
Last edited:
klas.buren said:
kbg32: My M4 is from1970 and there is some wear on the lugs. I might have them replaced at the next CLA.

Klas

Hi Klas,

I would keep an eye on them. I have a 1967 M4, lugs are still fine, but I have seen M3s and M2s with pretty worn lugs.

I believe Nikon wa the first to put steel inserts in their lugs.

Keith
 
Klas

I agree that neck straps are to allow you to have free use of both hands. My M4 is from 1975 and shows some wear on the lugs but they are not thinning. In any event I carry mine in the bottom half of a never ready case that has it's own neck strap and not by the camera lugs. I did replace the leather neck strap on the case myself as the old one was getting worn and brittle with age. Enjoy your M4.

Bob
 
There would be a difference between how a neck strap and a wrist strap pulls at the lugs. The neck strap would mostly have an upward pull, where the wrist strap would tend to have more of an outward pull. Plus, the weight would be distributed between both lugs with a neck strap.

I'm not sure if it matters, or not. But something to consider.
 
Pretty damn' strong. I have only ever seen one pulled out in 30+ years (not on one of my cameras, so I don't know how it happened), and camera dealers of my acquaintance reckon that would be about normal.

They do wear out, though: As far as I recall I've had mine on M2s replaced with stainless steel ones -- as I have on my Nikon Fs, though not on either camera for a couple of decades or so, which is why I can't recall whether it was Ms or Fs or Ms and Fs.

They have to wear to WAFER-thin before they give way, though. And I have has that happen!

Cheers,

Roger
 
I actually took the lugs off a wrecked Zorki 5 and installed them on a Zorki 1 (they normally don't have lugs). Drilled the holes and attached them using a epoxy "cold weld." I think tose points on the camera now are stronger than the body in general.
 
I think maybe it's worthwhile to make the distinction between 2 possible types of strap lug failure.

The first is the outer part of the lug giving way because the lug has worn thin by friction with the neckstrap ring over time. Pre the M4-2, the lugs were made of brass. Steel strap rings, being much harder than brass, would accelerate the wear. My M4 has some strap wear, but there's still plenty of thickness left. My M3's lug holes are oblong rather than circular, but since for me the M3 is only of occasional use, they'll probably last longer than affordable film and processing 😀 In any case, there's good visual warning of impending failure from thin lugs.

The second is the entire lug pulling free from the body. Through the early years of the M6, all the lugs are held on by a single stud which is crimped from inside the body casting. Assuming it was crimped properly in the first place, it should not pull out of its moorings without first giving warning by being wiggly and able to be rotated.

From mid-M6 until today, the lugs are held in place by 2 small screws attached from inside. This solves the rotation problem, and provides a failsafe against the lug detaching...unless of course both screws are allowed to come out.

As to the risk of using someone's homebrew wrist strap, you can't cheat the laws of physics, and hanging the camera by one lug puts twice as much force on it than a neckstrap, and places the force in a direction the lug wasn't designed for. Personally I'd prefer to just wrap the neckstrap around one hand.
 
but really, who uses a wrist strap AND dangles the camera by it?

not me.

i use only wrist straps along with grips.
on cameras without grips i either hold onto the camera itself or hold the camera by encircling the barrel of the lens with by fingers.

joe
 
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