Neck Strap WARNING!

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Sailor Ted

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This is a public service announcement:

I was street shooting yesterday M8 on shoulder when I heard a horrible "thud." I look over my shoulder and on the concrete and there lys my pampered chrome M8. I inspect the Leica provided neck strap and the plastic collar was missing so the strap came off the steel clasp. I had never noticed problematic clasp before this time. At first inspection the strap on my M8 seemed to be the same as the one that came with my M6 ten years ago (my M6 strap served me for ten years on three contents and Oceania and still serves to this day). Further examination shows the plastic sleeve on the M8's strap to be of a brittle and different plastic. This is a ticking time bomb for anyone who relies on their provided neck strap to hold their M8's around their necks.

On a different note, I posted a comment to the R-D1 board some months back asking, "would your camera's range finder stay adjusted if you dropped your camera" I also ran a poll and the majority did not believe that their R-D1's RF's would stay aligned. Others wanted more detail like "would this be dropped on solid concrete? If "YES" then obviously "NO"! Well I am here to report that my M8's range finder seems perfectly aligned despite the drop dented my camera body.

Conclusion? GET A NEW NECK STRAP ASAP!
 
i'm so sorry mr. ted. is your camera working properly still? well atleast your camera has character now 🙂 i hope the scratches aren't so bad. FYI, i haven't used the M8 strap/clasp yet. i got lazy and pulled the one off my R6.2 instead. did the clasp break or did it slide up causing the strap to fall off?
 
Ouch! I just went and check my camera straps. The one that I don't like and its on an M3 has a plastic buckle. Does anyone know of thinnish strap that uses metal hooks that swivel similar to what is used on dog leashes? I'd like to get rid of this strap, which is comfortable, but hmmm............
 
oh, that sucks TEd. Hope all is ok with the camera. I dropped my Bessa R one time and it suffered no internal damage. Just lost the glass covering the frame counter.
 
I'm so sorry to hear about your camera Ted. I hate the newer Leica straps. Never use'em. As far as I am concerned, Luigi makes the best straps bar none. I was always a fan of the older Leica leather straps. Long out of production, long wearing, and mine still serve me well 27 years later. Luigi's leather straps are a definite upgrade to the older Leica leather straps and look absolutely beautiful.
 
Solinar said:
Ouch! I just went and check my camera straps. The one that I don't like and its on an M3 has a plastic buckle. Does anyone know of thinnish strap that uses metal hooks that swivel similar to what is used on dog leashes? I'd like to get rid of this strap, which is comfortable, but hmmm............
Click to expand...
Domke Gripper has a model with swivel clasps as you describe.
 
Sorry to hear of your missfortune Ted.

Solinar said:
...Does anyone know of thinnish strap that uses metal hooks that swivel similar to what is used on dog leashes? I'd like to get rid of this strap, which is comfortable, but hmmm............
Click to expand...

I've been using a Domke strap for years.

Michael
 
I like the Leica straps very much because they are very strong and made of a non-organic material so less likely to break down over time like leather. I also prefer a thin strap so the Leica strap is ideal for me. HOWEVER - I will now plan to tape the plastic retainers over the metal clasps with gaffer's tape so they can't slip (though they never have in 10 years) on both my M6s) Thanks for letting us know this can happen, you must have felt awful when your camera hit the ground.
 
The Domke straps are too complicated IMO. I prefer the Leica straps but I will certainly tape them now. Another option is the very expensive UPStrap (google it)
 
This is too bad...I would be very unhappy if that happened to me.

I used a Domke strap on my Contax G2 for a while. The thing I didn't like about it is that the metal buckle can cause scratching when the camera is put away in a bag. I don't use it any more. Now, on both my G2 and M8, I use an Optech wrist strap. Obviously, I can't hang this around my neck but they are very secure (can be tightened up around your wrist), strong, and won't scratch the camera.
 
The plastic couple on my Leica strap came undone on my M6 a couple weeks ago. I noticed it before anything bad happened, but I was surprised it had popped up loose.

Well, the Leica strap is off the M6 and a Luigi is in its place.
 
Thanks all and an update- the range finder is out of alignment. I focused on a flag on the horizon and it is way off. I agree the ballistic nylon that Leica uses on the strap is great and I too like it's ergos but... the plastic caps are not the same as what came with my M6. Perhaps Leica's vendor changed the formula for the plastic or perhaps Solms was pinching pennies (euros?) I don't know but this is a significant set back for me.

I will contact Leica on Monday and see if the warranty on my M8 is as robust as what came with my M6. Lifetime Passport Protection I believe it was called?

I have been thinking about how best to remedy this problem for other M8 owners and have the following suggestion. While tape would be of benefit it is not an elegant solution and can come undone. I believe heat shrink is our best option and I offer this as a suggestion.

Cheers,
ST

PS. The plastic cap is totally MIA- gone as in not on the strap. This means it failed and as a result of this failure my camera strap came off the clasp and my camera hit the ground hard.
 
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Ted
I'm really sorry to hear that the camera sensor is out of alignment. Hopefully Leica will be able to turn it around quickly for you. i just had a Leaf Aptus 75 back fall of the camera and hit a wood floor. It to seemed to be fine, but I sent it to be checked out and sure enough head to have the sensor re-aligned. I'm in New York and Leaf is in New Jersey, so they were able to fix it in a day and get it back to me the next day.
Looking forward to seeing some of your new work on Flickr.
charles
 
I don't know if the straps supplied with the M8's are the same that I am using, but I have fabric straps, that use a metal split ring, with a plastic fitting that slips over the metal ring, and further up the strap, on each side, a second plastic fitting with the strap attached (to adjust the length). I am not certain which part on yours broke, but since I use an R8 with a DMR attached, mine is much heaver.
Was it the plastic part that slips over the metal split ring?
 
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