WARNING: White tape can tear off your leather :(

[newfilm]

I recently brought myself a Stereo Realist, and like on my zorki I stick a piece of white tape on the camera back so I can write down what kind of film I have in there, all seems routine, and then come to the time I have took the film out and proceed to remove the white tape from the back, to my horror it took a chunk of the "leather" with it! On closer inspection, it seems that the "leather" on Stereo Realist is not really leather, it seems more like some black paper with leather appearance, hence the white tape does easily tear it up, the effect is like remove a tape on paper, where the paper is teared up. (and yes the "leather" is authentic/original, my friend have another stereo realist and it is the same "leather").

Oh well, I should have put the tape at the top metal plate, plenty of space there 🙁

 

[bence8810]

I recently brought myself a Stereo Realist, and like on my zorki I stick a piece of white tape on the camera back so I can write down what kind of film I have in there, all seems routine, and then come to the time I have took the film out and proceed to remove the white tape from the back, to my horror it took a chunk of the "leather" with it! On closer inspection, it seems that the "leather" on Stereo Realist is not really leather, it seems more like some black paper with leather appearance, hence the white tape does easily tear it up, the effect is like remove a tape on paper, where the paper is teared up. (and yes the "leather" is authentic/original, my friend have another stereo realist and it is the same "leather").

Oh well, I should have put the tape at the top metal plate, plenty of space there 🙁

Sorry for your trouble - and I second your opinion - I always stick the tape at the bottom plate on my cameras.

Is there any way to fix that "leather" of yours?
Ben

 

[rick oleson]

It will tear up real leather too. The only 'leather' material that's safe to put tape on is the plastic stuff (and even then, not the soft squishy plastic that became popular around 1980 or so).

Leather-grained paper was pretty common back then - used on Argus, Ciro and I'm sure some others besides the Realist. For a replacement material, I've bought some bookbinding leatherette from Gane Brothers: http://www.ganebrothers.com/

It's about the right thickness and appearance, and the backing is fabric rather than paper so it's a bit more durable. For cameras that came with leather or vinyl leatherette, I use Morocco grain pigskin.

 

[Huss]

I use the free Filmtrackr app. I know what is in all my cameras at a glance, the history of films shot, what I shot, which lenses used, when developed etc etc.
And it has never torn leather off any of my cameras.
😉

 

[bence8810]

I use the free Filmtrackr app. I know what is in all my cameras at a glance, the history of films shot, what I shot, which lenses used, when developed etc etc.
And it has never torn leather off any of my cameras.
😉

Same here 🙂 Too bad it's not an app actually but rather a website which means we must use roaming while traveling.

I only label my cameras since I started using bulk film as I need to stick the sticker onto the film case once the roll is finished so I'll know what it is and how to develop it. Stick the tape on the bottom plate of the camera and then when film done - put roll into plastic canister and close it off by putting the tape on it from the bottom of the camera.

Ben

 

[newfilm]

Sorry for your trouble - and I second your opinion - I always stick the tape at the bottom plate on my cameras.

Is there any way to fix that "leather" of yours?
Ben

Well, the chunk is out, maybe if it pain me enough I might go for re-apply new ones like Rick suggested, but for now this stays as a lesson for me 😱

I use the free Filmtrackr app. I know what is in all my cameras at a glance...
😉

Yeah I was OCD when I first started trying out film from digital, the shutter speed/aperture size/GPS coordinate/etc etc/ but after a while I realise it's kind of laboursome 🙂 also I often got 2 Zorki with 100 and 400 film in it, so kind of neat with the tape I can tell which one is which when I look into my bag.