Since my recent M6 purchase, I've not been entirely satisfied with the Leica strap. The plastic is too stiff for me. I miss the old domke grabber strap I've used with my older Nikon system.

Does anyone know how to adapt Domke or other softer strap to the M6?

-- dennis nakasone (dennsdmnce@aol.com), December 24, 2001

Answers

why not, like, just use the Domke strap, okay??

-- jim (dustair@aol.com), December 24, 2001.

Check out the Kameraleder strap. It is pefect for the M6 http://www.kameraleder.com/strap

-- Brooks (Bvonarx@home.com), December 24, 2001.

The best carrying strap I ever found is the Leica Neoprene (42162).It is really light, really flexible (but not as much as a rubber band) and nice and wide. Each side just above the clips to the camera lugs has a round, red metal disk with "Leica" on it like on the front of an M6 body. Don't cover these red guys over with black tape, just take a really sharp and well-pointed knife (like a scalpel) and pry them out and dispose of them (or glue them somewhere else).

Happy New Year!

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), December 24, 2001.

Dennis:

I have Domke gripper straps on all my M6's, no adaptation needed! I use the leather protecto-tab and the split-ring mounting hardware that come with the strap -- works great! FWIW, I use the standard version, not the QR version...

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), December 24, 2001.

Dennis, I do the same as Jack Flesher. The straps Leica supplies are, in my opinion, lousy and the Domke is the best. The leather tabs that Domke supplies protect the camera body.

-- George L. Doolittle (geodoolitt@aol.com), December 24, 2001.

the leica neoprene strap is really nice, though it sometimes gets in the way when gripping the camera. i mead my very special LHSA strap by painting the leica dots plack and rubbing the writing clean. looks cool!

-- stefan randlkofer (geesbert@aol.com), December 24, 2001.

Thanks for reminding me that I needed another strap, so I just ordered a couple more. What I use, and really like, is the old- fashioned leather strap, like Leica used to make in the 70s, from mclassics.com. They don't advertise them on the website (the main product is a knock-off of the 70s vintage canvas Leica bag), but sell them for $23, including shipping. I find that wide modern straps are just not right for me--trashy-modern looking, and with cheap hardware- -I can't bring myself to trust those Domke latches. Nikon makes a Leather strap for about $15,but the adjustment method is bad, and I find it slips off my shoulder. The M-classics leather strap is just right, after it softens up in several months (it starts out really hard, but working it loosens it up a lot.)

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), December 25, 2001.

I use an Op/Tech Classic strap adapted for my M6. The Op/Tech straps are a comfortable neoprene which are soft and make the camera feel lighter. I took the original Leica strap and cut it (yup, I cut it) to remove the metal ring and the plastic cover for those rings. Then I used the original rings and hooked them on my Op/Tech strap to attach it to my M6 just like an original Leica strap. I wouldn't worry about cutting your original Leica strap since they are very uncomfortable and you'll probably never use them again anyway. Give it a try.

-- Bill Lee (Bill_Lee@telus.net), December 25, 2001.

Dennis,

Take a look at www.upstrap.com I just received their rangefinder (and slr) strap and can't wait to try them!

-- Todd Phillips (toddvphillips@webtv.net), December 26, 2001.

I used the M Classics leather straps for about a year. They look really nice, but slip off my shoulder too easily. Also, the one on my IIIf, which I carry most often, started to wear badly. I've replaced them with the basic (non-QR) Domke Gripper straps (NO plastic latches) which I find work better for me. The unworn M Classics strap, from my IIIa, now lives on my Contaxski (Kiev 4a).

-- Robert Marvin (marvbej@earthlink.net), December 28, 2001.