Sorry for such a trivial question, but what have you M3 owners found is the best strap to attach to the lugs on the camera? All of the straps I have are attached with a 1/4 inch flat piece of material , but the M3 has very small lugs.

-- Steve Rosenblum (stevierose@yahoo.com), February 14, 2002

Answers

My favorite strap, and completely authentic to the M3, is Seth Levine's beautifully made leather retro strap, from mclassics.com. He doesn't advertise it--you have to write him and ask about it. It comes with an extra set of soft rings for soft strap lugs (as on the M3). I love leather straps, and his is the only one which is just as good as the old ones--and not a bit like the junky useless ones now available from second-rate firms such as Nikon. :-)

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), February 14, 2002.

These aren't retro but definately comfo. Optech USA makes these wonderful cushie stretch straps that are great to walk around with all day. There are several kinds; I use the convention loop through the rings type, along with a leather cover for the ring.

It took me a while to use them--I too love leather--but now I'm addicted. I even put one on my TX-1 and put away my fancy leather strap with the metal loops. Optech uses plastic.

-- Alex Shishin (shishin@suma.kobe-wu.ac.jp), February 14, 2002.

Nikon still make a good leather strap, costs about $30.00 CDN. It is a bit bulky because it is adjustable with a buckle etc., but not bad.

-- Ian MacEachern (iwmac@sympatico.ca), February 14, 2002.

Steve

You might want to look at the modern Leica strap from BH:

http://www03.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class? FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___30496___LESS___REG___CatID=2 83___SID=EC3F9EF0240

I bought a couple of nice new Leica straps from George Ury for less than $20 apiece. Winnetka, IL (847-242-9945). Seemed like a really nice guy to deal with.

I made the straps on my M2&3 with 3/4" leather straps with split rings held on by folding the strap through the ring and riveting them. Dyed them black, they don't slip and they just get better with age. Good luck!

-- Don (wgpinc@yahoo.com), February 14, 2002.

I use a Domke strap on my M3. Works great.

Cheers,

-- Alan Purves (lpurves@mnsi.net), February 15, 2002.

I also recommend the Domke "Gripper" straps. They're inexpensive & come w/2 little leather patches that go over the lugs & protect the camera body. No problem fitting the lugs on my M3 or any other M series.

-- Chris Chen (furcafe@cris.com), February 15, 2002.

Steve,

Check out www.UpStrap.com.....their straps are FANTASTIC and will NOT slip off your shoulder!!! Though not really "original" to the Leica, but they work better than ANY strap I've tried, including the Domke "Gripper" (which I used to use!). Do yourself a favor (if you carry a camera on your shoulder) and check out these straps!

-- Todd Phillips (toddvphillips@webtv.net), February 15, 2002.

None at all. Keep the body in one pocket, the lens in another while the camera is not in use. A bit more descreet this way, and the camera won't smash into things as it flops around as you scurry about.

When using it, the assembled camera doesn't have any straps to get in your way.

-- Tom Bryant (boffin@gis.net), February 16, 2002.

Being the retro kind of person I am when it comes to Leica, I like the original brown leather straps with split rings that Leica sold in the days of the M2 and M3. You can occasionally find these new, even today, but they will cost more than the current Leica strap. The latter (Nylon or some polymer) is probably better than leather, which often gets brittle with age and can crack or break. You can buy Leics's current M6 strap new, probably for $ 20-30, and it works fine and won't self destruct.

Some of the aftermarket items people have mentioned are a little more elegant though. Leica didn't put a great deall of thought and effort into the current strap, though it works just fine.

-- Eliot (erosen@lij.edu), February 16, 2002.

without a doubt upstrap...

-- David Natho (david.natho@wcom.com), February 19, 2002.