D-Lux 5 Grip in every day use

[girphoto]

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I have been using the D-lux 5 in my everyday assignments while at Kennedy Space Center and I have been very impressed with the quality (shooting RAW and all on "M").

I use LR 3.2 and after doing some work in LR I move the image to PS-5.

 

I have found that after using "BIG" DSLR's using a "little" digital requires that you hold the camera differently.

 

I have the View finder, and that helps, but I asked my dealer to order the Grip for the D-Lux 5. it arrived at my hotel and it did change the feel of the camera and a lot nicer to use (IMHO).

 

Being a photojournalist, I am constantly removing cards from the camera to edit while on the run and replacing it with a new card. Well guess what, Leica decided that it would be a good idea to attach the grip, leave no access to the battery door (hence, no card on the run) unless you remove the grip. They did not even put a " quick access screw " that you could flip up and turn remove card or battery and replace with a quick turn.

 

Nice fell, looks great, good quality, BAD DESIGN!

 

after searching the web I found:

Richard Franiec's Camera Accessories

 

a grip that has a bonding glue and is applied to the side of the camera body and looks like it gives you a good grip. They also now have one for the D-LUX 5.

Plus they have an accessory that will let you use a remote cord (manually old type) to fire your camera.

 

Cost of the gip above is about $35.00 (nice deal).

 

I have used one of these grips made by another firm on a P&S Canon G-9. it has been on going on two years and even the heat in South eastern Florida, does not bother the grip glue.

 

So before you spend your $80+ dollars on the Leica grip (and it is a nice grip) take a look into the other if you are the type of shooter that likes to down load and get your images out quickly.

Thanks for reading

Gary

[Shootist]

Better off just buying the Panasonic LX5 with built in grip. IMHO.

[leicanut2]

BIGGER SD card. Battery get close to 400 pics find a card that handles about the same change battery and card at the same time.

 

Jan

[bill]

Better off just buying the Panasonic LX5 with built in grip. IMHO.

 

As I said about the D-Lux 4 - the separate, bigger grip was a deal maker for me, because I have larger hands. It is not as black and white as you imply; for me, the LX handles like a compact, the D-Lux with grip, handles like a bigger camera.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[girphoto]

BIGGER SD card. Battery get close to 400 pics find a card that handles about the same change battery and card at the same time.

 

Jan

 

 

Thanks, but that is not the problem. When working for a wire service, and moving images through out the day, you move them right after you shoot them, if you wait to long, they are no longer news they are history.

 

So, at this time, I am keeping the leica grip and will have to make sure that I always have a coin with me to unscrew the grip.

I guess a small price to pay for such a nice camera.

[leicanut2]

Thanks, but that is not the problem. When working for a wire service, and moving images through out the day, you move them right after you shoot them, if you wait to long, they are no longer news they are history.

 

So, at this time, I am keeping the leica grip and will have to make sure that I always have a coin with me to unscrew the grip.

I guess a small price to pay for such a nice camera.

 

I got it, looks like the Richard Franiec grip would be the best one for you. You should not have any trouble selling the Leica grip.

 

Cheers Jan

[Walt Calahan]

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Love the built-in grip on my LX5. Shooting RAW always.

[girphoto]

I got it, looks like the Richard Franiec grip would be the best one for you. You should not have any trouble selling the Leica grip.

 

Cheers Jan

 

Thanks, my problem is not selling the Leica grip, but that I like the feel of the camera with the grip attached.

I am now working on a different screw to use with a fold down wing that will allow me to flip the wing up, unscrew to the point of moving but not removing the grip, changing cards and resetting the grip.

And i know that i can use the camera as a card reader, down load the images and go on shooting ( and this is an option), but I would rather try re-design the screw before giving up ad going to the glue on option.

thanks

gary

[leicanut2]

Thanks, my problem is not selling the Leica grip, but that I like the feel of the camera with the grip attached.

I am now working on a different screw to use with a fold down wing that will allow me to flip the wing up, unscrew to the point of moving but not removing the grip, changing cards and resetting the grip.

And i know that i can use the camera as a card reader, down load the images and go on shooting ( and this is an option), but I would rather try re-design the screw before giving up ad going to the glue on option.

thanks

gary

 

Post a picture of it when you are done, I would like to see it. I agree with you the Leica grip really is nice I have large hands and with the grip the camera feel more secure.

 

Cheers Jan

[chuckw]

Thanks, my problem is not selling the Leica grip, but that I like the feel of the camera with the grip attached.

I am now working on a different screw to use with a fold down wing that will allow me to flip the wing up, unscrew to the point of moving but not removing the grip, changing cards and resetting the grip.

And i know that i can use the camera as a card reader, down load the images and go on shooting ( and this is an option), but I would rather try re-design the screw before giving up ad going to the glue on option.

thanks

gary

 

I have a D-Lux 5 but do not yet have a grip. However, I do have a D-Lux 4 with the Leica grip. With that combination I just loosen the thumb wheel attachment screw a little and twist the grip a bit and this gives me access to the card reader slot without having to actually remove the grip. Are you saying that this can not be done with the D-Lux 5 and grip without a redesign of the attachment screw?

[wmyowell]

I second what Chuck suggests. He may have been the one who mentioned this some months ago. I find that three left movements with my left thumb and the grip is loose enough to open the door and extract the card. Easy and quick. One of those things that made me wonder, "Why didn't I think of that."

 

But I just got my D-Lux 5 and have ordered the Franiec grip.

 

Bill Yowell

[girphoto]

I have a D-Lux 5 but do not yet have a grip. However, I do have a D-Lux 4 with the Leica grip. With that combination I just loosen the thumb wheel attachment screw a little and twist the grip a bit and this gives me access to the card reader slot without having to actually remove the grip. Are you saying that this can not be done with the D-Lux 5 and grip without a redesign of the attachment screw?

 

Ho, I am not saying that at all.

Yes, I understand that this is a great little camera. Some might say it is just a P&S., but in the past 10 days, I have shot with it quite a lot and have moved many images on our wire service. Yes, you can loosen the screw, twist the grip out to the front and than get to the door. move the grip back and reset the screw.

But it would be a lot easier (especially in my line of work where time is very important, just to take a quarter turn on the screw get the card and a quarter turn back (just my own preference). I am working on a screw that will work like the base plate on my film cameras.

But, The camera does feel a whole lot different with the full grip than with out it.

 

For travel, walking around, etc...put a 16 gig card in (may cameras are set to RAW) and you can have a full day of fun shooting (boy I wise I could do just that lol)

[wda]

Better off just buying the Panasonic LX5 with built in grip. IMHO.

But the Leica grip is a proper grip!

[wda]

Gary, why not upgrade your memory cards to cope with a typical day's shoot?

[Moritz]

Hi Gary,

 

another option would be to use Eye-fi SD cards with built in WLAN functionality to transfer ad hoc your pictures through the Iphone, on the ipad or any other Computer.

 

see: Eye-Fi-Speicherkarten: Fotos und Videos direkt von der Kamera kabellos auf Ihren Computer oder ins Internet hochladen.

 

Best Regards,

 

Moritz

[wmyowell]

Well, I suppose I shouldn't have done it, but . . .

 

We have two D-Lux 4s with Leica grips for each. My wife has decided she likes the camera without the grip. This week my D-Lux 5 with finder arrived. The grip for the 4 just misses fitting because there is a lug which protrudes from the grip that fits into the gap in the memory card/battery compartment door hinge. It's a couple of mm off. Well, it appears to be a hard plastic, so I took a sharp knife and cut it off. Now the hand grip for the 4 fits on the D-Lux 5. Not quite as secure without the lug, but secure enough I think.

 

So now I'll have a choice of grips.

 

I thought you folks would like to know of this possibility. I figure that even as expensive as the grip was, it wouldn't sell for much. But it looks like it will work out well. With big hands, the grip makes a big difference for me.

 

Bill Yowell

[girphoto]

Gary, why not upgrade your memory cards to cope with a typical day's shoot?

 

Thanks for the idea, But I carry 10 SD cards at all times with the smallest being 8gig and up to 16 gig.

 

But, My business requires that i send (or Transmit) images when I have them.

If on Vacation (I wish, LOL), than shooting all day until I get a chance to download is not a problem. But when you have an editor (or you are your own editor) and they want the images NOW! or your cell is going looking for the images, you get them going right than and there.

 

And yes, I carry a Mac Pro 13" with me at all times so that I can move images when I need to.

[Digitom]

... Yes, you can loosen the screw, twist the grip out to the front and than get to the door. move the grip back and reset the screw.

But it would be a lot easier (especially in my line of work where time is very important, just to take a quarter turn on the screw get the card and a quarter turn back (just my own preference).

 

Well, I hope we talk about the same grip - I just need to turn the screw knob one half (180 degrees) and my grip is loose enough to flip it to the side, open the compartment and change the card! I do this in about 5s or so. No screw to turn quarter will gives you quicker access I think.

 

More problematically is the unstability of the SD-card/battery compartment door, it looks cheap and it IS IMHO cheap made. Very thin and the tension spring looks also as after several hundred opening it may fail....the door of my former D-Lux 2 was really better I think. A detail which should be better made in the new D-Lux 6 one day

So that is one more reason to use the Leica grip which protect that compartment door also very well.

[jjonsalt]

Personally, I find Leica's own grip a necessary part of the camera. Franiec's grip, like the one on the LX5, is not very deep and adds nothing to the height. Both are shortcomings that keep the camera from being comfortable and practical to use, for me, as the addition of the Leica grip does. But, I'm not in a hurry to exchange cards and thus my priorities are different than girphoto's.

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Hallo,

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[Le Chef]

Mine has a thumb screw that is big enough to be able to loosen the grip one handed. But I can see if you're flipping out cards every 15 minutes or so how it could get irritating.