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Thumbie for the M (with discount for LUF members)


farnz

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I've used Thumbies on both my M8's and my M9-P and it has helped the handling so much that I wouldn't be without one - what a great invention by one of our own forum members.

And now Steve has designed and produced a Thumbie for the Leica M (Typ 240). Mine arrived very quickly through the post and Steve very kindly painted mine in silver chrome paint that perfectly matches the top plate of my M (please refer to my pictures below).

 

The design had to be altered to accommodate the M's thumbwheel and its flange and Steve's new Thumbie is as solid as the one that my M8 is stuck to. And at the moment there's a special discount for l-camera-forum members; just send a pm to 250swb and Steve will do the rest!

 

Below are pictures of my Thumbie on my M.

 

Pete.

(For full disclosure, I'm not connected to Steve or his products other than being a satisfied customer.)

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Another very satisfied thumbie-customer (M9, MM and M240). There are, of course, other solutions around, but it nicely combines smallness and support, and it keeps the hot-shoe free. All important factors for my use of the Leicas.

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Few short questions. This cannot be removed, right? How much pressure it could take i.e. is it save to swing (regular handling, I don't think I would hold it for the Thumbie only) the camera without being affraid it could peal off? I already have Thumbs Up, but this would free the hot shoe, what's the price?

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I used a Thumbie for a while with my M9. The adhesive is 3M VHB tape, often used for holding automotive emblems to paint. Once a few hours have past and the bond has cured the Thumbie will easily hold the weight of the camera. It can be removed by warming the Thumbie with a hair dryer and using dental floss pulled between the Thumbie and top plate. Sorry I have no clue what the current cost is.

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Few short questions. This cannot be removed, right? quote]

 

No, it is very easy to remove a Thumbie. The tape used is a very strong automotive tape for attaching trim and badges to cars, but it has a foam core. So to remove a Thumbie you just tear the foam core, which requires a really good hard twist, not something usually done, and the core is torn, and you leave a residue of tape on the camera and on the Thumbie. Both can be cleaned off in seconds by rolling up the tape residue with your thumb, and then if necessary cleaning remaining glue residue from the surface with white spirit for a perfect finish. In terms of showing where the Thumbie has been it is more down to the clean area that has been protected from knocks and scratches than any affect from the Thumbie itself. Spare tape is included in the box. The principle has been used successfully with the M9 Thumbie for a few years.

 

My thanks to Pete for a very nice review which sums things up very well, no blocking of the hotshoe, no persistent leverage on the hotshoe, and it is simple and light.

 

Steve

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... How much pressure it could take i.e. is it save to swing (regular handling, I don't think I would hold it for the Thumbie only) the camera without being affraid it could peal off? ...

I thought I'd give it a try and it's quite difficult to hold the M by just the Thumbie because of its shape :o but after a few attempts I managed to hold my M with my Noctilux attached by just the Thumbie and it still feels solid. I've used Thumbies for i guess 5 years now without any problem although I have to admit for completeness that I haven't used one in searing heat or arctic cold. Others have and have not reported any problems; the adhesive strips are used on cars in these temperatures without problems too.

 

I had to remove a Thumbie when I sold my M9-P (the buyer wanted them separately so he could decide for himself whether he wanted to attach it or not) and it left no mark on the silver chrome at all. It came off just as Steve described above although if I'd known about the dental floss (cheese wire) method I might have used that instead because it can be awkward to apply the amount of twist (torsional) force to the Thumbie when it's in place.

 

Pete.

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I've used Thumbies for i guess 5 years now without any problem although I have to admit for completeness that I haven't used one in searing heat or arctic cold.

 

No experience with searing heat ... but no problems in minus 25 (Celsius).

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I never could keep a Thumbie on my M9, I hesitate to try again.

 

If there are any problems I appreciate the opportunity to try and work through things and sort out an difficulties. Because of the type of tape used it should be good for heat (as it is designed to be used with vehicles painted in low bake autoclave's), and also water. So if there is a problem it is usually something else. There honestly haven't been many issues reported with the M9 Thumbie, but the few that have revolve around two main things, people touch the glue surface with fingers before application, people try to re-align it during application which also damages the glue surface (and why the soapy water method is recommended), and then there is contamination on the camera. This can be residue of chemicals not cleaned off in advance, like aftershave, creams, insect repellents, etc. or chemicals or cleaning products being used around the Thumbie. Obviously those sorts of things could damage the rest of the camera as well.

 

Steve

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