Which hand grip for M10?

[Dirk Mandeville]

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While awaiting the arrival of my silver M10, I have been considering which accessories to purchase with it. I prefer a hand grip on the front of the camera, and have used the Leica hand grip with my M9. It's a little large, but it works for me just fine. For the M10, I am trying to decide between the hand grip and the black leather protector half case, which has a grip bulge molded into it. Here are my thoughts on these two options.

 

I prefer the looks of the half case. It's leather seems to go well with the M and it looks really nice on the camera. It does cover the silver base plate, which changes the overall esthetics, but this doesn't seem to be a big deal. It will also protect the camera body and bottom plate from scratching, which is nice. Doesn't seem like it adds too much bulk to the camera. I will be using a black leather "Rock and Roll" strap from Tie Her Up with the camera, and I think the half case will look good with that strap. Functionally, however, I have concerns whether the grip will be as secure as the hand grip. And I am not sure how much bulk the case will add and how that changes the feel of the camera.

 

The new Leica hand grip seems very well designed to look like a natural part of the camera. It matches the rest of the body beautifully, and isn't as bulky as the M9 hand grip. But two things bother me about it esthetically. The first is the height of the baseplate. It seems double or more the height of the stock baseplate and to me, especially with the silver model, kind of ruins the esthetics of the camera. It just looks odd having that tall of a silver baseplate on the bottom of the camera. Not to mention that it makes the camera that much taller (one of the things I love about the M is how compact it is). Second, I don't like the big silver screw hole for the finger loop in the middle of the grip. I won't use the finger loop, and the screw hole for it kind of ruins the esthetics of an otherwise great looking grip. Functionally, I think it may provide a better grip than the half case. But it does nothing to protect the camera from abrasion.

 

So I am having a hard time deciding between these options. Both esthetics and functionality are important to me. Considering the price of the camera and accessories, I want it to work well and look good. I would appreciate any thoughts, comments, or insights on this decision, especially from those of you who have experience with either or both of these choices. I will be using a thumbie of some sort with the camera as well, probably either the Leica or Match Technical version. Thoughts?

[Cliff S]

Half case and thumbs up.

 

I had the accessory handgrip for a week on my M240. I found it very slippery and it would slide down my hand. I had to really hold it hard. The half case, by Leica, has better friction and with the thumbs up I'm single hand holding.

[Dirk Mandeville]

Thanks for relating your experience, Cliff. That's very helpful information. I had suspected it might be the other way around. I do lean toward the half case from a looks perspective, but hadn't realized that it may be more functional as well. Anyone else have a perspective on this?