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I effectively ruined my hideously expensive multifocal eyeglasses with LTM-photography (Leica II & III, FED & Zorki) :( .

 

A little too late, I started experimenting with various washers etc but found that most items increase the viewing distance and lead to incomplete viewfinder / rangefinder coverage, which is restricted enough with eyeglasses on classic LTMs anyway.

 

There may be some professional solutions around, but I have come up with a low cost, dispensable item, which may not be perfect on aesthetic grounds, but works very well in the field for me. I did not bother with geometric perfection :ph34r: .

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I used a 12 mm and a 6 mm punching tool respectively, and some general adhesive cloth tape from the hardware store.

 

My new eyeglasses will arrive next week ;)

 

Kind regards

Mathias

 

 

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Mathias,

 

Since you are using Leica I & II, FED and Zorki cameras it might be better to attach your ingenious protector to the front of your new eyeglasses instead of having to move it from camera to camera.

 

(I'm joking of course. ^_^)  

 

Thank you for showing your glasses protector.  I went through the same process a few years ago for my M3, MP, M8, and M9P and tried a number of different inventions like rubber washers cut in half and cutting holes in small plastic covers but with little success.  I ended up with the Match Technical Eye Cup, which protects my spectacles well but my eye is a long way from the viewfinder.  It works although it is not ideal and unfortunately doesn't work with my IIIg.

 

Pete.

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[...]

 

Thank you for showing your glasses protector. I went through the same process a few years ago for my M3, MP, M8, and M9P and tried a number of different inventions like rubber washers cut in half and cutting holes in small plastic covers but with little success. I ended up with the Match Technical Eye Cup, which protects my spectacles well but my eye is a long way from the viewfinder. It works although it is not ideal and unfortunately doesn't work with my IIIg.

 

Pete.

Unfortunately, my above solution is only suitable for the separate circular VF/RF windows of models up to IIIa. The combined oval eyepiece of the models from IIIb onwards will call for a pair of precise scissors and a steady hand ;) For an M3 you would need a punching tool with a different diameter.

 

But it is the early LTMs that are the most vicious eyeglass killers, as the later models feature a plastic cover round the eyepiece, whereas the old LTM ocular nuts are solid brass (or Russian tin).

 

Kind regards

Mathias

Edited by schattenundlicht
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Just wanted to suggest a product called Sugru. It's a nice little bit of moldable plastic that hardens when applied to things. I use it for various camera things and it is perfect to form a protective barrier on a metal eyepiece.

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Just wanted to suggest a product called Sugru. It's a nice little bit of moldable plastic that hardens when applied to things. I use it for various camera things and it is perfect to form a protective barrier on a metal eyepiece.

Thanks for pointing out this material, of which I was yet unaware! I am sure, I will find several uses for it.

 

But for my LTM eyepieces, I still have several yards of adhesive cloth tape left ;)

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Thanks for pointing out this material, of which I was yet unaware! I am sure, I will find several uses for it.

 

But for my LTM eyepieces, I still have several yards of adhesive cloth tape left ;)

 

Indeed! It's a wonderful little material. I've used it to add raised bumps on buttons of cameras that don't have enough tactile feedback for my tastes. A few other things as well. But generally, yes, it's definitely worth having in the kit as they say.

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Never seen this panching tools. Are they 10$ on eBay with free shipping from China or 100$ each in some odd and only store?

 

They are more like a few dollars each, but not as robust as vintage Osborne punches. Look for leather hole punches.

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Never seen this panching tools. Are they 10$ on eBay with free shipping from China or 100$ each in some odd and only store?

They were about 5 € each in the local hardware megastore. They are PRC imports, the tolerances are not perfect and/or they suffer from shipping (see little dent on 12mm tool in my picture above), I would not expect them to last a lifetime as Chinese steel in cheap items often is not up to tool grade, but then I could not care less for this specific purpose.

 

In general, I am much more picky about my tools, otherwise I would not choose Leica for photography ;)

Edited by schattenundlicht
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Indeed! It's a wonderful little material. I've used it to add raised bumps on buttons of cameras that don't have enough tactile feedback for my tastes. A few other things as well. But generally, yes, it's definitely worth having in the kit as they say.

 

Yes, those are very handy. For the others here ...

 

My vehicle has several flush-mounted buttons which some of us find difficult to use. (Insensitive finger tips). So I put round (hemispheric) clear stick-on pads intended for bottom surfaces of jewelery boxes, etc.  Search for Self-adhesive Clear Rubber Feet. The ones I use are even robust enough to use on the outside door buttons.

Edited by pico
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Yes, those are very handy. For the others here ...

 

My vehicle has several flush-mounted buttons which some of us find difficult to use. (Insensitive finger tips). So I put round (hemispheric) clear stick-on pads intended for bottom surfaces of jewelery boxes, etc.  Search for Self-adhesive Clear Rubber Feet. The ones I use are even robust enough to use on the outside door buttons.

 

Good point, Pico, I use these on the front button on my M240 so I can easily find it with my middle finger and I'd never thought to use them for VF/RF protection for my spectacles.

 

Pete.

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Just wanted to suggest a product called Sugru. It's a nice little bit of moldable plastic that hardens when applied to things. I use it for various camera things and it is perfect to form a protective barrier on a metal eyepiece.

Yes Sugru is great stuff although it can become addictive and you end up with hundreds of ingenious highly-coloured 'helpers' all over the items you'd used day by day for years that worked perfectly well without the helpers you'd designed and made for them on the spur of an alcohol-fuelled moment. :lol:   Removing them isn't nearly as much fun.

 

Pete.

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Yes Sugru is great stuff although it can become addictive and you end up with hundreds of ingenious highly-coloured 'helpers' all over the items you'd used day by day for years that worked perfectly well without the helpers you'd designed and made for them on the spur of an alcohol-fuelled moment. :lol:   Removing them isn't nearly as much fun.

 

Pete.

 

The developer of 'Sugru' is Irish and the name comes from the Irish word for 'to play' or 'playing'. Just think of all of the fun that you have had playing with your 'Sugru' and you will realise what it was intended for. Unfortunately the recent sale of the 'Sugru' brand to a German company has left some investors as very disappointed players.

 

https://fora.ie/sugru-sale-4020414-May2018/

 

William

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[...] Unfortunately the recent sale of the 'Sugru' brand to a German company has left some investors as very disappointed players.

 

https://fora.ie/sugru-sale-4020414-May2018/

 

William

Irony has it, that it is the very same company that bought ‚Sugru‘, that manufactures the adhesive cloth tape I employed for my eyeglass saver.

 

It seems that most of the time crowdfunding money should mentally be written off once shelled out. Then one may better enjoy the rare occasions of a more favourable outcome...

 

Many startup founders get so fed up with the tedium of day to day business life that their once grand dreams later on coalesce exclusively around take overs.

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DAG sold me an eyecup for my iiiG that was basically a mod of the holder for diopter lenses which slides onto the iiiG eyepiece. It works great - except that the grooves in the iiiG eyepiece are very shallow and when carrying the camera when it bumps against my hip (which is inevitable; I take very good care of my camera however just walking with it slung over or even carrying in front means some movement...), it cracked off the edge of the eyepiece.  

 

What I'm waiting for - and throwing out the challenge to the 3D printer folks out there because I don't have the skills but it would be easily made by someone who does - is a replacement eyepiece cover with more depth and/or could allow for a rubber eyecup, etc. The iiiG (and iiiF, iiiC, etc.) eyepiece cover comes off easily with two tiny screws. There's enough Barnack Leica shooters out there...I'm surprised no one has made one to help improve the performance, particularly for glasses wearers but just in general. The original eyepiece cover is black plastic anyways.  The peep holes are cool and vintage and all, and part of the experience of course, and I love shooting with my LTM Leicas regardless. But it seems to me given the 3D printing world out there that this would be a pretty easy fix for someone with the skills. I used the excellent 3D printing instructions (free file) from the Forum to get a film trimming plate made, for example. I'd love to do it myself but completely lack the knowledge of designing something to then translate into instructions for a printer (I'm sure I could hand draw some 'ideas'...but that's not so useful!).

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The clear plastic hemisphere buttons are often sold under the name of "Bumpons" with the originals being made by 3M but loads of cheap copies around. I use them on all my digital Leicas. 

 

Wilson

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