To Use a Half Case or Not To Use

[M11 for me]

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[visoflex]

 

..Try full naked. You’ll never go back

 

I did, but all my models kept screaming!

[Bill W]

I like a half case on my M10. It gives me added grip. I have long skinny fingers and it helps. My case is the Arte di Mano. They are beautifully made with the classic strap. 

[Herr Barnack]

How much costs Your car? Do You use it without half case?

 

So: No half case! (For me.)

 

That's not a very good way to decide.  My M-P 240 and any one of my lenses attached to it are worth much more than either of my cars.

[Stein K S]

I used the M6 and the M9 for years without any case. And they have not been suffering from that in any way.

But when receiving the M10 I decided to try out the original half case afterall. And I have become very happy about it. Good grip (afterall ,-), looks good and provides some protection... and the camera still feels neat. I use it without the back cover though, which I find ¨useless¨.

[david.kize]

I used the M6 and the M9 for years without any case. And they have not been suffering from that in any way.

But when receiving the M10 I decided to try out the original half case afterall. And I have become very happy about it. Good grip (afterall ,-), looks good and provides some protection... and the camera still feels neat. I use it without the back cover though, which I find ¨useless¨.

 

I haven't tried any extended use of my M10 without the Leica half case and screen cover yet.  But I keep reading that an advantage of the cover is not only to protect the screen but to prevent accidental presses of the buttons to the side of the screen.  But you may be right, because other high-quality half cases do not have a screen cover.

[Stein K S]

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I haven't tried any extended use of my M10 without the Leica half case and screen cover yet.  But I keep reading that an advantage of the cover is not only to protect the screen but to prevent accidental presses of the buttons to the side of the screen.  But you may be right, because other high-quality half cases do not have a screen cover.

Jepp, intention of the screen cover is obviously good. But it is very bulky, it gets in the (my) way quite easily... and at least mine has bad fit.

 

Regards, Stein

[david.kize]

In my first four or five months with the Leica M10, I have used my Leica-branded half case (together with its matching Leica vintage brown strap) most of the time when just walking about in my home-city locations, and also on one driving trip, taking essentially just snapshots.  However, on a trip to the South Pacific--when I spent a lot of time hiking and in various outdoor settings--I reverted to not using any case.  I also switched to a wide, padded, Eddycam leather shoulder strap that afforded more comfort and stability (less likely to fall off my shoulder, since I do not find using a strap bandolier style to be comfortable).  (I have an M-10 Rock 'n Roll strap but have not yet used it other than to try it on inside my house.  So far, it seems too big and bulky compared to what I had expected.)

 

So, in terms of total number of shots, I have probably used my half-case about half the time, and I have still not decided whether I will end up mostly using a case or mostly not.  Likewise, I haven't decided on the type of strap that is most comfortable for me.  The Leica thin leather strap looks the best to me, but I will opt for comfort over appearance.  That said, I am still happy at having been told that I had a nice-looking camera by two very unlikely people to have made that observation.  And both of those times, I was using the Leica half-case and strap. 

 

I haven't yet used the half case with the LCD cover removed.  I should try this, because one of the things I like about using no case at all is the easier and quicker access to the LCD screen.  I used just the rangefinder 99-100% of the time, and I don't remember why I wanted to see the LCD screen during shooting.  Maybe it was to check battery charge or to determine if the camera was in standby or sleep mode.  I did have one experience where I took about ten photos in a row that all came out plain white.  Maybe the camera had not come out of standby.  Since it didn't happen to me again, I haven't tried to troubleshoot this. 

[astrostl]

I like the way my Artisan & Artist case from PopFlash looks and feels, not using it for protection.

 

But - it's an even bigger pain in the ass to get SD card access. So I usually leave it off around the house, and put it on when going out.

[pgh]

Idk.

I use my camera to take pictures, not as an accessory. I couldn't really care less about how it looks. I mean, it's cool that it looks nice and all but I don't feel any less of a photographer using a Sony.

 

10 years of Leica use, lots in professional context, never once owned any sort of ancillary accessory (other than an extra battery or a lens hood,) including a half case. I have felt no need for any sort of grip or case or shutter button or whatever the hell else there is. Who cares if it gets worn, it was bought to be used. 

 

There's a whole market of Leica accessories out there because some of these people know that Leica owners have money to throw around so why not make some questionably useless crap to appeal to their fashion sense or whatever but has nothing to do with making pictures, which is what the dang tool is for. 

Edited September 22, 2018 by pgh

[Guest]

...do you use a half case, or not? ...  

Normally not, but a half case allows holding the M without gloves on frosty winter days.

[Gobert]

I really love the use of the half case. It gives me just that little more grip I like. But usually, I use the fast Leica lenses. So that might be the reason.

I do not use the flap. Why should I?

[Narsuitus]

Half-Case by Narsuitus, on Flickr

[Gobert]

May be I like the use as I apply heavy 256 GB cards in stead of those lightweight 8 or 16 GB

[abrewer]

In the past I never used a case, half or full, on my M cameras. It interfered with quickly changing rolls of film. 

 

I've always thought of it as a "tourist" or "casual" amateur look, not something I wanted to promote in my practice.

 

I don't think I ever saw a real photojournalist working with one, for the same reasons.

 

Now that it's all digital there's not the film-changing constraint, but I still don't want one.

[Reini]

Such a half-case looks good and makes the camera but only bigger ..
But does not protect the most important parts.
Like: Lens, top edge, viewfinder, thumbwheel, ...

A full case as you know it from Schraub-Leicas makes more sense.

[Gobert]

In the past I never used a case, half or full, on my M cameras. It interfered with quickly changing rolls of film. 

 

I've always thought of it as a "tourist" or "casual" amateur look, not something I wanted to promote in my practice.

 

I don't think I ever saw a real photojournalist working with one, for the same reasons.

 

Now that it's all digital there's not the film-changing constraint, but I still don't want one.

 

Worse: there are some famous Leica pro’s using those Leica revolver holsters.

[nightstreet]

My first real camera was a Yashica rangefinder, and it came with a full case (similar to this photo I pulled from the internet).  I found it a good protection yet easy to carry, just the camera and a few rolls of films.  I'm surprised to see most people buy just the half-case and hardly anyone has a full case.  I guess these days a camera bag has more utilities, extra memory cards, extra batteries, etc.  With a bag, I probably would not buy a half-case.

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Edited September 24, 2018 by nightstreet

[250swb]

Normally not, but a half case allows holding the M without gloves on frosty winter days.

 

But if you are taking photographs on a cold winters day the heat from the battery will keep your hands toasty warm. Which begs the question, what happens to the build up of heat by using a half case, do you cook your microchips even faster?

Edited September 25, 2018 by 250swb

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[Guest]

But if you are taking photographs on a cold winters day the heat from the battery will keep your hands toasty warm. Which begs the question, what happens to the build up of heat by using a half case, do you cook your microchips even faster?

That would be really nice, but the cold reduced the battery power faster than the chip would have warmed my hands.

Maybe that's different with the M10 because it's build a little bit thinner.

At a dealer's M10 I could feel some warmth from the chip on the right side.

But this M10 had been switched on the whole day and had been tested by many customers inside his shop.

Therefore the Leica representative recommended no half case for the M10 on hot summer days.