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I prefer a simple leather strap. You can buy old second hand straps or there are nice modern ones. The old chain type seems too hard to me and are probably not very comfortable to use and an old chain may have a weak link waiting to break.

 This is an old Leitz one.

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While I love vintage leather, I am always worried that it may break/crack. Most of the old straps are dried out and have not been treated during their lifetime. The metal "snake" chain (was it a Leica product or just popular at the time?) is uncomfortable - the narrow width provides no relief, and if it touches the skin it'll pull out small hairs.

I personally like a simple black nylon strap because it is reliable, can be washed and is cheap, but on my IIIF I use a super simple unbranded leather strap I purchased at MAP Camera in Tokyo 10 years ago.

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1 hour ago, nitroplait said:

While I love vintage leather, I am always worried that it may break/crack. Most of the old straps are dried out and have not been treated during their lifetime. The metal "snake" chain (was it a Leica product or just popular at the time?) is uncomfortable - the narrow width provides no relief, and if it touches the skin it'll pull out small hairs.

I personally like a simple black nylon strap because it is reliable, can be washed and is cheap, but on my IIIF I use a super simple unbranded leather strap I purchased at MAP Camera in Tokyo 10 years ago.

Fully agree with that.

I'm not fancy about straps. For M and R bodies I use the original thin nylon strap (that by the way is the one that doesn't get in the middle when you're shooting) and for those cases that I prefer a leather one, I have several no-branded new leather ones with nylon ends and protection around the lugs, either in brown or black like this one.

Hope it will help,

Augusto

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Edited by tranquilo67
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I also prefer no-nonsense nylon straps, like Leica's own cleverly designed 14312. Have a look at the reviews:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/30496-REG/Leica_14312_Carrying_Strap_with_Anti_Slip.html

This guy is very keen on it!:

https://johnnymartyr.wordpress.com/2019/03/14/the-best-camera-strap-in-the-world/

If you are worried about wear to the brass lugs from steel rings, you might try this:

https://asingulareye.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/leica-strap-lug-wear-my-fix/

Another simple strap of this kind, but without Leica's ingenious ring holder design, is the Nikon AN-4B:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/37064-REG/Nikon_639_AN_4B_Nylon_Neck_Strap.html

I use that one on a Leica IIIg case that has lost its leather strap (which is probably just as well - as noted above, 60+ year old leather straps probably aren't a great idea!).

Can't think of anything worse than a snake chain strap.

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I do have about a dozen of the modern Leica straps. Some on cameras and some not. I have bought them over the past few years when the prices were reasonable.

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The old Leitz leather straps had the inner edges cut with a chamfered edge, polished smooth to avoid irritating your neck. That's the attention to detail that was expected of Leitz in the 1950s & 60s. I still miss those straps.

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