Thumb Support for Q3 - too good to be true?

[David Wien]

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13 hours ago, MikeD70 said:

Here's a new one I found on the Leicarumors site.  I like it!  Doesn't block any buttons, and stows out of the way when you don't need it.

 

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Looks like it will also wind the film on!😃

David

[egrossman]

This thumb support I believe is from IDS, a company with no after sales support at all. Buyer beware. See my earlier comments on the IDS Grip.

[MikeD70]

Nothing on it to break, not sure there would be a need for support?  All metal, seems well made, serves a purpose.  Does not obstruct any buttons, as some of the others do.  I like it.

[DalmationMartinGuitar]

I got one off Ebay, for about $50.  It is absolutely high quality.    I would never know if it was a knock off.  I have an authentic on my Q2 and it seems exactly the same.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334921108888?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11060.m43.l3160&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=e0aa5d8580af45288419589a50c428e5&bu=43196902760&osub=-1~1&crd=20240620224828&segname=11060

[jimtong]

On 7/23/2024 at 8:40 AM, DalmationMartinGuitar said:

I got one off Ebay, for about $50.  It is absolutely high quality.    I would never know if it was a knock off.  I have an authentic on my Q2 and it seems exactly the same.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334921108888?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11060.m43.l3160&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=e0aa5d8580af45288419589a50c428e5&bu=43196902760&osub=-1~1&crd=20240620224828&segname=11060

This is a replica from China. I bought one for Q2 and quality is good. But be aware that I bought one for my M11 and it was slightly bigger and I have to apply a bit of force and cause the hotshoe metal to loosen. Have to to back to Leica for them to fix it. Luckybit is a 5 min job for them. My advice is worth the risk.

[JackieMac]

I ordered a thumb support on Amazon ($75) for my Q3 last week and got it today. The design looks identical to the OEM grip, without any text. Compared to all of the other Q3 compatible thumb grips, I much prefer the OEM design. Sadly, I just find it really hard to justify paying literally triple the price for the OEM version. 

[Marc283]

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Because the original thumb grip from Leica wasn't available anywhere, I also bought a copy from AliExpress. I didn't fit quite right; the part that goed into the hotschoe was quite loose. Someday a big camera store in my country had the black grip in stock. So I pulled the trigger on the original thumb grip. This one fits perfectly as expected from Leica.

Funny thing: the copy from Ali, was better packaged than the original. The copy came in the same Leica box, the thumb grip was in foam padding, with a warranty card. The original came in the Leica box, with the grip in a fabric Leica baggie. The copy grip has a more tactile feel on the buttons than the original. A bit strange.

And what others also said: The original grip is way overpriced for what it is.

[David Wien]

31 minutes ago, Marc283 said:

Because the original thumb grip from Leica wasn't available anywhere, I also bought a copy from AliExpress. I didn't fit quite right; the part that goed into the hotschoe was quite loose. Someday a big camera store in my country had the black grip in stock. So I pulled the trigger on the original thumb grip. This one fits perfectly as expected from Leica.

You were unlucky. The "knock off" thumb grip that I bought cheaply, is indistinguishable from the Leica ones and works perfectly.

David

[Marc283]

On 7/31/2024 at 11:31 AM, David Wien said:

You were unlucky. The "knock off" thumb grip that I bought cheaply, is indistinguishable from the Leica ones and works perfectly.

David

Yes you’re absolutely right. When I compare the copy with the original one, I can’t distinguish which is which. The color match is perfect. Only the fit not so much, sadly.

[Alexander108]

I now bought a relatively expensive one (90EUR) from Amazon that looks like the Leica part. Although this is Amazon Germany, it was shipped from the US and sold by Amazon US.

It came in a small cardboard box that was just the size of the part protected by a plastic bag. No fancy packaging. The thumb grip, however, was of perfect quality. It sits firm in the hot shoe. No risk of falling off. Now, I can use the FN buttons much better. There were no engravings on the part at all.

I was thinking about getting the JJC part but pushing the FN buttons would be even harder. Happy with my choice. Much better handling of the camera.

[Miltz]

They aren’t trying to sell it as a Leica branded product. Clearly all the images show a generic version. But what they ship is a real Leica thumb grip. These are most likely original and have been sold and made by the same company that makes them for Leica. It even says made in Portugal on it with engraving of the part number. The fit is also perfect. Leica probably can’t do anything about it because it’s not advertised as a Leica branded product.

[aficionados]

I think those are not knockoff but real deal.

The company that sells this product is the one making for Leica. That’s what it is OEM for.

They made extra or have leftover and are now selling it on Amazon.

Not that what they are doing is legal. But I just know. How? For one, A friend of mine bought a real one from Leica authorized dealer, it looks and feels exactly same as mine which is less than half price. For two, I personally know some friends in China doing business like that for example iPhone cases.

[David Wien]

21 minutes ago, aficionados said:

I think those are not knockoff but real deal.

The company that sells this product is the one making for Leica. That’s what it is OEM for.

They made extra or have leftover and are now selling it on Amazon.

Not that what they are doing is legal. But I just know. How? For one, A friend of mine bought a real one from Leica authorized dealer, it looks and feels exactly same as mine which is less than half price. For two, I personally know some friends in China doing business like that for example iPhone cases.

I am inclined to agree with you; but why was Leica out of stock for so long???

David

[aficionados]

9 minutes ago, David Wien said:

I am inclined to agree with you; but why was Leica out of stock for so long???

David

This is how OEM process works. Leica made an order with the quantity which they estimated would sell for a period of time. Then the product ran out, the next order batch could be a few months away. It’s not like that Leica would constantly order from OEM factory on a daily basis.

In the middle of the oders, those OEM factory won’t sit idle doing nothing, they have mouths to feed. So they make more and sell, they also make other OEM products for other brands.

So much so like Foxcon to Apple, just in much larger scale

[DenverSteve]

On 2/24/2024 at 3:12 AM, jimtong said:

These are China copy. I bought one from Taobao and aware that it is not original but work great on my Q2.

Correct. No one is selling you a Leica branded anything new at less than half the price of Leica.  You have purchased a Chinese fake, down to the box, and are supporting illegal counterfeiting.  You didn't know it at the time because the company selling them wouldn't dare put Leica marked items along with Leica knockoff boxes on Amazon so they send you a different product.  Either way they are far too easy to make excellent after-market copies that work fine.  

[richard371]

i bought this one fir my q343 and its perfect.  No complaints at all.  

Edited October 9 by richard371