DIY Leica M10 screen cover for minimalistic look

[yukosteel]

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3 hours ago, 250swb said:

I've obviously never understood that if I don't rest my thumb on a cold glass surface it affects the photographs for the better. I'll have to try it someday but meanwhile I'll consign it to performative nonsense. I admit I mostly use film, but if there was some devious way my film camera that could cross check with my brain and tell me if the exposure I made was 'good' or 'bad' without having to develop the film first I'd take it. It would be intelligent photography using facts and stuff like that, my time is precious and not to be squandered. And yet you have the world in your grasp in a digital camera and throw away access to facts unless you cheat the high bound principle of 'no LCD'.

Most camera mods are very subjective, I think there is no real need to understand someone's justifications unless it's helpful for you in some way.

BTW, taping over screen is what worked for me many times in the past on the various digital cameras, including few models that have no EVF but I used them with cold shoe OVF. Well, in fact it was layer of double-sided tape under layer of thin leather with tiny cut out frame for checking battery level if needed. To my personal taste it was quite helpful way to get rid of habit checking each frame on the LCD preview and was much closer experience to shooting with film camera.

[dpitt]

On 4/19/2024 at 9:35 PM, yukosteel said:

Using bolt without thread would make it more difficult I think, because pulling it out may be problematic, and the plate itself is not flexible enough to be removed without taking off bolt first. That may be different with another print materials though.

Posted model here: https://www.printables.com/model/849783-leica-m10-lcd-screen-cover-protector-version-ii

Yes or no. The purpose of the bolt is sightly different for this application compared to the applications in my link. The main concern with this design is how to keep the cover in place in the most unobtrusive way. i.e. your screw thread bolt does that perfectly, but has the disadvantage that it can not be removed without the hassle/use of a screwdriver of some sort.

From a practical standpoint I would not mind losing the tripod mount. I can not even remember the last time I used a tripod with my Leica M. My other camera's are much better suited for that kind of use. OTOH, having to unscrew the cover would be too much hassle for me. I would want to have the full functionality at hand with minimal effort.

With some careful tweaking of the dimensions, the dimensions and form of the plug could be so snug that it holds without thread, and keeps the cover in place. But at the same time so loose that it can be removed without much force.

What gave me the idea is a plastic bottom cover that came with my old Nikon FE. The material is probably PE (maybe nylon), and it came as part of the packing to protect the bottom from scratching in the box. I have kept it for protection and after 40 years it still sits on my camera. It has been removed and replaced lots of times and it still will not come off by accident. See pictures attached, it has a pin without threads that fits in the tripod mount socket, but it can be removed and replaced with minor effort. The difficult part would be of course to get the dimensions just right ...

 

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[yukosteel]

Wow, that's great info on practical use of bottom plate protector secured by flat pin. Yeah, definitely a great way to make it quicker removal when screen use is needed.

I need to explore printing in ASA and PETG, they need higher print temperature and more advanced control of air flows and anti-wrapping print approaches. So far consider I'm beginner 3D printing hobby person, so it's not yet on my skills radar. I like the idea though, perhaps PETG or ASA material would also better stay on screen frame itself without extra need to add tripod plate. I'm using tripod sometimes when repairing and calibrating Leica M mount lenses, but for that calibration I also need a screen to compare RF with LV, so I'd anyway remove the LCD protector. Regarding the hassle of unscrewing the plastic bolt - it's made in the way screwdriver is not required, simple press with finger on it's head allows to twist and unscrew it relatively quick.

Dirk, thanks again for your extremely useful contribution to this project, I'm going to work soon on another project, and would also appreciate your hints on that as well when time comes. It will be a compact frame to flip out 1.4x RF magnifier (rather than moving it to a bag). I realized that magnifier is helping a lot to my started to aging sight, especially when focusing 50mm F1 lens. Here's example how I added it as experiment to Fuji X-T30II

 

 

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[250swb]

19 hours ago, yukosteel said:

. To my personal taste it was quite helpful way to get rid of habit checking each frame on the LCD preview and was much closer experience to shooting with film camera.

This falls into the whole problem with using a Leica for many people, the whole thing is a self imposed performance event. You hear people saying I need to do this or that because it 'forces' me into seeing or doing something. Like using some sort of lens 'forces' a certain view, or looking at the LCD 'forces' me to be distracted. Make an intellectual choice and don't be bullied by distractions, ignore it and you won't see it, just like you don't see all the other framelines in the viewfinder when concentrating on one lens.

[evikne]

51 minutes ago, 250swb said:

This falls into the whole problem with using a Leica for many people, the whole thing is a self imposed performance event. You hear people saying I need to do this or that because it 'forces' me into seeing or doing something. Like using some sort of lens 'forces' a certain view, or looking at the LCD 'forces' me to be distracted. Make an intellectual choice and don't be bullied by distractions, ignore it and you won't see it, just like you don't see all the other framelines in the viewfinder when concentrating on one lens.

Do you think the same about Monochrom users too? They say the camera forces them to think differently, even though they might as well make the image black and white in post-processing.

[dpitt]

22 hours ago, yukosteel said:

Dirk, thanks again for your extremely useful contribution to this project, I'm going to work soon on another project, and would also appreciate your hints on that as well when time comes. It will be a compact frame to flip out 1.4x RF magnifier (rather than moving it to a bag). I realized that magnifier is helping a lot to my started to aging sight, especially when focusing 50mm F1 lens. Here's example how I added it as experiment to Fuji X-T30II

You're welcome. Glad that I could help.
I thank you for updating my awareness of 3D printer prices. It is 10 years ago since I first dabbled a bit with laser printing and 3D modeling in a fab lab, and after that I did not pursue because of lack of time and budget. The former might still be an issue now, but the latter seems to have solved itself over time.

You can DM me for your other project. It is not Leica related so I doubt it will be allowed on this forum.🙂
 

[dpitt]

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10 hours ago, 250swb said:

This falls into the whole problem with using a Leica for many people, the whole thing is a self imposed performance event. You hear people saying I need to do this or that because it 'forces' me into seeing or doing something. Like using some sort of lens 'forces' a certain view, or looking at the LCD 'forces' me to be distracted. Make an intellectual choice and don't be bullied by distractions, ignore it and you won't see it, just like you don't see all the other framelines in the viewfinder when concentrating on one lens.

I can hear you, but I find that using a rangefinder in itself is helping me to see better. The fact that you do not see through the lens and have to imagine the shot before taking it. And the limitations regarding FL, not having a zoom or AF...
Using a monochrome version brings an additional limitation.
Sometimes limitations of your gear help in a strange way to get different or even better results. In fact every camera and lens will influence your results IMO.

I have no issues with refraining from chimping all the time without help. In fact, if anything, I do not do it often enough. Sometimes, I use my M9 with such confidence that I do not check the display until I load the files on my computer, and then realize I should have checked it during the shoot... I even shot a series with my collapsible Summicron 50mm in collapsed position, every shot perfectly focused if only I remembered to extend it first. This certainly gave some interesting (blurry) results when I first saw them on screen 🫣

This protector would probably be more useful for me because of the different feel of the camera in hand. Like using it with a half case but without adding so much thickness. OTOH I like to keep every function ready for use, so I need it to come off in an instant if I want it to.

Edited April 22, 2024 by dpitt

[250swb]

9 hours ago, evikne said:

Do you think the same about Monochrom users too? They say the camera forces them to think differently, even though they might as well make the image black and white in post-processing.

Well I've had both the MM and then the M246, but I admired the image quality of the MM and had hoped the M246 would be even better, but then I liked the M9 better than all the cameras that followed for similar reasons. So I had expectations of quality that weren't resolved. However yes, I think Monochrom users are kidding themselves, if they can look at a subject in colour and can imagine it in B&W why is the next step so hard that it needs a specialised camera? Film photographers can manage the intellectual leap of faith that leads them to believe what they saw in colour is going to be resolved in B&W. I can perhaps understand why having a self imposed limit of a monochrome camera it seems like a creative challenge, but it's a specious argument, it's like having just two Lego bricks for the imagination to work with rather than a whole box full.

Besides which given digital monochrome cameras don't respond to coloured filters as well as film they are throwing away much of the creative tools B&W film users have to adjust tones. The only way to get those tools back in the digital world is to shoot in colour and post process in B&W. But I don't get the impression very much post processing goes on in the Leica Monochrom world so it's a good thing everybody agrees with how Leica imagines things for them, however other opinions are available.

[thighslapper]

I do in fact find that being forced to think and see in B&W when using an Leica Monochrome does help greatly .... particularly when you are a predominantly colour image shooter. Of course you could just set the display to B&W on most cameras and get the same effect so I do get the point of it being mainly an affectation rather than a genuinely logical and justifiable decision. 

Having said that I did prefer the images from the original MM to my current M10M as I find them curiously soulless in comparison...... 

[newtoleica]

28 minutes ago, thighslapper said:

I do in fact find that being forced to think and see in B&W when using an Leica Monochrome does help greatly .... particularly when you are a predominantly colour image shooter. Of course you could just set the display to B&W on most cameras and get the same effect so I do get the point of it being mainly an affectation rather than a genuinely logical and justifiable decision. 

Having said that I did prefer the images from the original MM to my current M10M as I find them curiously soulless in comparison...... 

Nail on the head there. The original MM had a much better B&W rendering with processing than the M9, so a real reason to use it. The M10 converts very well anyway, so the use case for a monochrome version is marginal (very extreme ISO really as I can't see any practical differences in mid tones for my preferences), and for me certainly not worth the additional cost. Likewise the M10-D. I had one for a bit but although it looked and felt cool, the usability was very much less so....

[Fred Miranda]

Thanks yukosteel! I printed with the following settings: X = 94%, Y = 94%, Z = 100%, resolution 0.1mm, and print speed at 30mm/s. It works great, and the bolt screws in very easily now.

As an alternative, I wanted to see how the cover would look with an adhesive leather strip on it. Here's how it looks. What do you guys think? I believe the bottom mount was necessary, as the cover is now very stable, almost becoming part of the camera with the leather.

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[Fred Miranda]

I revisited this and covered the entire LCD panel (front to back) with adhesive leather using your Version 1 prototype. I ensured that the left buttons remain accessible just for rare instances where I need to press the LV button to use the EVF or the Menu button to transfer images wirelessly to my computer using Leica FOTOS (Leica Sync app), all without removing the cover.

Wrapping the LCD with adhesive leather also provided a stronger grip, eliminating the need for the tripod mount extension -- it's now securely attached.

Attached are images showing the LCD cover with Prototype 1 (with accessible buttons and no tripod extension) and Prototype 3 (covering the LCD and left buttons).

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[charlesphoto99]

On 4/20/2024 at 2:40 PM, evikne said:

If my only goal with photography was to get the best possible images, I would probably use something other than a Leica. 

Considering some of the best images ever taken were with a Leica, that is a very strange sentiment....

[charlesphoto99]

23 hours ago, Fred Miranda said:

I revisited this and covered the entire LCD panel (front to back) with adhesive leather using your Version 1 prototype. I ensured that the left buttons remain accessible just for rare instances where I need to press the LV button to use the EVF or the Menu button to transfer images wirelessly to my computer using Leica FOTOS (Leica Sync app), all without removing the cover.

Wrapping the LCD with adhesive leather also provided a stronger grip, eliminating the need for the tripod mount extension -- it's now securely attached.

Attached are images showing the LCD cover with Prototype 1 (with accessible buttons and no tripod extension) and Prototype 3 (covering the LCD and left buttons).

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As long as you're ugly-fying (imo) your camera body, why not go whole hog and cover up the actually ugly track pad as well? Since the whole concept (I guess) is simplification, you don't need it. 

As it is, I always find these solutions in search of a problem amusing. I'm sure if I owned a 3d printer I'd come up with plenty of my own.  😄

Edited April 26, 2024 by charlesphoto99

[Robert Blanko]

For me it's not the simplification, but rather protection of the screen of an otherwise rather robust camera, as I do not like the rather bulky half cases. And as I do not use the screen for 99.9% of my photos anyway, covering the screen with such minimal protector is the way to go - as long as there is no M10R-D or M12-D available.

 

Edited April 26, 2024 by Robert Blanko

[jaapv]

What is wrong wit Gaffer Tape? That is the traditional way of covering up a Leica, from the red dot to the RF and viewfinder windows ( for those who want an EVF only M) 

[yukosteel]

Just published redesigned 3D model of V4 of screen cover for Leica M10 cameras

It's available for free download and personal non-commercial use


Features:

- screen cover is now flipping down 180 degree on durable hinge (enforced with steel rod made form paperclip)
- low profile 3mm bottom mount is securing to tripod mount using new printable bolt with oversized 20mm diameter head, allowing to secure it with hands
- bottom mount is centered allowing camera to stand straight, cover is laying flat on surface when flipped out to 90 degree
- easy print (no support, no rafts, no brim needed)

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[TomB_tx]

Just printed your V4 LCD cover with hinged plate, and I'm impressed - good design, easy to print, fits well and is functional - looks good on the M10. The wire hinge pin is a perfect solution - takes a bit to work it in and clean out the printed tunnel, but just the right amount of friction to keep the cover from flopping and not fragile.

Now, if I can just remember where I stashed my M10 bottom plate... (Normally use a half case with magnetic flap instead of the stock plate.)

[IkarusJohn]

An interesting alternative to a half case.

I’m reluctant to take this thread off topic, but @250swb’s original question “Why?” seems reasonable to me, if perhaps challenging.

I have a Luigi half case somewhere, and never use it.  I realise, my personal preference is to hold the camera in my hand naked.  I love the look and feel of a camera in the hand … well a traditional camera.  Perhaps it’s silly, but modern Canons, Nikons, Sonys and Fujis may all be very good at what they do, I just don’t like them.

I don’t like the look of the LCD screen on an M camera (I wish my Monochrom didn’t have one), and when I thought about it, I realised I didn’t need or want it - it takes a camera away from what I want to something more like a computer.  So I bought an M Edition 60, not because it was a limitation or a challenge, but because it was exactly what I needed and nothing more.  After I sold it, I bought the M10-D.  Are my pictures better?  Probably not, though I spend more time looking at things other than my camera … I appreciate most pros need to check their images, but I hate walking about looking at my camera to make sure I have the settings right, or checking what I’ve just taken.  With my M-A and my Monochrom, I set it and forget it, just looking at what’s going on, taking photos and moving on.  It works for me, and I don’t really need others telling me I’m daft, a poseur or anything else dismissive.

As for my Monochrom (off topic), I’m not kidding myself at all.  I find black & white images way more interesting.  All photography is a version of reality, and black & white imagery interests me for the way it shows textures and tones in ways that I find more difficult with the distraction of colour.  Why not just convert from a colour file using SilverFX Pro?  I often do with my M10-D, but I prefer the images from my Monochrom.

My initial reaction when the Monochrom was released was I thought it was a dumb idea.  Then I played with the files, and was hooked.  I still am hooked.

Edited May 24, 2024 by IkarusJohn

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[Jeff S]

On 4/22/2024 at 3:49 AM, 250swb said:

 However yes, I think Monochrom users are kidding themselves, if they can look at a subject in colour and can imagine it in B&W why is the next step so hard that it needs a specialised camera? Film photographers can manage the intellectual leap of faith that leads them to believe what they saw in colour is going to be resolved in B&W. I can perhaps understand why having a self imposed limit of a monochrome camera it seems like a creative challenge, but it's a specious argument, it's like having just two Lego bricks for the imagination to work with rather than a whole box full.

 

That’s not what I mean when I say that a Monochrom changes my mindset.  Having shot B&W film for decades starting in the early 70’s, I have no problem “seeing” in B&W, i.e., visualizing a monochrome pic while I’m looking at a color world.  I never need to change settings on a color digital camera to assist.  What I mean by mindset is that I’m not tempted or distracted by considering potential pics that would work well in color.  I’m simply looking for pics that will work well in B&W, as in film days.  One might ask why I don’t just discipline myself to think/pretend that my color digital camera will only take B&W pics. The answer, I guess, is that color digital has spoiled me because of its flexibility, and destroyed the discipline for me.  All I know is that once I’ve used my MM or M10M for a few days, I’m back in my B&W film mindset. And if I then go out on another day with my M10-R or SL2, it’s not long before I lose discipline and consider both color and B&W pics. Perhaps silly to some others, but that’s been my experience.
 

Jeff