RapidGrip Fit?

[toby_boudreaux]

I received a RapidGrip today and mounted it to my M6TTL. There is a

gap of about 2mm between the grip and the body, all the way up. When I

grip it, the point at which it meets the bottom plate acts as a

fulcrum and torques the bottom plate a bit. Is there something I'm

missing? Am I supposed to fill the gap with gaffers' tape or

something? Anyone encounter this and have a fix? I love the feel of

the grip itself, but the flex makes it seem flimsy and goes against

what I'm looking for (in addition to possibly screwing up my bottom

plate!)

[peter_mcdonough3]

Same here. I thought I was the only one. I'll be interested to see the comments left.

[peter_white2]

I know this suggestion is pretty radical but, why not ask Tom? ;-)

[toby_boudreaux]

I wrote to them. It's not radical. Neither is asking the largest group of vocal Leica accessory consumers in the world. I did both. I cover my bases that way.

[monsoonphoto.net]

I had one, and I sold it. It wasn't long enough to cover the base, making it unstable. I figured that over time, with picking it up and setting it down, the left end of the bottom plate would dent. A bit crazy? I'm now considering the M-Grip.

[jason]

I purchased my M6 almost 5 yrs ago with the "grip". Yes, it does have a 2mm gap.I like it's slight flex or movement. I leave it on permanently. My 35mm Summaron with goggles still fits! (just!)

Strangely I will not fit it on the M2 or M3!

[stephen_w.]

The GMP has a similar gap. I wraped a velcro wrist strap around the handle to prevent the tab digging into the "vulcanite". It actually helps with the grip. With the plastic GMP grip I filed off the tab and live with the flex, as I don't use straps.

[__jon__]

I've got both the plastic and now the aluminum GMP grip:

 

http://www.photovillage.com/html/gmp_page.html

 

The aluminum flexes very little. The plastic grip flexed enough to bend my bottom plate

slightly, which DAG fixed when he was upgrading my finder.

 

I do have some black gaffer's tape wrapped around it, mostly to add some texture to

smooth aluminum, but it was enough to fill up the small gap between it and the body.<div></div>

[toby_boudreaux]

Hrm. I wish this had been mentioned in some of the reviews I read. I'm not keen to add an accessory that will screw up the bottom plate. Seems a little silly to me.

 

Why doesn't it fit snug against the body? I suppose I could rig a shim, but that seems silly when I paid over a hundred bucks for this thing. It sure does feel nice, though (if I can stop my index finger from blocking the rangefinder window!).

[dave_chadderton]

I bought a SLING from http://www.leicagoodies.com/ ... Only $12 and it works fine. It's great for holding the camera loosely when you're not taking pics.

 

I also bought their HOOK - I like this as it allows me to put the strap on and off the camera very easily. The two combined are less than $30 inc p&p and work great. No bells/whistles. Just Simplicity.

 

I think I made the right move now reading the thread above - I can't see any need to go for the $120 RapidGrip (yeh I know, I haven't tried one yet ...!).

[toby_boudreaux]

I wedged a slice of cardboard between the grip and the body and it made everything SO much better. The grip was solid, there was no flex/torque on the bottom plate, and I suddenly agreed with all the reviews.

Until I took off the plate to change film, that is -- the cardboard, of course, fell out, haha.

 

I imagine a taped shim is the answer, but again, I'm shocked with the gap in the first place. I suppose it's safer to leave a big gap there than to let some vanity shooter get angry when their vulcanite is touched by something :)

[tom_abrahamsson]

Toby,

the reason for the space between the body and the Rapidgrip is that a tight fitting grip would transfer an impact to the body. The Rapidgrip is made of a high strength alloy and any flex encountered is from the baseplate - and after 6 years on my own cameras I have not seen any damage to either the baseplates or to the grip. Most of the times I use my Rapidgrips on camera bodies that have a largish lens on them; a 75/1,4 or the 90 Apo-Asph as it gives me a better hold on the camera. It is also designed to allow me to pull a camera out of the bag by the grip (not recommended with the Leica grip or the TMP grip and even less so with the M-motor).

Best,

Tom A

[toby_boudreaux]

Tom - thanks for your answer! I know you're an engineer, so I trust that the flex won't damage my base plate. I still think I might shim mine, just to help the whole kit feel more solid. Great product, and Tuulikki was incredibly helpful when placing my order. I think I'll be getting a RapidWinder for Christmas this year ;)

[joe_kuo]

This is what I use.... Check it out, it covers the entire base plate!

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v390/joekuo168/1f5744d0.jpg

[stephen_w.]

"It is also designed to allow me to pull a camera out of the bag by the grip (not recommended with the Leica grip or the TMP grip..."

 

Why not? I pull the cameras out of the bag using the grip all the time. I even suspend the camera using the GMP grip (both plastic and metal). The GMP has a centered monopod hole, your grip does not.

[toby_boudreaux]

Joe - that grip looks great. Where did you get it?

 

I found the perfect shim for the RapidGrip -- a slice taken out of a black 35mm film canister. It's the right thickness, pre-curved, and cheap. It ain't pretty, but I can see my base plate flex without it, so I'm using it.