Which replacement for vulcanite would you choose?

[s._c.]

My IIIC is void of its original covering and I am about to order a

replacement covering for it from cameraleather.com. I am looking at

the black seal grain replacement. Is there another covering I may

consider? Kid grain leather, vulcanite c leatherette, black lizard

or others? Thanks for your experiences.

[roger_michel]

the kid grain leather gives a very nice effect. i have put on a couple of old Ms. however, it is such a highly subjective question.

[kurt_teerlynck]

I would love to own a cow-leather Leica :o)

[john_coleman1]

Hermes Barenia calf skin.

Anyone done the math? Could it really be a $3000 strip of leather?

 

-John

[charles barcellona www.bl]

I had a terrible dream about recovering my M6TTL with chicken leather. Similar to ostridge, but thinner, and with more pluck points. It must have been the hot sauce I was using (Viscous Viper)

 

One thing about leather - is it holds moisture and humidity, is subject to verdegris <sp?> and can sometimes be corrosive in and of itself on metals. It seems that fungus and leather go together - and cameras left in or around leather cases are more prone to lens fungus.

 

Having said all that - I like the seal grain, but would probably go for the vinyl.

[s._c.]

Thanks Charles. I got an original case for the camera and haven't used it yet. I primarily keep it in a LowePro belt case. I have to let my Zeiss Icarex 35CS breathe.

[david_s4]

S. C., Which LowePro are you using and how well is it working for you?

[henricus]

There is this feller in Japan that was recommended on my FSU forum. I know of folks that have used his stuff with much satisfaction. He has a $20.00 solution that looks really good. Check this out!<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=30030&item=2979601084">Aki-Asahi</a>

[s._c.]

The Lowepro pouch I have is probably discontinued, I picked it up in B&H's used department for $5 new. It is close to the SlipLock Pouch 10 I think (about the same dimensions). It has a quick buckle in the front, 2 roll holders inside that I don't use. It came with a strap, but there is a belt loop in the back. The pouch is enough to carry the camera with my 50 3.5 uncoated scratched elmar collapsed (can you believe $40 for the lens from B&H?). The pouch is convienent to keep under the coat and I keep a meter in the pocket. When I get rigid lenses, this solution probably won't work.

[s._c.]

Actually that bag looks small. My pouch is about 7"long, 3"wide, and 2"deep. Padding is okay. Similar to the one below is more like it. I have a Tamarac 5208 pouch for my Rollei 35SE.

[jay_.]

I bought the vinyl leatherette that looks like vulcanite, from Cameraleather, to keep for the day the vulcanite on my M4's starts to really chip off. I figure the synthetic will store better (given its half life in landfills is probably like a half million years!) whereas leather can shrink. It was also about ten bucks cheaper as I recall, and looks the same.

[james_elwing]

I would always stay away from leather. Look at the lumps on a pre-war ContaxI,II or III; those are brass screws etc under the leather.

 

After that, I would avoid PVC, which is fairly unstable.

[henricus]

<i>"I would always stay away from leather. Look at the lumps on a pre-war ContaxI,II or III"</i>

<p>

It's my understanding that the 'Zeiss bumps', as I've heard them called, are a result of the corrosion that appears when brass comes in contact with steel. I think they are most common on old Zeiss cameras. I have several cameras from the same era that are covered in leather and don't suffer from bumps. I think I can say it's not the leather.

[henricus]

Check this out! <a href="http://www.geocities.com/fzorkis/fedish.html">Leather Fetish</a>, by Jim Blazik. These aren't the Nippon kits, those came later. These are the hand-made ones.

<p>

WARNING! This sight contains Russian copies of Leicas and could be hazardous to your ID.<div></div>

[lukedavis]

Black lizard is very cool, IMO. BTW, are you going to be using this camera are will it be sitting on a shelf?

[s._c.]

The cameras I have are all for using (though I worry using my LN cond. Rollei 35SE). It's my first Leica. I am leaning toward the seal grain leatherette, but I couldn't help looking at alternatives like the real leather (thanks Henry). The black lizard looks great on the website.