Hi everyone,

I have been using my Leica R4 and have been using an Op Tech Hand grip device which straps around my right wrist. I've noticed that the right strap lug is sort of loose and moves/wobbles a little in its socket but it is rather sturdy I think with the hand grip. Is this normal that the right strap lug has more wear??? Should I take the Leica R4 to have a repair to reinforce the right strap lug and tighten it up? Or am I needlessly worrying? After all, I don't want to have the right strap lug break off my Leica R4 while making the shot. (I wish that the Leica R4 is as hardy as my Leicaflex).

sincerely, Alfie

-- Alfie Wang (leica_phile@hotmail.com), November 27, 2001

Answers

Alfie, it's not a big deal. It's held in place by a long screw that can only be removed when the top plate is off the camera. The lug isn't going to fall out.

-- Douglas Herr (telyt@earthlink.net), November 27, 2001.

...but now that it is loose, you increase the likelyhood of eventually wearing a larger hole in the body where the lug screw goes through.

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), November 27, 2001.

It sounds like the Op/Tech grip is over stressing the the strap lug. The strap lugs are intended to resist shear forces (e.g. the strap pulling the lug in a direction parallel to the camera body wall). I'll bet that grip exerts large amounts of tension forces (e.g. pulling the lug away from the camera body). Maybe Leicaflex's, R8's and M's have strong enough lugs to take such forces (though I'm not sure of this at all), but the R4 may not. I'd get it fixed and think twice about using the hand grip any more.

-- Dan Brown (brpatent@swbel.net), November 28, 2001.

Alfie, I tried one of those Op Tech Hand grips and was concerned about the undue pressure it makes on a single strap lug. When street shooting, I usually wrap the strap around my wrist and hold the camera with my right hand. I keep the strap loose enough so that it's not exerting pressure on the lug, but it does prevent the camera dropping accidentally (or someone grabbing it!). And while we're on the subject, I find that this is the best method for doing street shooting-- it keeps the camera very handy and makes for quick shooting.

-- Richard Le (rvle@yahoo.com), November 28, 2001.