Strapped

LXV, my Leica X Vario camera, was well looked-after by its first owner. Its inspection certificates say that it left the Wetzlar factory in Germany on 27th November 2013, and on 17th May 2022 - when it arrived at my front doorstep from mpb.com, nearly nine years later - it was still in almost-new condition. So were its two original batteries, which, used alternately, were both still capable of holding a full charge: enough on occasion for over 1,000 shots before needing a recharge. 

These are good signs of light but careful and considerate usage. 

The previous owner had attended to the single firmware update, had carefully preserved packaging and documentation, and had remembered to deregister his or her ownership with Leica, so that I could immediately tell them that Frau Lucy Melford was the new registered owner. 

Again, strong indications that he or she had looked after the camera properly, and had taken 'Leica ownership' seriously. 

The previous owner hadn't stopped there. He or she had invested in two nice accessories, which I inherited. One was a Cellonic third-party battery charger, which I was glad to have, as it was much better than the official X Series charger. The other accessory was the deep metal lens hood specially made by Leica for the X Vario. That was an unexpected and most welcome bonus. A lens hood not only stops unwanted light spoiling one's pictures, but it protects the front element of the X Vario's zoom lens from all but deliberate damage. 

Missing was the official Leica fabric neck strap (no loss, as I had a third-party Op-Tech cross-body strap to use); and a tiny bit of plastic, the hot shoe cover, which had somehow got lost (nice to have, but not essential; more a cosmetic thing).

When new, LXV would have cost the 2023 equivalent of £2,750, with most accessories extra. Altogether the previous owner must have spent nearly £3,000 in today's money. And I paid mpb.com only £599. In 2022 this would have been well over the odds for any ordinary compact camera coming up for its ninth birthday. But not for a German-made Leica. I'd had something of a bargain! And LXV has not disappointed me since. I've taken over 21,000 photographs with this camera since it arrived eleven months ago, with nary a falter or glitch. Most of the shots seen on this blog since mid-May 2022 were taken with LXV. And my Flickr site has thousands on display. 

As you will readily see, we have bonded, and LXV has become a cherished companion. And - of course - cherished companions deserve only the best. So I've recently added three more official Leica accessories. 

The first was a handgrip (see my post Getting a grip, on 4th February 2023). 

And within the last few days, a replacement hot shoe cover, all the way from B&H in New York. Here are the before-and-after pictures:

On the same day that the hot shoe cover came, I picked up a leather carrying strap from Park Cameras in Burgess Hill. The rest of this post is about that strap. 

I'd been using an Op-Tech cross-body strap with a neoprene shoulder pad. It was well-made, practical and comfortable, and had done the job for nearly a year. But it wasn't elegant. The neoprene part was inevitably a bit bulky - not really something to wear with a smart outfit. 

This apart, the way this strap attached to LXV didn't inspire me with ultimate confidence. It relied on plastic connectors, and cords that threaded through the metal eyelets on each side of the camera. Somewhere down the line - not soon, but eventually - I could see those cords fraying, or the plastic connectors getting brittle, so that without warning my camera might hurtle to the ground. Come to that, if ever I had to hang by just the camera strap from the 201st floor of a very tall building - never mind why - I could see it ending badly. 

I wanted a leather strap, which would be strong and last forever, fitted with metal rings to form an unbreakable connection with those eyelets. A little research on the Internet established that Leica did a discreet black leather carrying strap that would meet my requirements. I knew that Park Cameras, not far away, didn't currently have it in stock, but I could go and ask them to order me one. This I did. (I was of course already 'in their system' from previous purchases) It cost £90.

They texted me when the strap arrived, and I collected it later that day. The packaging was - as expected from Leica - superior:

The strap itself could be adjusted to hang from the neck over one's boobs, or in cross-body fashion. I configured it for cross-body wear. I had no trouble getting the metal rings through the eyelets - no broken nails - and (to my relief) the tabs that protected the paintwork of the camera from being rubbed away by the metal rings sat nicely, even on the side where the handgrip came very close to the tab. The leather was clearly of high quality, quite thick enough to be very durable and strong (not that I'm heading to the nearest high-rise to test it out). The 'shoulder pad' wasn't as substantial as the neoprene pad on the Op-Tech strap, but still felt comfortable. 

Above all, this new leather strap added a distinct touch of luxury to LXV. Yes, it was the right thing to buy. Definitely worth £90.

At the moment the new black leather strap is a bit stiff, but it will soon be as supple as the brown leather strap on my blue Pittards bag. I will look after it, too. I have already found some leather cream to apply.

Obviously, the new strap will have no effect whatever on the quality of LXV's photos, although it may be that improving the look of my already-respectable camera will create better photo opportunities. People seem more ready to unlock doors, and let you shoot things the ordinary public never sees, if they think you are a 'real' photographer with a serious purpose - and who am I to put them right? 

The last few shots - as you will guess - were taken with my three-year-old phone. Which goes to show what accomplished shots phones can capture. They already surpass most cameras for everyday use, but their drawback - and it can never be remedied - is that they are not camera-shaped. They can't be held securely, and slick operation requires excellent eyesight and accurately-aimed fingers. Proper cameras, with physical controls, can be set up to use by touch alone. 

On that aspect of elegance - or at least greater neatness and unobtrusiveness - these before-and-after pictures of myself wearing the Op-Tech strap in the morning, and the Leica strap later on, illustrate what the latter has brought to the table. You don't notice the thinner, leather Leica strap nearly so much. And wouldn't see it at all against a dark jacket, dress or top.

Each of these accessories adds some weight to the basic camera, the handgrip adding the most (91g). So I weighed LXV (as now fully accoutred) on my kitchen scales, to find out how much I would be carrying around most days.

788g - that's not too bad. This is essentially the entire kit - the camera ready for a day out, with a battery and SD card inside, and lens hood, handgrip, hot shoe cover and leather strap attached. It's not lightweight; there's some heft here that I can feel; but nor is it 'heavy'. 

I worked out that the very popular Leica Q2 - roughly LXV's modern equivalent, but more upmarket and much more expensive - similarly kitted out would weigh 866g. LXV is slightly lighter. 

But the Q2 is weatherproofed, and doesn't need a carrying bag to protect it from the elements. LXV does. If I carry LXV in its Lowepro bag, the overall load is 788g for the camera plus 245g for the bag = 1,033g altogether. But then that's only necessary in bad weather. In sunshine - so far as heft is concerned anyway - LXV can thumb its nose at the Q2 (or indeed any other Q, S or M Series Leica). 

And despite having a zoom lens, LXV is no heavier than a mirrorless Fujifilm X-T5 with a 23mm f/2.0 or f/1.4 prime lens attached. So there.