Vertical Use of Half Case
writer: russell j.t. dyer; posted: mar 2012; revised: oct 2017; readers past month: 1107
A few weeks ago I purchased for my Leitz Minolta CL (i.e., Leica CL) camera, a half case — only the bottom half of the camera is wrapped in a case made of leather. I bought it from a small manufacturer in China who goes by the name of Mr. Zhou. It’s very nice, but I don’t use it in the way many people do.
I tried using the half-case with a neck strap attached to the rings on the case. That arrangement works fine, although I was a little concerned that the camera might pop out of the case should the velcro be pulled apart — which is unlikely. Still, I prefer to use the camera as it was designed, hanging vertically and using the lugs on the camera.
Below is a photo of my camera with the strap attached to the side lugs on the camera and with the case wrapped around it. As you can see, it fits nicely. I think it looks good, too.
When I remove or load film, I just pull the velcro apart to remove the case. It’s easy to remove even with the strap attached to the side lugs making for a tighter fit. I just have to put the case in my bag so I don’t forget it somewhere — you don’t have this possibility when attaching the neck strap to the case. Then I strap the case back onto the camera. It only take a few seconds to remove the case and a few seconds to put it back on the camera — about as long as it would take when using the loops on the case, since you have to remove the case to change the film.
Incidentally, the Zhou case is well made and of good quality. However, it’s not the finest quality. From what I’ve seen, I suspect the Luigi case (i.e., from leicatime.com) is better, albeit much more expensive. For the price, Zhou’s cases are very good and worth the money. I just would not say they are the same quality as a Luigi case.