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03-28-2012, 03:44 AM   #1
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Sooo, last night I was really bored and I made these things

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I saw these leatherette things that go behind the triangular rings for the neck straps a while ago in the thread introduce your film Pentax, where I recently posted:

QuoteOriginally posted by Sluggo Quote
Lovely!

Do you have a source for those little leatherette wrappers designed to protect the top plate from the strap rings? I haven't been able to find them online, but it might just be because I don't know what they're called, or if they even have a name.

(by the way I had seen them a week earlier in ebay.co.uk and I didn't think the £4.99 price tag plus £1.99 shipping was justified, so I passed on)

Anyhow, further browsing in that thread revealed me that most don't know how these things work and what they are actually for.
A few examples here and here, but there are others. I don't want to be anybody's teacher and I am sorry if I gave you this impression..

I was really bored last night so I decided to make my own ones with a bit of leather I had here in the drawer.
In real life they are much nicer and you can't really see that I cut them out with my Victorinox knife because I was too lazy to find the cutter





First of all, in this way they are not wrong, the nice bit goes towards the camera...





...because then you pass your strap trough the long cuts and fold the leather.
I also discovered that their function is not only to protect the body from scratches (otherwise they would have had just a washer shape) but mainly to keep tha damn triangle rings straight (mine were always turned wrong by default):




If you cut them snug enough and out of a thick leather/leatherette they will be one of those little things that you wish you have had before.

______________________________

Then, my creativity wave was not out yet, and when I noticed in the bathroom the hand soap that was finished... I decided to transform it in a flash gun diffuser.
Nothing new I know, people generally do this with milk bottles (here in Lithuania milk is generally in either crystal clear cilindric bottles, or tetrapack, that's why I went with the soap bottle)
But I simply thought I'd share. I am sure some are not that into making stuff, so they may enjoy and these pictures may be useful in some way.

So here it is on my AF200S



By the way, does anybody have a spare winder cap for my ME Super?






Also, I decided to make one for the point and shoot and I used one of the corners of the bottle:




and it sits like this on the camera







For Admins: I actually don't know where this post belongs too, feel free to move it to the appropriate forum.

03-28-2012, 06:49 AM   #2
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Wow, pretty interesting. Tell us how this stuff is working out after some heavy use
03-28-2012, 07:31 AM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Na Horuk Quote
Wow, pretty interesting. Tell us how this stuff is working out after some heavy use
Thanks Na Horuk, I can tell you for sure that the leather bits work perfectly, even though the leather I had was quite thin and supple.
As said it's a bit of kit one really needs.

I may actually take off one those protectors right this evening and then scan it and in a file adding all the sizes: in this way people can actually print it down and use it as a mask for theirs.

As far as I know also K-r, K-7, and K-5 have the same triangular shaped rings, so those little things are actually useful for eveybody
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As for the flash diffusers I was more interested in making the one for the AF200S. Unfortunately I am still waiting for an M42 to PK adaptor ring as I have two M42 lenses and a K-mount body: the first adaptor has been fully refunded today, I ordered another one last week...
On the Fujifilm works quite well eliminating harsh shadows in close up portraits and the only little flaws are the mickey mouse shape and the fitting system..
But I honestly just used whatever was left to see if I could do something on that one too...
03-28-2012, 08:58 AM   #4
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they will also reduce noise, from the rings coming into contact with the body. I don't like using them though, as I find that they can often cause the strap to bind and it just doesn't move as freely at the connecting points as it would do without them. beyond that, I just feel they are an unnecessary protection. I just don't see how they are useful enough in real world situations to be worth worrying about. but I guess 'resale value' is more important nowadays than it used to be, and keeping your 'investment' in as close to new condition as possible is important. I applaud your DIY success here though. very well done, and sure beats paying 5-6 bucks for something that probably only costs a few cents to manufacture. I particularly like your flash diffuser. vey well done indeed.

03-28-2012, 09:21 AM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by séamuis Quote
they will also reduce noise, from the rings coming into contact with the body. I don't like using them though, as I find that they can often cause the strap to bind and it just doesn't move as freely at the connecting points as it would do without them. beyond that, I just feel they are an unnecessary protection. I just don't see how they are useful enough in real world situations to be worth worrying about. but I guess 'resale value' is more important nowadays than it used to be, and keeping your 'investment' in as close to new condition as possible is important. I applaud your DIY success here though. very well done, and sure beats paying 5-6 bucks for something that probably only costs a few cents to manufacture. I particularly like your flash diffuser. vey well done indeed.

Well, there are actually other shapes that you can make those in, that can allow the rings to sort of flop around more freely: for instance you can make one with only a single slot and/or make the slot wider, or you can make a simple leather 'washer' that you can push over the strap lug. I'm usually not too worried about the cosmetics of the finish, but I don't like the metal-on-metal grinding you can get with some camera body/strap ring combinations. Personally, I usually prefer the strap rings to tend to want to stay pointing upwards, (a bit more out of the way,) and a thicker leather washer or one of those with one slot can usually accomplish that.

If you use an awl or marlin spike or even a six-penny nail to make the hole, the leather won't want to turn on the lug, ..if you make a bigger hole, (especially like with a punch such as is used for grommets, ) it'll still protect but move more freely. You can kind of choose how stiff you want em. The idea there is that if you make the hole with a *point* it'll tend to want to close up again and grab what you push it over: if you cut a clean hole, it'll of course just be a hole.

Last edited by Ratmagiclady; 03-28-2012 at 09:31 AM.
03-28-2012, 10:30 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Ratmagiclady Quote
Well, there are actually other shapes that you can make those in, that can allow the rings to sort of flop around more freely: for instance you can make one with only a single slot and/or make the slot wider, or you can make a simple leather 'washer' that you can push over the strap lug. I'm usually not too worried about the cosmetics of the finish, but I don't like the metal-on-metal grinding you can get with some camera body/strap ring combinations. Personally, I usually prefer the strap rings to tend to want to stay pointing upwards, (a bit more out of the way,) and a thicker leather washer or one of those with one slot can usually accomplish that.

If you use an awl or marlin spike or even a six-penny nail to make the hole, the leather won't want to turn on the lug, ..if you make a bigger hole, (especially like with a punch such as is used for grommets, ) it'll still protect but move more freely. You can kind of choose how stiff you want em. The idea there is that if you make the hole with a *point* it'll tend to want to close up again and grab what you push it over: if you cut a clean hole, it'll of course just be a hole.
I agree there are other, arguably better methods. the simple O-ring for example is a good option. (my gordys hand strap utilizes one of these to great success.) but generally, Ive tried most different types and I've never liked any of them. I want dot like them very much for my black spotmatic and SV to not destroy the paint, but in the end I just said 'what the heck, it will get brassed eventually anyway.' my K-7's have taken a beating around the strap lugs because I utilize old army general purpose straps with some pretty serious connecting hardware as camera straps. they are work cameras though, so I don't care that there is more bare metal on them than there probably should be. but the magnesium alloy doesn't show as much as bare brass.

I think my problem though is that I utilize my neck straps on the cameras id like to use these on, more as wrist straps. I buy simple, slim leather straps and keep them wrapped around my wrist when shooting. these things make that setup very annoying. for normal neck worn straps though, I don't imagine they would cause much issue. I still think though they are an unnecessary item in general. purely for retaining cosmetic look, but I can understand to a degree that is important to most people.
03-28-2012, 05:38 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by séamuis Quote

I think my problem though is that I utilize my neck straps on the cameras id like to use these on, more as wrist straps. I buy simple, slim leather straps and keep them wrapped around my wrist when shooting. these things make that setup very annoying. for normal neck worn straps though, I don't imagine they would cause much issue. I still think though they are an unnecessary item in general. purely for retaining cosmetic look, but I can understand to a degree that is important to most people.
I do that, too: a fairly thin leather (with a round ring) works nice for that. I really need to replenish my scrap leather supply, (Lost most of it in a move somewhere back there,) but if I do, I could make some pretty easily and drop em in the mail. Need to be doing some scrounging in general, here. I suppose just the right bit of rubber would do you, too. Hadn't thought of that.

03-28-2012, 06:12 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by Ratmagiclady Quote
I do that, too: a fairly thin leather (with a round ring) works nice for that. I really need to replenish my scrap leather supply, (Lost most of it in a move somewhere back there,) but if I do, I could make some pretty easily and drop em in the mail. Need to be doing some scrounging in general, here. I suppose just the right bit of rubber would do you, too. Hadn't thought of that.
I'm always looking out for a quality leather strap. i go through them the way some people here go through camera bags. if you can make a good strap id love to see one! right now I'm using a Tipton & Co. strap on my SV. T I P T O N & CO.: STRAPPED : PART 1 of 3 expensive, and more 'designer' than I need, but its insanely good quality, and I'm a sucker of anything hand made by a skilled craftsman.
05-14-2012, 06:18 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by séamuis Quote
I'm always looking out for a quality leather strap. i go through them the way some people here go through camera bags. if you can make a good strap id love to see one! right now I'm using a Tipton & Co. strap on my SV. T I P T O N & CO.: STRAPPED : PART 1 of 3 expensive, and more 'designer' than I need, but its insanely good quality, and I'm a sucker of anything hand made by a skilled craftsman.
Ok, I remember I read this comment somewhere and now I found it back: yesterday this in the bay search I was performing, I thought you may be interested séamuis.

I decided instead to build and try a wrist strap first out of some of the wife belts - I almost always use the ME super with the 50 anyway, the original wide neck strap is as heavy as the lens itself, and it's always catching stuff.
05-16-2012, 04:25 PM   #10
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I get a lot of nice leather from the backs of car seats in scrap yards, they don't me cutting it off as long as the seat is unsaleable otherwise, I always ask first.
05-16-2012, 06:50 PM   #11
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I just slide a bit of clear tubing over the metal parts of my old straps, like from an aquarium filter? Not as pretty but it stays snug and it does the same job.
05-17-2012, 01:02 AM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by magkelly Quote
I just slide a bit of clear tubing over the metal parts of my old straps, like from an aquarium filter? Not as pretty but it stays snug and it does the same job.
we want photos or it didn't happen. (シ)
05-17-2012, 01:11 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by Lloydy Quote
I get a lot of nice leather from the backs of car seats in scrap yards, they don't me cutting it off as long as the seat is unsaleable otherwise, I always ask first.
That's a nice idea!
05-17-2012, 09:20 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by ElStellino Quote
we want photos or it didn't happen. (シ)
Maybe later, sure, when I can actually move sans screaming. I need some major pain killers and a muscle relaxant first. I typed way too much yesterday. Besides typing here I was on ICQ chatting with a pal and we typed back and forth for quite a while. My hands are killing me and my left shoulder is practically locked to my left ear. I don't think I can hold a camera right now, lol. I'm walking like Quasimodo today...
05-17-2012, 09:26 AM   #15
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What happened magkelly? Take care and get well soon!
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