Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/10/08
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]In addition to the pleasure of meeting Tom and all the other LUGgers who made the trip to Photokina, I also had the opportunity to buy one of Tom's new RapidGrips. I have now used it extensively for a couple of weeks and can offer the following comments: The grip is very nice. It is heavier and more solid than the Leica plastic grip. The biggest improvement is in the surface; while the Leica grip can get a bit slippery, Tom's grip has some sort of "sticky" surface that provides a much more confident grip. Also the shape and the larger size provides more security. Additional benefits include the battery storage compartment built into the handle and the screw hole that can be used to store a spare Soft Release. A couple of things that I like less: the RapidGrip attaches to the baseplate via the tripod socket, but instead of the handy flip-out bolt on the Leica grip, Tom's grip uses a large screw with a coin slot. So removing and attaching the RapidGrip is more fiddly than the Leica grip. Secondly, the RapidGrip does not provide a tripod socket. I assume this is because its primary intended use is with the RapidWinder. But it does mean that you effectively lose the tripod socket, given the somewhat inconvenient removal of the RapidGrip. For me this does not matter, as I never use a tripod with this particular M6 body. Overall, if you can live with the tripod inconvenience described above, I think that Tom's grip is vastly superior to the Leica grip and well worth the money. Nathan - -- Nathan Wajsman Herrliberg (ZH), Switzerland e-mail: wajsman@webshuttle.ch General photo site: http://belgiangator.tripod.com/ Belgium photo site: http://members.xoom.com/wajsman/ Motorcycle site: http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/1704/