Film cameras on bike rides?

[Philip Williamson]

What’s the best way to carry a valuable/sentimental/fragile film camera on mixed terrain bike rides?

I have a Leica iii(d) I inherited and refurbished that I very much like to shoot. When I’m walking around, the best setup seems to be running both ends of the metal snake strap to the right lug, and tucking the camera into my jacket’s zippered outside breast pocket. I can imagine getting an old-style jersey with a kangaroo boob pocket, but I don’t have one now.

I’ve seen sliding harness “systems” in my flickr days, but I was too poor to consider them then. If there’s a quick-draw strap that keeps the camera close to the body and stable, I would consider it now. If the same thing can be rigged up for cheap, I’m interested in that, too. I’m happy to basket or frame-bag carry, too, but it seems/feels like my body would damp road shock better.

I was super-impressed with a Rivster’s basket net rig to transport a heavy Mamiya (?) safely offroad, since I have a C3 and a small Graflex. This question is more for carrying the little Leica, though.

I don’t imagine there’s a better place to ask this question.

Philip
Santa Rosa, CA

[Deacon Patrick]

Great question, Philip. The most jounce free place-already on your bike is you. Everywhere else is going to be a lot jouncier, and any system carrying the camera will have to compensate for shock better than your own knees and elbows already do. That's a big ask. Second best place easily/possibly on your bike already is the upper layers of your saddle bag. Good quality older cameras were made hearty, but do have tender inner workings. I'd try a minimal waist pack or shoulder strap setup first. Note, I know this from pondering the same question regarding writing instruments rather than cameras, but the same principles apply.

With abandon,
Patrick

[David Bivins]

I would hardly call a Leica III fragile. It’s a brick of brass that could double as a weapon at the end of a long strap. I carry my camera sling style, with the strap over one shoulder and under the other armpit. Most of my cameras are attached with conventional lugs, with the exception of some Fujifilm medium format types.
For me the key is having a strap that will hold the camera close enough to my body to not swing wildly, but not so tight that I look like I’m fighting myself when I try to get it close to my face to take a photo. I have two Leica III bodies, and they both have leather straps with split rings for the lugs.

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[velomann]

http://www.rivelopdx.com/shop/bag-pedal-bikes-shoot-film-camera-bag
I use this. I think John still has a couple left at Rivelo.

[John A. Bennett]

This has always worked for me:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53781a51e4b0f28da14f7222/t/55754589e4b0620d1b3fdf3c/1433748876104/

[John A. Bennett]

Unfortunately, just sold the very last one a week or so ago. Thanks for buying one when you did!

May reorder at some point soon.....if there is interest. 

[Eric Norris]

Phillip:

I’ll answer in more detail when I’m back at my computer, but here are some bullets points:

1) I would urge caution carrying your Leica in the bike. Leica are rugged, but your iii is probably 50 or so years old, and the internal workings of the rangefinder will be its Achilles heel. I dropped a Leica M4 from a few inches, and ended up with a $175 repair when the old glue inside gave way. It can be very easy to break something or just knock it put off alignment, all of which is expensive to fix. (Note: I found a great Leica repairman ifyou need one.)

2) As far as straps—I have one that let’s you carry the camera on your back and then swing it around to the front to take a photo. Made by a cyclist. I’ll find a link. I don’t use mine enough, and I’ll be happy to sell it to you at a great price.

–Eric N


> On Jun 28, 2019, at 7:39 PM, Philip Williamson <philip.w...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> What’s the best way to carry a valuable/sentimental/fragile film camera on mixed terrain bike rides?

[Philip Williamson]

Thanks for the info. I tend to agree on not stressing the Leica. I do like carrying it, but maybe not on the bike. My old Sony Nex with a CCTV lens might be a better bike camera. Not film, but still fun. If it broke, it would be a good excuse to upgrade. 

I am interested in the strap. I think it’s the one I’m imagining. 

Thanks!

Philip

[Peter White]

Yeah, my IIIc survived many miles in a rack-top pack on my mountain bike in years past. A little padding goes a long way.

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Peter White

[David Bivins]

I'm getting a vibe that people feel like the Leica III is more fragile than it is. Granted, I don't know which model Philip has. I haven't heard of a IIId. Dropping any camera is a problem. Dropping an M4 (or 3 or 2 and on up) is always more of a problem because the viewfinder and rangefinder are integrated. I dropped an MP (newer version) from less than a foot and cracked the viewfinder window. But the III (especially the c and later because the body is die cast) is probably one of the most solid cameras you'll ever find, certainly more durable than anything you can buy today. They also made a ton of them. 

If you need service, try Youxin Ye. He's great for the older bodies and lenses and affordable. 

My black III is a rough and tumble go-get-em camera, and I'm never afraid to take it anywhere. It's certainly a lot more able to withstand rain and bumpy rides than anything modern other than the flagship Canon and Nikon weather-sealed, etc. bodies. It looks a lot like this one: http://www.luistriguez.es/fotos/cameras/leicaiii/index_leicaiii.htm

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[Craig Montgomery]

Love this photo. Caption: Bicycling for pleasure in all places and seasons...in the hills of Spain. Note camera positioning. This is out of one of the best bike books ever (and little known today), Roger St. Pierre's The Book of the Bicycle (1973).

Craig in Tucson

On Saturday, June 29, 2019 at 6:48:21 AM UTC-7, David Bivins wrote:

I would hardly call a Leica III fragile. It’s a brick of brass that could double as a weapon at the end of a long strap. I carry my camera sling style, with the strap over one shoulder and under the other armpit. Most of my cameras are attached with conventional lugs, with the exception of some Fujifilm medium format types.
For me the key is having a strap that will hold the camera close enough to my body to not swing wildly, but not so tight that I look like I’m fighting myself when I try to get it close to my face to take a photo. I have two Leica III bodies, and they both have leather straps with split rings for the lugs.

> On Jun 28, 2019, at 10:39 PM, Philip Williamson <philip.w...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> What’s the best way to carry a valuable/sentimental/fragile film camera on mixed terrain bike rides?
>
> I have a Leica iii(d) I inherited and refurbished that I very much like to shoot. When I’m walking around, the best setup seems to be running both ends of the metal snake strap to the right lug, and tucking the camera into my jacket’s zippered outside breast pocket. I can imagine getting an old-style jersey with a kangaroo boob pocket, but I don’t have one now.
>
> I’ve seen sliding harness “systems” in my flickr days, but I was too poor to consider them then. If there’s a quick-draw strap that keeps the camera close to the body and stable, I would consider it now. If the same thing can be rigged up for cheap, I’m interested in that, too. I’m happy to basket or frame-bag carry, too, but it seems/feels like my body would damp road shock better.
>
> I was super-impressed with a Rivster’s basket net rig to transport a heavy Mamiya (?) safely offroad, since I have a C3 and a small Graflex. This question is more for carrying the little Leica, though.
>
> I don’t imagine there’s a better place to ask this question.
>
> Philip
> Santa Rosa, CA
>
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[William deRosset]

Dear Phillip,

The iiic/iiif are pretty sturdy, and my iiif with a collapsable Elmar has turned out to be a stickier camera than my Ms, thich come and go. I put mine in an old lens bag and toss it into my handlebar bag on top of my rain jacket. If I am riding with a jersey, it goes in one of the pockets. My only caveat is that the top plate dents easily, though with no apparent functional ramifications. You have, however, knocked $50 off of the $400 resale value of a iiif....

That said, blowing $200 on a high-gloss xa or the right rollei 35s that just requires no care at all has its appeal, too.

Best Regards,

Will

William M. deRosset
Fort Collins CO USA

[Peter White]

Back in my film days, the 35S was my favorite cycling, hiking and XC skiing camera. The lens is fantastic. But you do need to be very careful with it. The body dents easily. Mine is fine, but when you do see them for sale, they usually have little dents at the corners.

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Peter White

[Ryan M.]

If you re order these I would like to get one...so there is at least one person who has interest. Lol

[Philip Williamson]

Sorry, I have a ii not a iii. It looks like this: https://www.instagram.com/p/BiA_P8IhNus/?igshid=n81fstvn3448

I had the camera and lens tuned up nicely by DAG Cameras last year, but I’ll keep the other shop in mind as well.

I just arranged to purchase one of those cross-body straps. By coincidence, two people on the Bruce Gordon memorial ride had the same strap. It seemed easy and secure in action. Both guys had Sony mirrorless cameras, so I’m on the right wavelength.

Philip
Santa Rosa, CA

[David Bivins]

Don's a great camera tech. For my M bodies, I use Sherry Krauter and sometimes Don (DAG). For screwmount (including LTM lenses), I use Youxin Ye. 

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[sameness]

Thanks for the trail of breadcrumbs. I went from "What's a high-gloss xa?" to "Ebay Notification: Your Olympus XA2* Is On The Way!" inside of two hours.

(*I appreciate that rangefinders are like Simplex LJs, but in this case I need RapidFire.)

Jeff Hagedorn

Los Angeles, CA USA

[Philip Williamson]

I am interested! Orange for sure.
I’ve been mounting a tender bag on the back of my basket, and this looks perfect, since it’s squarer. I have three bikes with baskets, and one is orange. It seems like I could move a camera from my body to the bag for transport stages or hairy trails where you might end up on the ground.

Philip
Santa Rosa, CA

[Philip Williamson]

Awesome. I just looked up the Olympus xa, too. That looks extremely cool.
I had geeked out on the Rollei 35 years ago, but never bought one.

Philip
Santa Rosa, CA

[DarinM]

Phillip or Eric,

Can you share what strap was discussed? I'm considering a similar strap and curious what others have used.

Darin

[Robert F. Harrison]

I have both the XA and the Rollei 35 and love 'em.

Last time I had them on a bike trip I was in Yosemite and grabbed this: https://flic.kr/p/MFLwHt

I used the Rollei for that one. To be honest, I think I used color film and then turned it into B&W digitally - cheating a bit I guess.

You'll love either camera. I'm headed to RAGBRAI this year (again) and later down the CA coast to SF and will probably take them both.

Aloha,

Bob

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Robert Harrison

Honolulu, HI
rfhar...@gmail.com
statrix.com

Wu Name: Tha Eurythmic King of Nowhere

[Philip Williamson]

Hey Darin, it’s this one: https://www.outershelladventure.com/shop/camera-strap
If you click through, there’s an SF Mash collaboration strap for less money, but I’m not sure why. “Thinner” maybe.

Philip
Santa Rosa, CA

[Eric Norris]

I’ve been trying out various compact film cameras for past year or so, with the goal of finding the perfect camera to take to PBP in August. The camera has to be easy to use, take great photos, and be rugged and capable of being shoved in a handlebar bag with no ill effects. Ideally, it should be relatively inexpensive (accidents can happen).

After trying a number of cameras, including a Cosina CX, a Ricoh GR10, and a Contax T2, I landed on the Olympus XA series. I have the original XA, and XA2 and an XA4 (a somewhat rare variant with a 28mm lens). All are bombproof, take great photos, and require little effort on my part to capture nice images.

The XA4 is probably the camera I will take to France. The original XA is nice, but is a little harder to focus than the XA2 or XA4 (it has an actual rangefinder focusing system), and it has a quirk that won’t let the camera take a photo if the exposure is outside of the camera’s comfort zone. Both the XA2 and XA4 have simpler “zone focusing” (the XA4 also adds macro focus down to 12”) and an exposure system that does all of the thinking. I’ve never had either one fail to take a picture.

Here’s a photo I took while riding with the XA4—despite being jostled around and basically just pointed in the general direction of the subject, the photo turned out quite well. (For those who are wondering, this was shot with Eastman Double X at 200ASA, home developed in Ilfosol 3.)

Eric N

www.CampyOnly.com

CampyOnlyGuy.blogspot.com

Twitter: @CampyOnlyGuy

On Jul 1, 2019, at 6:49 PM, sameness <same...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[phil k]

You can use a bar bag like a Randi Jo or something similar. If it's bigger, than Outershell Adventure has a nice front bag and sells padded camera slots to organize everything.

[Lester Lammers]

I'd keep it in a small Pelican knock off case from Harbor Freight. The range finder prisms are fragile. As Eric said, "I dropped a Leica M4 from a few inches, and ended up with a $175 repair when the old glue inside gave way."

On Friday, June 28, 2019 at 10:39:56 PM UTC-4, Philip Williamson wrote:

[Mark Schneider]

I use various Rivendell bags for carrying my cameras including my old Oly's. The Banana sax is my favorite, up front for quick access. If I put them in a basket, I pad with whatever works for the particular ride. There are some very light, very well padded cheap camera bags that B&H carry including bags for Leica's.

Mark

On Friday, June 28, 2019 at 7:39:56 PM UTC-7, Philip Williamson wrote:

[Nick Payne]

When touring, I carry my cameras in an Ortlieb handlebar bag equipped with their padded camera insert. If I'm just out for a ride on an unloaded bike, and want take a real camera, I have a couple of home-made padded bumbags. Here's one with an Olympus Pen-F micro 4/3 plus 12-40 f2.8 zoom lens:

Nick