This DIY project born in a recent conversation with Fred Miranda (thanks for the idea!) considering 3D print use for minimalistic cover of Leica M10 screen. Main point is to break the habit of overusing screen and focus more on the taking pictures flow. Second benefit is to providing more comfortable grip to the camera when pulling it out of the bag (the screen surface is quite slippery.
UPDATE (May 19, 2024) below is the picture of latest V4 model of protective cap
April 14, 2024:
I was prototyping a lot with this cover to make it tight and compact but also very easy to 3D print. Most challenging area was near the eyepiece cover, so I initially designed cover for the screen only. It required slight cutting out the top left edge to fit the eyepiece - that is how idea appeared of using eyepiece as a holder option.
The visible buttons were still distracting and cover was not held in place well.
Next design step was the attempt to involve the hotshoe mount to hold the cover from the top. I made it with hinge to allow flipping cover up, but resulting desing looked rather ugly and breaking nice lines of original camera look. I talked about that with Fred and we both agree that involving hotshoe is not a good option. Well, back to the use of caliper and drawing board, or rather to say more experiments in 3D modelling software.
I extended cover over the buttons only but it didn't look well when printed because buttons area is more narrow than screen. Next attempt was to keep the cover lines rectangular and only introduce slight contours curve under the rangefinder eyepiece cover. The resulting model came out as good as I expected with first test print.
Resulting screen cover (called it version V3A) has tight fit in top and side areas and few millimeters loose in the bottom screen edge. Here is extra support bar near the left buttons. I'm using large sheet of textured black adhesive vinyl film to attach it to bottom camera plate. Vinyl sticker size is 90mm X 65mm. You can also use gaffer tape or electric tape.
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It allows to open the screen cover by flipping it down.
Protector is making camera only 0.5mm thicker.
I'll keep working on this design to introduce compact hinge version instead of using adhesive film or tape. Will keep this article posted with further updates and improvements, so stay tuned.
My 3D models are free to download and personal use:
April 19, 2024
L shaped Version II of LCD cover is attaching to tripod socket using 3D printed bolt.
May 19, 2024
Just published redesigned 3D model of V4 of screen cover for Leica M10 cameras
It's available for free download and personal non-commercial use
Features:
- screen cover is now flipping down 180 degree on durable hinge (enforced with steel rod made form paperclip)
- low profile 3mm bottom mount is securing to tripod mount using new printable bolt with oversized 20mm diameter head, allowing to secure it with hands
- bottom mount is centered allowing camera to stand straight, cover is laying flat on surface when flipped out to 90 degree
- easy print (no support, no rafts, no brim needed)
Thank you so much for your efforts on this project! I recently downloaded version 4 of the minimalistic cover for the Leica M10 screen, and I appreciate the innovative approach to reducing screen usage and enhancing the photography experience.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I encountered an issue with the screw provided. It seems to be quite tight for my Leica, and I would recommend using a metal screw instead of plastic. The plastic screw feels weak and could potentially break inside the Leica screw mount. Please check the example below for a suitable metal screw option.
https://a.aliexpress.com/_oF62uge
Thanks again for the great work, keep up the great work, and I’m following your projects with interest!
Faisal
You are welcome Faisal. The bolt may be too tight if you print it as is, it requires downsizing to 0.95% on X and Y axis in slicer before printing. I may publish another version of bolt already downsized.
DeleteOn a practical use during couple of weeks this bolt is durable enough (I printed it in ELEGOO PLA PRO). Thanks for sharing link to metal bolts - I have couple of these but their head is too thick and they are longer than needed for compact fit. The mount is intentionally designed to be very thin and remain flat when bolt is screwed in.