[Leica] OT: Thumbs up

[pklein at threshinc.com (Peter Klein)]

I'm one of the original Thumbs-Up customers. When I went over to Tim's 
Isaac's house here in the Seattle area to pick mine up, I asked him 
about an active hot-shoe version.

Tim told me that the problem is product liability. If he were to make a 
version with hot shoe contacts, he could be liable for people damaging 
their cameras because they used high-voltage flashes on a camera that 
couldn't take it. Or for other electronic mishaps that could occur 
because of mix-n-match camera-flash combinations. Add the fact that he 
sells to many countries with as many different laws, the safest thing to 
do was just not do it.

Flash is against my religion except when it isn't. I only occasionally 
use bounce flash or fill flash. So when I do, I just take the Thumbs-Up 
off.  For the more frequent flash user, there's the Thumbie, which 
sticks on and leaves the flash free. Or cheap, readily available 
stick-on rubber feet.

--Peter


Bill Pearce wrote:
 > There has always been an attitude on the part of many, not generally 
held by
 > working pros, that flash is not to be ever ever ever used with a Leica.
 > Well, not as a needless crutch, but still, I can have it's place, but I
 > think that attitude is responsible for the lack of PC connections on 
modern
 > Leicas and hotshoes on thumbs up.
 >
 > -----Original Message-----
 > From: Herbert Kanner
 > Sent: Sunday, October 13, 2013 4:12 PM
 > To: Leica Users Group
 > Subject: Re: [Leica] OT: Thumbs up
 >
 > "But I consider flash the work of the devil so it is no problem for me."
 >
 > Fully agree, with one exception. I once used bounce flash, aimed 
essentially
 > at the ceiling, in a room with white walls and ceiling and Kodachrome 
in my
 > M6 (about which I've got to get off my lazy butt and sell). This 
would still
 > be valid today with the added degree of freedom that LR and it's 
relatives
 > would permit the use of non-white walls.
 >
 >
 > Herbert Kanner
 > kanner at acm.org
 > 650-326-8204
 >
 > Question authority and the authorities will question you.
 >
 >
 >
 >
 > On Oct 12, 2013, at 11:04 AM, Nathan Wajsman <photo at 
frozenlight.eu> wrote:
 >
 > > I think my Leica grip makes the M8 perfectly handholdable. Without 
it, I
 > > found it awkward and slippery. With the Fuji X-Pro 1 there is a 
similar