# Re-covering my camera



## kamelean

Is there any place else to get leather for your camera than cameraleather.com? I placed an order with them on Feb 1, and have had no contact at all, and have given up on them. I need to recover my Yashica LM, and that is the only place that I can find to offer the leather.


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## AaronMax

I've had a lot of luck going to large mid-to-high end fabric stores and looking at their vinyl, faux leather, and other leathery type fabrics. They usually give samples about the size of a dollar, or will allow you to take that much for free. Just don't mention you're redoing a camera, say it's a chair maybe? You can grab dozens of samples. I've found two dollar sized pieces are enough to cover most cameras. Look out for ones with fuzz on the backside as you'll have to take a razor blade or knife to it and get that down a bit. But its no biggie. Most any good light glue will work and you can use the patterns to trace your cuts from the leatherette you pull off the camera. it's easy and cheap and you get a ton of choices for nothing.


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## dxqcanada

I also placed an order ... Morgan emailed me and said he was backlogged and I should get it this week ... I will check my mail tomorrow.


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## bhop

What camera is it?

edit: *duh.. should've read the whole post..

quick search over on rangefinderforums shows there are really only two options, cameraleather, and http://www.aki-asahi.com/store/ which is in japan, but seems to be faster.  I don't see the LM on the list, but maybe you could contact them and see what's up.  I read in some threads over there that cameraleather is basically one guy, so that's why he's slow sometimes.


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## dxqcanada

OK, nothing in the mailbox yet ... hopefully it arrives next week.

I found some leatherette from Micro-Tools ... I am eventually going to order some for my Ricoh Diacord.
http://www.micro-tools.com/store/~/C-568/Leather-and-Leatherette.aspx


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## kamelean

dxqcanada said:


> OK, nothing in the mailbox yet ... hopefully it arrives next week.



Let me know if/when you get yours so I can know if mine is a total loss.


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## dxqcanada

Hmm, something just arrived at the Post Office ... it could be Leatherette. I will know by tomorrow.


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## kamelean

I sure hope he gives you a phone number with your order, because I would love to call him and find out where mine is. Also, when did you order yours?


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## dxqcanada

I do not recall a phone#
Ordered Feb 5.
I emailed him twice ... the second time he responded on Mar 2. to say that he was backlogged.
Back in January I emailed him about my Ricoh and he responded same day ... so I thought that his response was good, before I ordered.


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## dxqcanada

Crap, not the package I wanted ... going back to waiting.


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## compur

The site says:


> All kits are cut to order. Cameraleather.com is NOT an e-commerce site or an e-Store!  Most of the things you (and I ) order online are "pulled from stock" and shipped the same day. When you order from us, you are commissioning a custom piece made just for your camera.  So when we get asked a question like "is the Cobalt Kid skin in stock for the Canon P rangefinder?", the answer is nothing is in stock!  Commonly ordered kits, like Contax/Yashica or Konica, in basic black will ship quicker than exotic leather kits, or more complex kits such as for Leica M or TLR's. For more common cameras it takes from 3 to 10 working days to produce your kit before we can ship it, and more complex kits such as Leica or larger formats can take longer. *Medium/large format kits in exotic or special order leathers can take more than 30 days to produce.* We try to accommodate special needs, so if you really need your kit for a vacation or gift, let us know and we'll try to expedite it.


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## Proteus617

There is a long thread in the "hidden from search engines" board on APUG.  The bottom line seems to be that sometimes the waits are long and the communication can be poor but the the stuff always arrives and the quality is top notch.  Be very patient.


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## dxqcanada

Yeah, I read that on APUG before I ordered ... so I am being patient.
Anyway it's for my wife's camera.


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## compur

I suppose if you just bought uncut leather from him and cut it yourself it would be faster but I haven't tried that.


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## dxqcanada

Still waiting ... yesterday I ordered some uncut Leatherette from Micro-Tools for my Ricoh Diacord ... let's see which arrives first.


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## dxqcanada

Kameleon ... guess what, I got a USPS shipment email today from Morgan ... currently in transit.


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## kamelean

Well then. I am at a loss as to what to do. I can't get ahold of him by email, and the order was placed feb 1st. He's had plenty of time methinks.

Sent from my iPhone using PhotoForum


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## dxqcanada

Morgan is not too good at replying to emails right now, as he did not respond at all to my last one.
I think with Morgan ... you just have to wait, and it will just appear.


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## dxqcanada

OK, I finally picked up the Leather from the Post Office (it actually arrived Friday) and I also picked up the Leatherette I ordered from Micro-Tools.

Kameleon ... any news from Morgan ?


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## kamelean

dxqcanada said:
			
		

> OK, I finally picked up the Leather from the Post Office (it actually arrived Friday) and I also picked up the Leatherette I ordered from Micro-Tools.
> 
> Kameleon ... any news from Morgan ?



None at all. I sent another email last week. No response.

Sent from my iPhone using PhotoForum


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## kamelean

dxqcanada said:


> OK, I finally picked up the Leather from the Post Office (it actually arrived Friday) and I also picked up the Leatherette I ordered from Micro-Tools.
> 
> Kameleon ... any news from Morgan ?



Did he give any contact info with your package?


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## dxqcanada

Ah, I do not have the packing slip anymore ... so I am not sure if there was a phone# on it.


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## kamelean

I've been sending 2 emails a week, and no response at all. I've even used other email accounts just in case he isn't reading them at all and deleting them.

Sent from my iPhone using PhotoForum


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## dxqcanada

Did you forward him a copy of the Payment Transaction as a reminder?


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## kamelean

dxqcanada said:


> Did you forward him a copy of the Payment Transaction as a reminder?



Yes, but I don't even know if he is checking the email to begin with. I am surprised you got your kit, and I haven't even been contacted about mine.


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## dxqcanada

Any news?


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## kamelean

dxqcanada said:
			
		

> Any news?



None at all, not even an email reply.

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## dxqcanada

Well that sucks.


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## compur

I'll second that.


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## kamelean

I sent another email this morning. Probably another email in his inbox to be ignored.


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## dxqcanada

I got some uncut Leatherette from Microtools to fix up my Ricoh Diacord.
It was cheap for a large sheet (and they ship fast).
http://www.micro-tools.com/store/~/C-568/Leather-and-Leatherette.aspx

I will have to say that cutting the front panel (with the curves) is a pain to do to get it exactly right.
Get some painters tape and a really sharp blade.


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## kamelean

A dozen emails later, and still no response. I wish I could actually communicate with this guy, but it seems the only way is email. He hasn't sent a single thing to my email since I first asked him I he could do the leather. I can live with the $18.50 loss, but it is the principle of the matter. I'm thoroughly disgusted.

Sent from my iPhone using PhotoForum


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## dxqcanada

Hmm.
When I was trying to correspond with him ... he did not reply until I forwarded a copy of the PayPay reciept to him.


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## compur

If you paid with PayPal and it's not too late you can dispute the payment and get a refund that way.  I think it has to be done within 45 days of payment though.

Otherwise you might try doing a "request money" thing via PayPal using his email address and providing details of why he owes you.  Worth a try at least and it might jog his integrity enough to do something about this.


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## Steve5D

Yeah, if the guy doesn't care enough to even give you the courtesy of a reply to your e-mail, he's not worth the time.

I would file a claim with PayPal if you went that route. I paid for with a card, I would be disputing any charges for this...


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## Steve5D

compur said:


> Worth a try at least and it might jog his integrity enough to do something about this.



If the order was placed on February 1, and the OP has heard absolutely nothing after numerous attempts, then there's no integrity to jog...


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## compur

Steve5D said:


> compur said:
> 
> 
> 
> Worth a try at least and it might jog his integrity enough to do something about this.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If the order was placed on February 1, and the OP has heard absolutely nothing after numerous attempts, then there's no integrity to jog...
Click to expand...


Maybe so but there is the fact that Hurricane Irene passed through his area and a reported change in servers since then may be the source of the problem. Also, recent reports on other forums indicate people are receiving their orders and/or communications in a timely manner from him.


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## kamelean

compur said:
			
		

> Maybe so but there is the fact that Hurricane Irene passed through his area and a reported change in servers since then may be the source of the problem. Also, recent reports on other forums indicate people are receiving their orders and/or communications in a timely manner from him.



Which other forums? If I can find someone with an open line of communication with him, maybe he can mention my order.

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## compur

APUG & RFF


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## dxqcanada

Did you ever get the camera leather ??


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## kamelean

dxqcanada said:
			
		

> Did you ever get the camera leather ??



Never did. I still send a hateful email to him every now and then, but never get a reply.

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## dxqcanada

Ah, that sucks.


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## compur

indeed


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## jamesdak

Hmm, I've ordered from him in the past and had no problems.  One kit was like a Cobalt Blue goatskin for my XD-7. Quality is top-notch, sorry to hear of your problems...


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## dxqcanada

Kamelean ... did you ever get your Yashica re-covered ?


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## kamelean

dxqcanada said:


> Kamelean ... did you ever get your Yashica re-covered ?



Still haven't. I have a roll of film in it, and as soon as the roll is finished, I'm going to do it myself, as I still haven't got a reply from that thief. 


Sent from my iPhone in beautiful Kentucky.


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## dxqcanada

I figured as much.

Get some good painters tape to make masks. 

I found some interesting leather from a UK eBay seller: milly120786 | eBay
I think I might pick up some burgundy for the Minolta Autocord.


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## dxqcanada

For anyone else that wants to try Cameraleather ... and is not sure if they will get their order ...

I just ordered two types for Minolta Autocord ... cheap VH Black and Griptac Black ... on Jan 13 2013.
Received it on Feb 6, in an envelope shipped AirMail.

I had emailed Morgan on Feb 4 to check up and he did reply, stating it was shipped Jan 30.


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## kamelean

I think I have dxqcanada to thank on this one. I'm sure he must have mentioned my situation. Thanks, buddy! 

 Morgan just emailed me a tracking number for my leather that I ordered Feb 2 of last year. He writes on the shipping notification:

Note To Recipient: James this is an order from 2/2012 sent to another J. Hughes in error. I am sorry for the long wait!


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## dxqcanada

I made a mistake on the last order ... for some reason I requested the wrong holes to be cut on one of the two (must of had a bit too much beer at the time), which I realized as I was putting the new leatherette on.

Anyway ... since I was emailing Morgan back on my mistake (which he kindly is going to send me the corrected pieces) I mentioned your issue.

Great to hear that you are finally going to get your Yashica recovered.


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## BlackSheep

kamelean said:


> I think I have dxqcanada to thank on this one. I'm sure he must have mentioned my situation. Thanks, buddy!
> 
> Morgan just emailed me a tracking number for my leather that I ordered Feb 2 of last year. He writes on the shipping notification:
> 
> Note To Recipient: James this is an order from 2/2012 sent to another J. Hughes in error. I am sorry for the long wait!



That's great news! Looking forward to seeing the re-covered camera once you get it done.


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## dxqcanada

Did you get it yet ?


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## kamelean

I got it today. It won't even get the chance to be opened until Sunday, though, because of work. 


Sent from my iPhone in beautiful Kentucky.


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## dxqcanada

Finally !!!


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## compur

Congrats!


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## kamelean

Just installed it. Better pics when I get home. 


















Sent from my iPhone in beautiful Kentucky.


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## dxqcanada

kamelean said:


> Just installed it ...



1 year later ... looking good.


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