Inexpensive protection.

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These inexpensive leather protectors for the top plate of your camera prevent scratches from your camera’s strap or from the D rings used to attach the strap.

Note that one of the two non-cut thirds
of the D-ring is in contact with the strap.
A piece of Scotch tape finishes the job.

The ring must first be removed to install the protector.

To install you have to remove your strap and D-ring, place these small leather patches over the strap lug using the center hole then install the D-ring (some garage language may be called for) followed by the strap. It takes a while. The hole in the protector is perfectly sized for the Leica’s strap lug – M film or M digital. (If you are unlucky enough to have bought an M5 no rings are needed; the strap material threads through the rectangular lugs on that misbegotten camera).

The D-rings these come with seem too flimsy, so I transplanted those from my Nikon D800 studio camera which are robust. I have yet to find a reliable source for these. One possible source for round rings is Simplr, but I have not used these. They are sized for 3/8″ (10mm) straps which is what the Upstrap uses, and are made in the USA. Hooray! Amazon also lists suitably shaped protectors for round rings. One disadvantage of circular rings is that they will rotate, eventually exposing the strap material to the sharp cut ends. That’s why I prefer triangular rings on a $5,000 camera.

Be sure that your strap is not in contact with the split in the D-ring as that is invariably sharp cut and will eventually wear through the strap. These patches also prevent the D ring from rotating, so the sharp third can no longer come in contact with the strap if correctly installed in the first place.

The instructive images at Amazon are clear and at $7 the pair what is there to complain about?