Out with the old, In with the new!

Minolta teamed up with Leica and released the XD-11 in 1977, which would also become the Leica R4. Even though the camera itself was a technical marvel, featuring metered Manual, Aperture and Shutter-Priority modes, the beautiful soft leather covering chosen for the first few production runs would eventually prove to be a problem. Apparently it didn’t take long for shrinkage of the leather to occur and it would peel back from the edges exposing the metal camera body underneath. The camera I received from the ‘Bay’ this Christmas was no exception. Although mechanically sound, the leatherette reminded my of shrinky-dinks, a popular children’s item from the same era, as every edge had pulled back away from the camera as though it had been baked in an oven.

This made the XD-11 a perfect candidate for new leatherette from cameraleather.com. I picked out their seal grain red, however if you’re a traditionalist, they do offer a close replica of the original soft, black leather covering. It is a damn shame that the original covering shrinks so bad with age, as it is a welcome change from the standard thin leatherette on most classic SLR cameras.

Removing the old covering was surprisingly simple. On many other cameras including the Autocord, I usually have to scrape off the old stuff, which can be quite messy. But on the XD-11 the old covering just peeled right off with very little adhesive residue, which resembled rubber cement, to remove with nail polish remover. The leatherette kit for the XD-11 from cameraleather.com is a simple three piece set, but fits perfectly and looks fantastic. I love how easy the pieces are applied. It only takes a few minutes to complete. One day when I feel like spending a little more I may try one of their snake skin or lizard skin options. I’ve got some classic Russian rangefinders that would look bad-ass with scales! Images from both of these cameras, the XD-11 and Autocord will be posted as soon as I have them developed. Additional information regarding both of these cameras will also be available from my website in the near future.