Excellent Camera Strap

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Sambr

Senior Member
JoeLewisPhoto said:
Thats fine and dandy, but people should also take into consideration this. Not if, but when this strap fails, your more expensive lenses and flashes you saved your money for will be worthless smashed on the ground. This may be ok for a D3100 and kit lens (or similar), but I surely am not putting my $3k worth of gear in the hands of a strap most likely constructed by children. You get what you pay for...I cannot say it enough. When compared to what the replacement/repair costs could be, $60 is cheap insurance for a better strap.
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In total agreement, my gear cost me a lot of money, I am NOT going to trust it some cheap strap. I too have the Black Rapid strap - however I use the Domke "Gripper" for most my shooting the BR is mostly my travel strap.
 
Johnathan Aulabaugh

Johnathan Aulabaugh

Senior Member
Really like the Joey pockets that attach.
So I have a question about the BR straps. I bought an OpTech utility strap and I actually like it alot, both of these straps have the potentially same fatal flaw and that is the plastic clips. the optech has more plastic clips than a BR but I also do not have to unscrew the attachment to connect to my tripod. Anyone had the op to use both for a week or two? likes/dislikes?
 
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JoeLewisPhotography

Senior Member
Actually, The optech strap and the black rapid only have 1 thing in common....they are both sling style straps. But thats where the similarities end. The Black Rapid RS-Sport (the one I use) only has 1 "plastic clip" that disconnects the armpit strap. the strap itself does not rely on clips, or plastic quick disconnects. In my opinion, the faster something disconnects, the larger the window is for failure. I dont mind taking the extra 20 seconds to unscrew the fastener for tri pod use or. Chances are, if you are using a tri pod, your not in a hurry to take the shot anyway.
 
Johnathan Aulabaugh

Johnathan Aulabaugh

Senior Member
I guess I should have clarified which strap, I was refering to the black rapids 7 strap that has a plastic disconnect on the back side of the strap itself. When they talk about it on their video they say it is to put the Joey pocket on.
From sling to tripod is not super critical but I have photographed wildlife where a tripod is going to make or break you. It is rare, but it does happen. Handholding birds with a 300mm at 25-50 ft is easy enough, catching a scene where a large animal is out 300+ yards is another story lol
Again I have not tried any of the BR straps so just gathering ideas. And I agree that the more connection points you have the higher the danger of failer gets.
 
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JoeLewisPhotography

Senior Member
ah i see. oh and im not saying not to use a tri pod...just saying that, in most situations, to go from hand held, to a tri pod usually isn't something that needs to be done in a hurry, so a few extra seconds switching everything out isn't a big deal. I have no experience with the RS-7...But i do know a few who had it, and upgraded to the RS-Sport which is why I got the sport, and couldn't be happier. It does not have pockets, or puches to attach, but for me, I don't need them. I am more about saving my neck than anything lol.
 
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Johnathan Aulabaugh

Johnathan Aulabaugh

Senior Member
Oh really? So the sport is the way to go. I used to use a bino harness system and it was ok, but not great. The sling is much nicer with longer glass. My only real beef with the optech is mine connects in an odd way and I always have that connection piece hanging off. Perfecting would be hanging off a quck release that connects to your tripod as well. I do have to say that the shoulder strap with the optech looks much nicer, specially in camo lol.
 
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Ranie

Senior Member
My take on cheap attachments is, its a hit or miss thing.
Quality control for those china made items are nil.
Workmanship suffers.
Just remember, you are putting hundreds of dollars worth of equipment on the end of that strap.
IMHO, i wont risk using those on my gears.
 
Johnathan Aulabaugh

Johnathan Aulabaugh

Senior Member
Ranie said:
My take on cheap attachments is, its a hit or miss thing.
Quality control for those china made items are nil.
Workmanship suffers.
Just remember, you are putting hundreds of dollars worth of equipment on the end of that strap.
IMHO, i wont risk using those on my gears.
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I agree on workmanship etc, most of OpTech's stuff is made right here in the USA.
That aside, I do believe the BR RS Sport to be the superior strap it being nearly a one piece construction Vs 3 junctions made with plastic such as the optech and the 2 plastic junctions of the BR RS4

And I want to know who goes mountain biking with an expensive camera just hanging out near the back tire???? (one of the pictures of the RS Sport)
 
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PhotoAV8R

Senior Member
I raised a question on a previous strap thread about the security of using the tripod socket for hanging the camera and lens. I then emailed Nikon for their input.

What I asked was, There are many kinds of straps or slings that attach to the camera using the tripod socket so that the camera hangs by the socket. However, I have not seen any of these kinds of straps produced by Nikon. Considering the increased use of plastic for the camera body and lens, is this a safe or secure method of carrying the camera?

Nikon's response:

The issue is that since we don't manufacture this device for our D-SLR's we cannot guarantee it will work as expected. We recommend the regular straps, since the rings to attach them come directly from the cameras interior chassis made of magnesium alloy.
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FWIW...
 
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