Straps and safety

As some of you know I have been using the Black Rapid straps for about 18 months now and I must admit I like them. I purchased my first one in 2011 (my original Blog post is here).

However since I bought the D600 and battery pack,I have felt a little bit uneasy about it dangling at my hip from the tripod socket. I have seen numerous threads on forums about the karabiner snapping, the connector to the metal strap loop wearing through and coming off, and also the bottom plate of the camera warping slightly because of the pull on the tripod socket from all angles as you are carrying the camera on a BR strap.

I don’t say all these stories are true, some may be apocryphal but I have started to feel uneasy about the camera dangling from the socket. I think that if the camera is small and relatively light-weight like the Olympus cameras up to E-30 and the smaller Nikon and Canon cameras then there shouldn’t be much problem barring catastrophic strap failure. However I have decided to try a different strap and another way of carrying the camera whilst still trying to retain the bandolier style of strap.

I decided on the Op/Tech Pro strap and to begin with the Op/tech utility sling connectors which would give me the bandolier style carrying mode. This however didn’t work for me. The utility sling has two clips to which you attach Op/tech uni-loop connectors which then attach to the camera strap lugs. The problem is if you use just one connector the camera tangles precariously from one strap lug, if you use two, then turning the camera into portrait mode means the short connector on the right hand lug gets in the way and obstructs the use of the camera a little.

So, I then purchased a pair of Op/Tech extensions which attach to the Pro Strap and have the two uni-loop connectors attach to the end of them. These are then attached to the two camera lugs. What I have got then is essentially a long standard camera strap, which can be worn bandolier style and the camera can be turned to portrait mode without the strap getting in the way.

This arrangement is still on test. I’ll let you know how I get on, but so far it feels incredibly comfortable, the camera feels safe and it is easy to use.