Strap Lugs--Camera and Lens Orientation when Dangling

An observation: I'm finding it more comfortable to carry my EM5III+12-100mm than I am to carry my OM1+12-100mm and I think it's got to do with strap lug location.

On the EM5III both are on the sides of the camera so that when I have the combo slung around my neck over one shoulder it hangs with the lens pointing nearly straight down.

On the OM-1 the lug on the right (when looking through the viewfinder) is on the top of the camera so that when slung around my neck over one shoulder it hangs with the lens pointing out. I don't like that. It feels more secure to keep the lens close to my body instead of sticking out.

Anyway, since my wife doesn't care I thought I'd tell the internets

I don't have either camera so this is just airballing.

I use Peak Design straps and I can connect the neck strap to the tripod socket. It gets the strap away from the grip. BlackRapid has something similar.

I use the Black Rapid system, which attaches the sling strap at the tripod socket (NB don't with the M5iii) and the rig hangs lens lens pointing downward, including your OM-1+12-100 combo. Abandoned neck straps long ago, finding similar problems like you're experiencing.

My $0.02.

Rick

--
Equivalence and diffraction-free since 2009.
You can be too; ask about our 12-step program.

The person that comes up with a way of dangling and interchangable lens camera that suits everyone, will do very well.

I bought the Peak Design locking clips for the strap I have - not to change the way the camera rests, but because it means I can easily detach the strap whenever that becomes necessary (i.e., shooting straight down with camera on a tripod).

I have the SPINN CP.02 plate, this has the strap attached to the rear edges and screws in to the tripod socket on my G9. The camera and lens then hangs downwards irrespective of which lens is fitted at the time.

It also has an ARCA Swiss tripod mount as part of it.

One of my favorite features. I switch between the Leash and Cuff, sometimes I have them both attached. There's a lot of flexibility.

I carry my em5 and a "huge" lens like that, no worries:





Plus a GPS and Bear Spray

Xbot said:

An observation: I'm finding it more comfortable to carry my EM5III+12-100mm than I am to carry my OM1+12-100mm and I think it's got to do with strap lug location.

Click to expand...

For my money, I wish Olympus/OM would go back to the way it was on the E-620. I never owned that particular camera, but it did not use triangles or rings, but instead had places to attach the strap on the right/left side of the body that were made as part of the metal frame of the body. Look at the upper/right photo to see what I mean:

• E-620 review picture

Note, the E-m1 mark I had widely reported problems that the strap lugs would come out for some users. And of course, the E-m5 mark III has the widely reported issue about the tripod socket not being strong enough to hold the camera when suspended via a holder or a sling strap (i.e. the Peak Designs Capture Clip).

Now if you look at most cameras, you will see the entire weight is supported by two small rings/triangles/etc. And for those of you using the tripod socket, the average tripod socket also has some thin medal that would hold the entire weight. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

Xbot said:

On the EM5III both are on the sides of the camera so that when I have the combo slung around my neck over one shoulder it hangs with the lens pointing nearly straight down.

On the OM-1 the lug on the right (when looking through the viewfinder) is on the top of the camera so that when slung around my neck over one shoulder it hangs with the lens pointing out. I don't like that. It feels more secure to keep the lens close to my body instead of sticking out.

Click to expand...

For me, an issue that I notice more is the viewfinder sticking out and jabbing me in the stomach or side when the lens is jutting out horizontally. But I generally just position the camera so that the lens points down to the ground.

I recently bought the OP/Tech USA grasp-it, and I likely will try it out this weekend. It allows the camera to be positioned downwards, and it won't move as much as it normal would just on the strap.

I, too, prefer those wide attachment points to the small triangular ones. I suppose the smaller ones with the round holes have the advantage of more range of movement, but they are just so fiddly.

I used to carry my camera with a cross-body strap attached to a lug screwed into the tripod mount. Then, one afternoon walking around downtown Tokyo, the lug gradually loosened enough to detach completely, dropping my E-M1 II and 12-40 Pro onto a beautiful and very hard marble floor. The camera took most of the fall, on the left corner and dial. Of course this was the one day I'd decided to take my like-new backup body out. Still works fine, just has a big dent in the unibody frame.

Since that day I have carried my camera and lens in a cross-body sling bag. But lately, for more extended shooting sessions with a longer lens, I have thought about a camera strap-based carry system that securely suspends the setup with lens pointing. I think it might be possible to rig up a three-point system, attaching to both lugs and the bottom tripod mount. Most of the weight would be borne by the strap lugs. The attachment to the tripod mount socket would be tensioned to tilt the camera lens-down.

Mait said:

I carry my em5 and a "huge" lens like that, no worries:



Plus a GPS and Bear Spray

Click to expand...

That's not bad. My Nat Geo camera backpack has two loops on the front for that purpose. However, I found the continual flopping on my chest annoying when walking briskly. I probably didn't give it enough time to get used to it. Nothing's perfect. I might give it another try.

The most comfortable camera I ever had for hanging around the the neck, ironically, was a MF film camera. I'm going back a bit, more that just a bit. It was a Zeiss-Ikon Ikonta. It was a fold out bellows camera. When not in use, it folded flat against the chest. Of course, it wasn't an interchangeable lens camera and the amount of glass was miniscule by today's standard but it was MF. In terms of comfort, a modern rangefinder style camera with a pancake lens would be comparable.

I was never fond of those little eyelet lugs. With rings there's metal to metal friction that can wear out the lugs on the camera body. Metal eyelets with metal rings can also rattle. Not something you want with video.

When Peak Design came out with their system I bought a strap immediately to test. It also had a plate for the tripod socket so I could hang the camera vertically.

Years ago when I shot Canon Full Frame I used a wrist strap connected to one of the strap lugs and then to a plate on the bottom of the camera. I carried in a sling bag. In terms of comfort carrying it was ideal. But, I hated either having to hand hold the camera while walking or get it into and out of the bag.

BobT3218 said:

The person that comes up with a way of dangling and interchangable lens camera that suits everyone, will do very well.

Click to expand...

True, but I only need someone to come up with a way that suits me!

The various suggestions for attaching a strap to a bottom plate/attachment are good ones, and I've considered some of them. But, I'd rather not add anymore bulk to the camera. (I know, some of them are hardly any bulk at all).

I'm not really expecting a solution to my 'dangling' problem although I'd welcome as many ideas possible. It's really nothing more than a minor nuisance. Oh well.

Michael Meissner said:

For me, an issue that I notice more is the viewfinder sticking out and jabbing me in the stomach or side when the lens is jutting out horizontally. But I generally just position the camera so that the lens points down to the ground.

Click to expand...

This is true, too. I notice that also.

Michael Meissner said:

I recently bought the OP/Tech USA grasp-it, and I likely will try it out this weekend. It allows the camera to be positioned downwards, and it won't move as much as it normal would just on the strap.

Click to expand...

Hmmm. That looks interesting, but it looks bulky?

There's ways to adjust the angle the camera dangles in, regardless of it's strap lug's locations... I've only recently started playing with this, with my Sony body, since on M4/3 my largest/heaviest lens is the 100-300 II but I don't use it too much and the next largest would've been the PL8-18 or 17/1.2 (the 35-100 would be in the running too since it's longer tho slimmer and about as heavy).

A lot of people seem to like using a strap mounting location near the bottom of the camera (usually on an L plate or ARCA plate, bottom right works better for these purposes) for one end of the strap, while still using the left hand lug for the other end of the strap. I've been doing that a bit now that I got a new plate that makes it easier and with longer lenses it does force them to point down pretty naturally when wearing the strap cross-body as you do.

So now I keep 3x Peak Design Anchors on that body, one on each lug (for when using smaller lenses that easily point forward and are unobtrusive like that), and a third on the bottom right corner where my current plate (by STC Optics) has a full strap lug for precisely this purpose.

I guess the extra dangling bit can look a bit odd to some, but I still prefer this (combined with a strap I can quickly cinch in or loosen up on the fly) over the Black Rapid style where the body glides loosely on the strap by a single attachment point. YMMV, I often switch over to a wrist strap if I'm gonna be putting a larger lens+ body away into the bag often, it's nice to have options.

Edit: The PD plate that comes with some of their straps (for the sole purpose of this, no ARCA dovetails or anything) is as minimal as it gets, it's basically just adding two lugs at the bottom... 'Course you then need to take it off for actual tripod use.


I've always liked having an L plate on my mid-sized bodies so I could easily do vertical panos or just portrait shots in general without relying on the ballhead's drop slot, so using an L plate with some extra strap mounting options just came natural. Before my current one I had a pretty small Ellie from Three Legged Thing, still got the short version on my E-M5 III, before that I had a RRS on my E-M5 II cause the display presented some extra challenges and that body did benefit from having more of a grip.

I do tend to go for slimmer than average plates, can't stand something that ends up adding close to an inch of thickness all along the body's bottom. They come in pretty handy with mini/tabletop tripods too, where the drop slot + a large lens is precarious.