Camera Strap

[fanderso3]

Hi All,

I've also been looking for a better strap and haved checked at the optech website because of the suggestion from this thread. I see they have a "grip strap" which attaches the camera to your hand.

Anybody try this and like it?

Thanks.

 

[elanel]

I've used OpTech for years with no problems - the clasps are strong and durable. I don't know about their hand-grip but I use a Hakuba hand-grip. Take the neck strap off and ithe camera's really handy to use - no loose straps in the way.

I just got my wife a neoprene strap from Tamrac. Aside from a small logo, that's all the identifier there is.
--
Luis Curran
http://www.pbase.com/lcurran

The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse in him to keep looking.
Brooks Atkinson, 'Once Around the Sun'

 

[devGOD]

you carrying a bulky DSLR with long lens makes all of us stand out. seeing canon on the strap is probably the second thing a person would notice. it's more like nice camera (they noticed the camera) then (okay its a canon). But i do get what you're trying to say, i'm not trying to be difficult but I don't see how changing the strap can cover up the fact that the camera in your hand looks expensive. you can spot a 1d, 5d from there built, and 20-30d are noticable too. White lens = expensive, Red ring on lens L = expensive, camera bag = must be expensive if you're going through the trouble to protect it.

i can see not wanting to advertise for canon, (which is labeled on the front of that cam in white) and wanting comfort, but i think it does little to deter.

I get stuff from sony shipped in the SONY labeled box. but companies like that can afford to ship replacement and have departments that track items and make sure the shipping company pays them back for lost items.

but do what makes you comfortable, personally it doesn't bother me cause i'm always wearing my gear/backpack

Oh that’s easy. Having a camera strap that says CANON in big white
letters is just like having a piece of white lint on a very sexy
black evening dress that’s being worn at a 5-star restaurant. It’s
the first thing people focus on because it stands out.

For me, I don’t want to stand out. I want the person looking for
trouble to find an easier target and let me do what I enjoy most;
photographing the events occurring around me. By changing the
strap on the camera I am lowering my profile to the overall crowd
and better blending in. Camera dealers often do the same thing by
shipping cameras in unmarked cardboard boxes, or jewelry dealers
using a plain clothed courier.

--

Canon EOS 30D/580ex/50mm/28-135mm still learning...

 

[Don_D]

Look at this one:

http://www.rawworkflow.com/products/upstrap/index.html?id=107_8_1_8

Some comments from my personal experiences with this upstrap:

It is great on your shoulder, no slipping off: however once you take the camera off your shoulder this large rubber pad is hanging there, kinda in the way. Since it has no quick releases, you're sorta stuck. Even worse if you're inside where you just want to move around and take photos....there's this large pad banging around.

However, it is a great strap for a field trip, vacation where you are mostly walking around and taking the occasional shot.

--
-Don

'Where do we go when we die?' said Billy.
'I don't know', the old man said, 'Where are we now?'
.....Cormac McCarthy
http://www.pbase.com/dond

 

[FlightDeck]

If I were to replace the strap, what would you recommend?

I'll assume you want a more comfortable strap than the default 20D/30D neck-chafer. I tried out some of the neoprene ones. They're only slightly better, because the edge of the neoprene still chafes, and neoprene doesn't "breathe" so it isn't great on hot days. I ended up getting a Roots-branded 2-3/4" "air-cushioned" curved strap. I think it's still neoprene / rubber, but its got molded bumpy thingies that raise the strap from your neck so the edge doesn't chaff, and it allows your skin underneath to breathe better. It also absorbs the bouncing better.

--
K

 

[Mark B.]

I'm interested in the optech straps but a question for those who
have used it - how sturdy are those connectors? Will they really
carry the weight of a camera and heavy lens?

Very sturdy. I've carried the 30D with a Sigma 80-400 with the strap.

Could you accidentally
release the connectors?

Not unless you tried, which means you would have to do it on purpose or you're just extremely clumsy ;-) Seriously, I don't see how this could be done accidentally. I'm bothered more by the power switch being knocked into the rear dial off position.

Mark

 

[freshie]

I want to know who wears their camera w/long lens around their necks!!! My 30D w/grip and 70-200L IS weighs in at a hefty 6.6 lbs. I NEVER wear it around my neck, but sling it over my shoulder instead. I find the Canon strap to be of high quality and the non-slip backing works very well. It also stuffs into a camera bag easily compared to some other neoprene ones I have used in the past. The advertisement argument is just plain silly. Your gear gives you away every time. And sometimes you WANT to advertise that you are "press" when you are at events since you get hassled less by security. My .02.

 

[kelly andersen]

go to walmart or k-mart or wherever and get a seatbelt pad or cover that goes over your seatbelt in your car. they work great and stop the neck irritation and they dont make you sweat and adds a little padding

 

[Saefer]

Thanks mark

 

[FlightDeck]

go to walmart or k-mart or wherever and get a seatbelt pad or cover
that goes over your seatbelt in your car. they work great and stop
the neck irritation and they dont make you sweat and adds a little
padding

AH! I was wondering where I could get something like that (Without making one), thanx!

--
K

 

[FlightDeck]

I want to know who wears their camera w/long lens around their
necks!!!

I guess it depends on what you mean by "wear", and then what you are doing with it. It's not a necklace of course, so I don't walk around with the camera just dangling there, regardless which lens is attached. For me the strap is primarily a safety thing to keep me from accidentally dropping the camera! It also takes much of the weight out of my hands, and gives me a hands-free option when digging into the camera bag.

So yes, if I happen to be shooting with the long lens, then off course it's on my neck..., but the camera is in at least one hand at almost all times so it's not bobbling around, and it's ready if I see a shot. I usally walk holding the camera by the base of the lens, lens pointed down, and the entire thing close to my left side.

With my Oly 8080, I used to cross-strap (sling-strap) it so the camera was under my left arm, and this kept it secure while freeing my hands up---handy for hiking or rock scrambling. I haven't tried this yet with the 20D, may be too big.

--
K

 

[pdqgp]

as others have said, just go to a real camera shop in your area. they all have good ones I'm sure.

However, you'll notice that once you invest in lenses, no one will notice the camera or the strap. I have more comments on my 100-400L and 24-70L than on the camera. Everyone seems to know the big white lenses are expensive and those that know photography gear recognize the red stripe on L lenses too.

I bought a nice Tamrac one that has quick disconnects. All black with just a a small Tamrac logo on it.

Very strong too.

--
-tim
http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp

 

[Chuck Gardner]

I think its highly unlikely that "CANON" on your strap will increase the chances of you getting mugged. But if it bothers you a bit of work with a black marker will fix the problem. You be safer in the long run simply avoiding taking or displaying your camera gear where you are likely to get mugged.

When you do get a strap try what I've done since I bought my first SLR.

Attach both sides of the strap to the left hand (non-grip) side of the camera. I don't carry the camera around my neck when not in use, which screams TOURIST, I carry it over my left shoulder. The single attachment causes the camera to hang in a lens down position between my body and left arm along my left hip where it is out of sight and where I can keep my left hand on it to secure it. The longer and heavier the lens, the better it works.

When I need to shoot I just swing it up into shooting position with my left hand, keeping the strap over the left shoulder for a margin of safety against dropping it and so I can quickly return it to its "hidden" position quickly. In situations where I don't want the hassle of the strap I can just roll it up and secure it with a velcro ponytail holder. It never gets in the way on the grip side because its not there.

CG

 

[iMac therefore iAm]

get a hand strap, So much better....

I'll second that. Neck straps only get in my way.

 

[Andy Blanchard]

If I were to replace the strap, what would you recommend?

Something like the OpTech with a broad neoprene strap or one like it, the Lowepro for instance, although having used both it's worth paying a little extra for the OpTech. The additional springiness of the neoprene is friendlier on the neck and will help cushion both your neck and the camera against shocks - very useful if you are in rougher terrain.

Andy

 

[devnull]

Lowepro Neoprene camera strap.

http://www.lowepro.com/Products/Accessories/add_ons_upgrades/Neoprene_Camera_Strap.aspx

To me it feels much better than optech.

d/n

 

[rlh1]

Lowepro Neoprene camera strap.

http://www.lowepro.com/Products/Accessories/add_ons_upgrades/Neoprene_Camera_Strap.aspx

Agreed - a really excellent piece of kit

 

[Eyesight]

Op/Tech super classic strap with pro loops.

 

[DavidMaven]

--
[email protected]

 

[Andy XIF]

based on advices from many users of this forum and Juli Valley particularly, I bought the OP/Tech classic and pro loop, so I can test both of them.

I have a 30D, and I knew I will want a hand strap and a neck strap together, so I also bought an RSS dedicated tripod plate that allows attaching the hand strap as well.

Now I can say first hand that the pro loop was a must for me, the reason is the way it attaches to the camera, it is thin, so it can work amazingly well with the hand strap.

I can put it on a tripod and send a picture of the combo (taken with my wife's SD 700 IS ), but I don't know how to insert a picture here.