Let's talk Camera Straps

Let's talk Camera Straps

  • Neck Strap

    Votes: 123 80.9%

  • Wrist Strap

    Votes: 31 20.4%

  • Other Strap

    Votes: 8 5.3%

  • No Strap

    Votes: 13 8.6%
  • Total voters
    152
Lens cases often had straps - all my Pentax SMC M42 lenses came with them for example.

Did anyone ever carry lenses over their shoulder? Seems unwieldy and impractical.



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I carry my Canon 70-200 or 400 in their Canon lens cases over my shoulder in certain situations.

Yes it is rather unwieldy but sometimes ….
 
maigo said:
Did anyone ever carry lenses over their shoulder? Seems unwieldy and impractical.
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I prefer shoulder carry as it's less conspicuous, quick to action, and I don't like a camera bouncing on my chest! The camera over the shoulder is tucked into my elbow and is thus prevented from swinging around. A non-slip pad on the strap is necessary.

On occasion I'll put the strap around my neck when there's a reason to be extra secure about dropping it into the ocean, say!
 
newsgrunt said:
Think Tank straps > Domke straps 24/7. seen to many horror stories of the qr breaking and camera hitting ground. Also the rubber strips age and get brittle and fall off. Think tanks straps are gripped on both sides. The welded ring also makes an attachment point for hanging camera off backpack shoulder straps.
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What? Never knew Think Tank made straps. Makes sense. Gripped on both sides. Hmmmm.
 
raid said:
Thank you for the link.
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That's simply robbery; $156.00 for a length of cord, a bit of leather, some thread and two split rings!
 
I've been using the old-style cloth or nylon Nikon straps for years. They are available at photo swap meets for a couple of dollars each, and once modified work very well. I remove the adjustable metal hardware and sew the straps to the desired length. Then Velcro is sewn on the underside at the point where the strap meets my shoulders so it can mate up with the Velcro sewn on the epaulettes of my vest or backpack shoulder straps. This way when the cameras are hanging off my shoulders, the straps never, ever slip off, and should an attachment to a camera body ever come loose or fail, the camera simply dangles by the other end of the strap locked to my shoulder by the Velcro. I worked this out system about 25 years ago and have been using it ever since without ever loosing a camera to General Relativity.
Robert
 
Neck/shoulder straps for me. I like leather, about an inch or so wide. The ones I use right now are branded "Ciesta", bought from Amazon for about $40 each. They look good, feel comfortable and seem to be well made. I do use a wrist strap on the GRII--the one that came with the camera. Heavy cameras or cameras with long, heavy lenses, I always used the wide nylon straps by the manufacturer. The ones that scream "Nikon!" or "Canon!" Ugly but practical.
 
maigo said:
I love the look of the hippie straps but haven't tried one yet. Watching a few auctions to use them with my 70s era SLRs.
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The damn' things curl up until the part in contact with your skin is surprisingly narrow. They then bite into your neck. Don't bother!

Cheers,

R.
 
Doug said:
I prefer shoulder carry as it's less conspicuous, quick to action, and I don't like a camera bouncing on my chest! The camera over the shoulder is tucked into my elbow and is thus prevented from swinging around. A non-slip pad on the strap is necessary.

On occasion I'll put the strap around my neck when there's a reason to be extra secure about dropping it into the ocean, say!
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Dear Doug,

On the other hand, if it's round your neck there's a lot less likelihood of it banging into walls, car doors, etc.

Cheers,

R.
 
Let there be no myth in leather...cared properly it will last, otherwise it will dry and crack. German or Japanese, vintage or new, it just doesn't matter. An occasional treatment with conditioner is the real magic!

Personally I love nylon and polyester straps that can be easily cleaned and require little maintenance. I bought a batch of Nikon AN-4B from Japan (cheaper there), replaced the faux leather pads with ultrasuede patches, and use them on larger (a relative term specific to my arsenal) cameras. This way it would breathe better in the super humid East Asian summers. Smaller ones have A&A ACAM-295 cloth (acrylic, to be precise) wrist straps on them. A 20mm plastic loop can be slipped on to cinch the strap when needed.
 
Akiva, what do you look for when getting a cross-body strap? Most of my straps have some kind of anti-slip on them - Upstrap and Domke. These don't seem suitable for carrying a camera the way you do. Suggestions? Thanks.
 
No strap.

Have the Leica grip on M9 and my M4-P. Camera is either in my hand or in my bag.

Never clicked with straps. Also never dropped a camera, as that is usually the next question.

Even with the much more cumbersome Mamiya 7 with the 150 attached, same thing
 
presspass said:
Anyone prefer cross-body rather than hanging from a shoulder? Seems like that would be more secure.
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Yes.


I switch between simple around the neck (camera bouncing off chest/stomach) and "bandolier" cross-body carry. Depends on the exact situation. When I'm in active shooting mode, simple neck carry because the camera is actually in my hand most of the time. When I'm briskly walking between locations, its bandolier style. I can still slide the camera into a shot without much fuss, and the carry is much more secure and comfortable (no bouncing around!)

I have found that there is no perfect carrying method, and learned the hard way to just be flexible (in all areas of life).
 
Forgot to mention the "cold-weather carry". That's when I carry the camera on neck strap, in usual position, but have my coat open to just the right level (zipped or buttoned) so I can tuck my camera under it. No more bouncing around, and the camera is out-of-sight and slightly protected. I just reach under my coat and whip out the camera when I want to make a shot. I probably look like some FBI agent about to whip out his/her gun and....well I hope not!
 
Cross-body only occasionally (for quick access) while ski-touring. I most often have it on my shoulder, or with the strap looped on my wrist.
 
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