Camera straps - the good the bad and the ugly

Today is my wife's birthday and our wedding anniversary so I will keep today's post short.  I feel compelled to talk about camera straps.  There are so many different choices on the market today that it can be hard to make a decision.  Of course most people just leave on the strap that came with their camera.  I personally have no problem with this approach.  It's your camera, do with it what you want. I will however point out a few reasons that you might want to consider a new strap.

• The strap that came with your camera is a lot better at advertising the brand of camera than it is on holding the camera.  As a tourist especially you may want to think twice about advertising that you are carrying a Nikon, Canon, or Leica camera that costs at least a couple of thousand dollars.  Easily snatched or cut by a thief, your prized possession could be running down a street in Bangkok never to be seen again.

• The original strap is thin and has no padding, except for that little piece of black rubber that slides around annoyingly.   You may not notice it for the first hour or so, but if you carry that camera around Asheville for 3 hours, believe me you will feel it.  In your back and the back of your neck for sure.

•  Carrying your camera slung around your neck puts it in a bad position. Sitting in front of you, it will tend to bump into things before you do and you run the risk of damaging your precious lens.  If your lens is heavy it will hang down and be even more at risk.  It is also sometimes awkward to bring the camera to the shooting position quickly.  

There are many many aftermarket straps to choose from.  The kind that replace your original strap with one that is much more secure and with lots of padding is very popular.  Another type is the harness style like the Upstrap among others.  Finally there is the "sniper style" strap.  I personally use a Black Rapid strap, which is a sniper style.  These types of straps attach via a loop that screws into the threaded tripod mounting hole on the bottom of the camera.  The camera hangs upside down and easily slides up into the shooting position.

click photo for larger view

 
 One of my cameras attached to the Black Rapid strap.  Learn more about them at blackrapid.com

I have no affiliation with this company and there are many "sniper style" straps.





Check out my website: keithlewisphotography

E-mail me with questions, comments or suggestions: E-Mail