Strap - Suggestions?

<p>I am looking for something like the BlackRapid system, but that connects to the camera eyelets and not the tripod mount. I use the vertical grip frequently and don't want a big hunk of metal to rest my hand on!</p>

<p>Any suggestions? I found this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003T0EYVE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER</p>

<p>OP/TECH product. The reviews (and low price) make we a little concerned about the quality (and having $6000 hanging off it, a few bucks for better quality is a no brainer).</p>

<p><br />Any suggestions?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>I don't know whether the different pieces might allow you to set it up like the BlackRapid, but Upstrap is a make of camera and equipment straps that won't make you worry about quality that's too low or prices that are too cheap (<a href="http://www.upstrap-pro.com/"><strong>link</strong></a>).</p>

<p>UpStrap never slides down your shoulder, unless you use a plastic or nylon clothing.</p>

<p>I bought one of the OpTech sling straps, and was unsatisfied for several reasons. First, the strap was simply too short. I'm a big person, and it just was not comfortable to wear with the camera. Next, I, too, disliked the straps. I was particularly leery of the two quick releases holding the camera on. Didn't seem too good to me, especially with a 7D, grip, and 100-400 lens. Last, the strap is not particularly fast. The nylon on nylon is no where near as fast for moving the camera up as the steel on nylon with the Black Rapid. I still have it, but it's used on my considerably lighter and cheaper binoculars.</p>

<p>I use the Black Rapid system. I even have Manfrotto RD-2 QR plates on my gear. making resting the camera in my left palm a bit uncomfortable. But using it on a tripod or monopod, it doesn't bother me as much. But just the standard "button" that threads into the tripod socket and the strap hooks on to is hardly a "big chunk of metal"...</p>

<p>You might try this "free" solution that I tried out for a while. Just rearrange the strap that came with the camera into a sling! This is easy, since you use a grip (or have a pro camera) that has a loop on the bottom for the hand strap. Just take the strap loop from the left (as you look through the viewfinder) side of the camera, and thread it through the spot on the bottom of the camera for the hand strap. Then sling the camera over your shoulder, and you're done.</p>

<p>You may find, though, that the occasional interference of the button in the tripod socket is less of an irritant than the two straps dangling on one side of the camera. YMMV...</p>

<p>Oh - here are a few others you might want to look at. I haven't used them, but...</p>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.cottoncarrier.com/">Cotton Carrier</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.customslr.com/products/c-loop/?utm_source=CanonRumors&utm_medium=125banner&utm_campaign=crCLoop1">Custom SLR C Loop</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sun-sniper.com/">Sun Sniper</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.camdapter.com/">Camdapter</a></li>

</ul>

 

<p>Thanks, I didn't see anything there like BlackRapid, though.</p>

<p>Basically, I'd like the BR style - sling - but with the connection to the eyelet and not the bottom of the camera.</p>

<p>Thanks for that suggestion, maybe I'll try a home made version to see how I like it.</p>

<p>I rarely use a tripod and shoot vertically probably at least 50% of the time, so having a bulge there would be a pain (I'll go look at one in person and try it, though, just to be sure - I love the concept and quality seems to be great, just wish they had a way of attaching their piece to the eyelets).</p>

<p> </p>

<blockquote>

<p>(I'll go look at one in person and try it, though, just to be sure - I love the concept and quality seems to be great, just wish they had a way of attaching their piece to the eyelets).</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I've been meaning to try using a small continuous loop-type keyring in one of the strap eyes, and using the BR's hook into there. That would make my life rather a lot easier, as most of my photo travels are with a 100-400mm attached. I have Manfrotto plates on both the lens and the camera, but hook the BR onto the camera (grip, actually) because I usually have a tri/mono-pod with me. Ideally, I'd carry it with the BR hooked on at the lens for balance, but...</p>

<p>Also, the <a href="http://www.camdapter.com/shoulderstrap.html">Camdapter Shoulder Strap</a> might be good for your application. It uses a flat plate on the bottom, so it would be smoother to the hand. I think you might also get away without having any plate at all, since you have a grip, as the Camdapter strap doesn't use a hook or anything. It's designed like the regular strap, you just hook it onto the top left and bottom right. You still have the straps to deal with, though.</p>

<p>Too bad camera makers don't use the rings and tiny holes like they used to back 30 or so years...</p>

<p>I shoot vertically quite a lot and use a grip, I've found the metal part of the black rapid sling to not really bother me at all. It's small and rounded and goes usually unnoticed.</p>

<p>I use the Sun Sniper and love it. I have not compared this to any others, though.</p>

On most battery grips there is an extra eyelet for use with a wriststrap. On mine, I have looped a small piece of para-cord through that, to which I clip my Blackrapid strap. Works perfectly, and the camera falls nicely in hand both in portrait and landscape grips.

<p>B.J.: How did you loop the paracord to keep it secure? I'd like to try something like that for my 7D...</p>

<p>I pretty much knotted it the same why I tie a rope to my climbing harness, so with a <a href="http://www.chockstone.org/TechTips/F8Knots.htm">figure-eight follow-through</a>. I would literaly trust my life to that knot :-) (I don't add the extra stopper knot, though, it's just for the really paranoid)</p>

 

<p>if you make the loop big enough, the hook of the Rapidstrap is completely free from the grip, and doesn't interfere with your hands on the camera. On mine, when the camera is hanging from it, the loop is somewhere between 2 and 3 inches long, So I'd guess the cord I used was about 7" long.</p>

 

<p>I'll see if I can take a picture later today.</p>

Here's a picture of the cord on the grip, with strap attached.<div></div>

<p>Thanks B.J., that looks pretty good.</p>

<p>Too bad Nikon grips don't have that eyelet. Maybe something attached to one of the camera's normal eyelets?</p>

<p>Yes, Thanks, B.J. Looks great! I'll have to do that to my 7D's grip!</p>

And as you can see from the colours, it's an L-strap now ;-)

<p>:-)</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>Too bad Nikon grips don't have that eyelet. Maybe something attached to one of the camera's normal eyelets?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>The trouble with the eyelets common today is they are designed for the narrow, flat strap.<br /> If you had a sacrificial strap, you could cut it to an appropriate length, seal the edge so it won't unravel, and loop it together with one or two of the regular "binders" used to keep the strap in the eyelet normally (the plastic or metal thing that is has the fast part of the strap through it, and that you loop the bitter end back through after going through the eyelet. Circled in red below).</p>

<p>Picture (I hope...)</p><div></div>