I may be saying goodbye to camera straps soon...new product

<p>This will be a real boon for us wedding shooters! It's the <a href="http://spiderholster.com/">Spider Holster</a>. I've just seen this on Engadget, and thought I'd share.</p>

<p>YES!!! I saw this at the PDN Virtual Trade Show and think this will finally be a way to get rid of my annoying straps.</p>

<p>Looks good but only if you are standing. Its ideal for a wedding photog but not something I would want to take on vacation.</p>

<p>I like my BlackRapid R-Strap.</p>

<p>http://www.blackrapid.com/</p>

<p>I don't think it will substitute for a neck strap if you are swapping lens while standing, say from a shoulder bag.</p>

<p>Here we go again. I had this idea earlier this year and adapted a Manafrotto base to an old belt. I now have it on a web belt. Still use the camera straps but this takes a lot of weight of my neck and stops the camera from bouncing around. I use a flat bolt with a camera mount thread on the back of the belt. Cost $50CND.</p>

<p>I also invented gerry Fong's flash stuff in the 1970s but did not market it.</p>

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<p>Wow that's really cool. Has anyone used this with a Nikon D300/500/700 with the MB-D10 batter pack. What about 2 cameras, one on each side? My final thought is what about if it has a flash on it - how does all this effect the movement of the camera on the hip, or how it rides against your body, etc...</p>

<p>I like the BlackRapid straps too, and had considered picking one up, but want to see how this gizmo works first. I don't think it's for everyone, certainly, but it's a nice idea, and fast on the draw.</p>

<p>Errol, I admire your inventive spirit!</p>

<p>I just looked at the R-strap video and I took my D300 with a Manafrotto mount on it and clipped both sides of a camera strap to it and it worked the same way. Only $20.</p>

<p>Neat idea but it has a couple drawbacks to me......</p>

<p>When you lift the camera out of the belt clip, the camera has no support. If someone bumps into you or you have an oops, the camera and lens can go flying. However, maybe you can get around this by attaching a hand strap to the tripod mount and attaching this gizmo to the second tripod mount if your hand strap has one.</p>

<p>Maybe a better idea is use this Spider with a neck strap. That way you have support but there is no neck strain because the camera is sitting in the holster, taking pressure off the neck.</p>

<p>Second thing, it is quite pricy! Maybe it's just me but $125 for a plastic belt clip seems like a bit much.</p>

 

<p>I just tried something else. I put the camera strap on the usual way but slung the strap like the R-strap. Then I put my belt on with the lower mount and was able to lock the camera or use it like the R-strap. No extra cost.</p>

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<p>I'm a R-Strap fan. When I first saw the Spider Holster the thought that came to my mind was "what if I bump the camera in a doorway?" With a traditional strap, the camera gets shoved around. WIth the holster, the camera absorbs more of the impact. I can also have a flash on my camera with and re-position the camera as I move through the crowd. Not so with the holster. Unique idea. Not really sure how effective it will be.</p>

<p>Actually, the product seems to be made from aluminum and/or stainless steel, not plastic. That might explain the price, since machining costs could be high in mass production.</p>

<p>It might not be perfect for every instance, and may have some drawbacks, but so do camera straps (they get in the way, they get caught on things, etc.). Nothing is perfect, I guess.</p>

<p>I do think a hand strap would be a must, though.</p>

<p>Looks interesting, but do they sell suspenders with it? I think I would need them to keep my pants up with those heavy cameras attached to my belt. LOL</p>

<p>I've been trying to invent this for a while now. If I had only known about Errol Young's solution! I like that idea better because you can keep your tripod mount on your camera. I currently use a Black Rapid but have been wanting a quick belt solution for my second camera when shooting the ceremony. Now it's off to Amazon to price a tripod base...</p>

<p>BTW Errol, clipping a regular strap to your tripod mount doesn't work <em>exactly</em> the same way as a Black Rapid. With the BR your camera slides on the strap. Your way the strap would be constantly moving around your body. Maybe not a bid deal but could start to rub after 7 hours or so :)</p>

<p>Okay, last post I promise! Where did you find a Manfrotto base that you could adapt? All the bases i find are huge ball heads and such...</p>

<p>I've seen similar products before. Looks good for people who wear belts that sit tightly around the waist/hips, although I wonder about the weight capacity, and the fact that if you have a flash on the camera, it would be sticking out quite a bit. I prefer swinging the camera (with a flash) around the hip so it isn't sticking out. I think larger, heavier cameras would be a literal 'drag', as Cliff points out. A pro camera with a 70-200mm would be scary on it, I think. Plus, most women don't wear belts that way, including me, so I wouldn't use such a device, particularly without a safety fall back. Another problem would be walking through the narrow spaces between chairs at a reception.</p>

<p>There have been reports of the Black Rapid straps' clip failure with larger, pro cameras. Cameraslingers is also another product, but there have been concerns about the clip quality, again. Personally, I would not want to be without a strap on my main camera. When I started out, my mentor always told me to use a strap, for safety, and I always have. I have a vertical grip on my camera and use the strap on the diagonal axis, so it is out of the way of my right hand on the camera/grip.</p>

<p>Otherwise, I still use the holster strap I adapted from an OpTech binocular strap that works on the same principal as the BR strap--the camera camera slides up and down and sits under my arm. My second camera is on that strap and I can clip my battery pack to the other side, if I want to.</p>

<p>Yep. Even if one's body type would hold up a heavy belt load, I'd expect suspenders would be useful. Spreads weight distribution around and doesn't require the belt/belts to be tight enough around the waste to hold themselves up. I think I'd prefer something that provided more protection, perhaps a fitted or semi-fitted padded, rigid pouch, open bottom?, that would cradle/cushion the body and provide some bump protection.</p>

No matter how careful you might be there will come a time when the camera will slip out of your hands. How would this save your expensive lens and camera body? Your camera strap always will assuming you have it around your neck while shooting.

<p>Doesn't grab me Steve.<br>

Previous similar ideas haven't either. I drive two cameras, one with a wrist strap and one with a neck strap. <br>

I like the fact I can "drop" either camera - quickly. <br>

I also like the fact I can always get to either camera easily, with my left hand to change lenses - quickly. I usually carry two lenses around my middle by various means, depending upon my dress. . . "dress" is a generic term, not a skirt :)<br>

WW</p>

 

<p>i like my strap.. i've never been into holster type deals.</p>

<p>What do you think will happen when the piece of plasic attached to your camera breaks?<br>

Bye bye camera, lens and flash.<br>

Or if it somehow comes loose from its holder.<br>

I will continue to use straps, and yes, the strap connectors can give way, but in the forty years I have used straps, not one has ever failed.</p>

<p>Although I'd love to leave camera straps behind, especially when using two bodies, I'm not ready to give them up just yet. I rely on the strap to provide two simple services: to hold up the camera when moving around, and to act as a failsafe if the camera slips out of my hands.</p>

<p>I'm willing to admit I may be overly concerned with the latter. After all, I can't remember the last time I actually dropped the camera only to have the strap save it. But I do know accidents happen, and it's bound to happen to me sooner or later. I'd much rather put up with a camera strap (as much of a hassle as it can be sometimes), then watch thousands of dollars of camera equipment get smashed in a clumsy moment.</p>

<p>With that said, I'd still be interested in checking out this Spider Holster. I was just mulling over picking up a cheap Nikon FG to keep in the car / carry with me when I travel through the less savory areas of town. If I could keep the camera on my hip instead of around one shoulder, it just might be worth the investment.</p>

<p>For all of those intersted in a solution for carrying 2 cameras, check this out:<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.optechusa.com/product/detail/?PRODUCT_ID=87&PRODUCT_SUB_ID=&CATEGORY_ID=4">Dual Harness from OP/TECH USA</a></p>