Padded strap for Nikon 600mm f/4 VR lens

[timcurtis]

<p>The last question that was placed in the forum regarding this dates back to 2001. I've been trying to find a heavy duty, padded (of course) replacement strap for the Nikon 600mm lens I own. I carry it with the provided lens (LN-1) and is not padded. When I'm not carrying it, it's on the Gitzo tripod. The new 800mm Nikon lens strap is padded but not compatible. There are two U shaped eyelets on the lens. Any ideas??</p><div></div>

[SCL]

<p>See a local shoe repairperson and have him fashion one for you, or visit a local leatherworking club (where I live one merely visits a Tandy shop and they put you in touch with somebody who can make one for you). I took up leatherworking years ago to make straps for all my cameras. You could also try and contact Luigi of Leicatime...his are durable, exquisite and expensive, but I do know that he has made a number of custom jobs. Another thought is to merely have a slide on shoulder pad made for the strap you own and a set of appropriate end fittings so that it is compatible with your lens.</p>

[Mary Doo]

<p>How about <a href="http://www.blackrapid.com/products">one of these straps</a>?</p>

[Two23]

<p>Go to a gun shop and see what they have. You might be amazed at how many rifle slings are available, and they should be able to be adapted.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

[ellis_vener_photography]

I'd never put a camera body much less alens on a one point connection strap like the Black Rapid.

 

Look at the UPstrap line: http://www.upstrap-pro.com/category/camera-straps-full-list.html

[ShunCheung]

<p>As a follow up to Ellis' comment, I would like to emphasis that the 600mm/f4 AF-S VR lens weights just over 11 pounds (5 kg). A heavy-duty strap is required.</p>

<p>My suggestion is to carry it with two straps, by mounting a body with its own strap onto the big lens. Of course I would use the heavy-dust strap on the 600mm lens as the main one to support its weight, but if that strap breaks or slips, you at least have a secondary strap on the camera body to prevent it from falling onto the ground; hopefully that will give you sufficient time to hold onto the lens.</p>

[bgelfand]

<p>This might work:</p>

<p>http://optechusa.com/straps/s-o-s-strap.html</p>

<p>It would certainly be strong enough.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>I'm with Mary Doo - the link she gives to to BlackRapid. The strap screws into the tripod mount on the lens. Distributes weight well enough that huge lenses become relatively easy to carry.</p>

[ellis_vener_photography]

I want to point out that The tripod mount on big lenses and camera bodies have never, ever been designed to have the

mass and weight of the lens or the camera suspended from them, especially for prolonged periods of time and while the

mass is swinging while you move around.

 

Heres a sampling of the problems people have had: http://www.nikonjin.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1986

 

I

[JDMvW]

<p>Ellis, if we want to believe Yellow 15 and the other guy, that may be so. I'm sure that you can find somebody somewhere who has it in for any given item.</p>

<p>I know of lots of people, including myself in over four years of use, who have never had a problem, although a safety strap IS well-advised because of the "unscrewing" problem.</p>

<p>Of course, it may just be that Nikon tripod mounts are more poorly designed than Canon.~</p>

<p>By the way, if the mount is not designed to carry the mass of the lens and camera, what about when it's <strong><em>on the tripod</em></strong>?<br>

Camera tripod mount is not designed for the camera <strong>and</strong> lens mass, to be sure; but the danged lens tripod mount had better be....</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>"bombs don't unscrew" <br>

<a href="

"darndest thing how it's unscrewing"</p>

[chip_chipowski]

<p>JDM - I think the comment on the tripod mount is not so much about whether it can "support"<br /> the weight of camera/lens. Rather, as Ellis noted above, whether tripod mount was designed for the kind of forces involved with a camera swinging back and forth. Depending on the movement/carrying habits of a given photographer, I think those kinds of rotational forces can be significant. I would guess a lot of that force is rotational (when the camera is allowed to swing from a shoulder for example) so I am not at all surprised it is possible for the tripod screw to become loosened.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>All I can say is it works fine for me and a lot of other people.</p>

<p>I don't know how you yourself move around with one of these rocket launchers on you, but my motions tend to be pretty modest and without much "swinging back and forth". I don't do the 100 meter dash with this rig on me. In 4 years, I've had just one case of partial unscrewing, by the way. I do use a safety strap now.<br>

I find it hard to visualize how the stresses of tripod use would be so drastically different. Most people I know tend to move tripod and camera together when they're in a "hurry" anyhow.</p>