Not my picture, but I too use a Manfrotto RC2 tripod plate with a messenger bag shoulder strap as a poor man's black rapid. I use paracord instead of steel wire as the backup, loops easily through the Manfrotto tripod base. The nice thing about the RC2 base is that you can set the camera body down flat on a level surface (works fine 2 years going on 3 now):
The heaviest setup I've had on mine is a D700/grip/70-200 2.8VR. With the BR strap, I'll occasionally let this setup hang when I'm stationary. Usually when walking, and definitely when running(well, moving fast) I have a hand on the grip to keep things from bouncing against my thigh. I see zero issues with the weight on the tripod lug with this kind of use. If I attached a 400 2.8, placed the BR strap to the tripod lug, and holding the shoulder portion of the strap, swing it like an olympic hammer thrower, I would be concerned it may fail. Using the strap sensibly in the recommended manner, there's nothing to be concerned with. I've read of a few users who had the fastener loosen and come detached, dropping the camera, but none that I have seen where a tripod lug was ripped from the body.
well, i'd be glad to do that, except I've just sent my D700 and strap off to a potential buyer, so I don't have it anymore. If you look at the picture shown just above "mfletch's" post and look at the strap connector, i.e., the part with the knurled knob-like structure on it. Basically what I did was to take black electrician's tape and wrap it around the entire structure, so that, w/o the plate as shown above, the lower back edge of the D700 is protected from the metal. HTH, tony
kmorgans wrote:
I use the Black Rapid RS-7 and I love it. But I never used the screw that goes into the tripod mount. What I do use is something called a "Bostail". It is a short 4 inch strap that attaches to the camera strap lug. No chance of your gear falling with this setup.
If it was such a hazard to hang a strap from the tripod socket, wouldn't all of us using battery grips be in a hazardous situation?!? I mean, battery grips are connected only by the tripod socket too, and I haven't had any problems with the grip falling off the camera yet, and thats with a D700, 24-70, and 70-200 ...
I know Nikon has awful alignment of its grip on the D7000, but Canon's usually have multiple points of contact and engagement, including up the camera grip handle. Besides, the battery grip isn't constantly stressed by having the weigh of the camera and lens torquing it around as with a strap. Worst case scenario -- the grip falls off, and you put it back on.
You have to watch out for a camera that is tripod mounted and carried through underbrush for landscape work.
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PS -- I forgot to mention that I frequently use a tripod with a mounting plate, so I don't want to have to fiddle with removing either to get into action. I can use the Manfrotto QR and keep the plate on the body, then go back and forth to tripod. This strap using the tripod socket would be completely out for my use.
It appears that this type of strap needs to be readjusted frequently because they ride all over the place on your shoulder. Unless you use the "Brad" they offer. Same thing with the Sun Sniper. See here for proof:
I'm currently looking at different options for a 2nd (backup) strap to a Black Rapid system. As M635_Guy opined above (12/21/11 9:18am - by the way, very helpful picture, thanks for posting it...) the OptTech accessory connectors seem a bit "heavy" for this application and may have a tendency to rub/scrape on the body. So I have been looking for some alternatives. One possibility I found is to use the strap from a basic point-and-shoot camera back (eg. LowePro) to fashion a custom backup. It's the same smaller 1/2" width as the stock Nikon neck straps, and many of them come with a plastic snap-hook for quick release. Of course you have to buy both the case & strap, to get just the strap, but they aren't particularly expensive - the price of which, IMHO, is well worth it for the peace of mind for securing an expensive DSLR. The other choice I found is to use a simple wrist strap for a point-and-shoot, but the small diameter string on those probably isn't going to be very reassuring. Anyway, just some thoughts for alternatives.
loosh wrote:
Has anybody heard of the tripod mount getting ripped off the bottom? Every failure I've heard has been strap related, and a lot of those sound like user error. It worked great for me.
As a matter of fact, I was in Roberts on Christmas eve picking up a few things and the subject of Black Rapids came up. I asked if the BR straps were still letting cameras bounce off the concrete, and the salesman said, "Well, they fixed the fastener. Now all you have to worry about is ripping the tripod mount out of the camera."
Sharona wrote:
Hs anyone used the Op Tech Sling adaptors? They allow you to convert your regular strap into a sling? I wonder how the quality/reliability stands up to the Black Rapid?
I actually have one and like the build, but I prefer the standard camera strap over slings so it sees limited use. It's IMHO the better designed sling strap but if you already have any Op Tech gear then it's very similar design. The only major difference is the foam for the strap is thinner and less bouncy. Also it's mounting on the strap mounts, not the tripod mounts, which I think is much safer method.
On the subject of Black Rapid, the overall concept is great, but the weak link is their connection system. With something that is mounted to one single point, it's bound to unscrew just from random twists and turns. I think in terms of mounting, the SunSniper method is better, at least theirs uses a rotating camera mount.
These straps should have the Op Tech quick release tether as standard issue (great idea btw!).
Honestly, few of us carry our big SLR cameras all day every day, so barring some sort of quality failure, I have no reservations about the BlackRapid or SunSniper straps.
The carbiner on the BR provides the ability to swivel. I actually don't like how close the SunSniper attachment brings the strap to the rest of the camera, but that is just me.
If you follow the directions (slightly moisten the rubber gasket, make sure the screw is firmly attached and dog down the barrel clip) I think the BR is no less safe than the Sniper design. I guess there is some element of risk in any strap like that, but both companies have clearly put some thought in their design. As I said, I think the biggest danger with these straps is the users. People tend to get casual, and a camera strap is a singularly poor place to do that. Knowing that I'm not much different than anyone else, the Op/Tech strap seemed like cheap insurance against airheadedness, carelessness or (less likely) a failure of some sort.
I can't take credit for the idea - I saw it on another forum and sort of mashed that and the Kirk idea together. Everyone else seems to put the strap on the carbiner, which I think is a bad idea. I worked in the area of PC peripherals for a lot of years, and one failure area of carrying cases is the load-bearing swivels for the straps (or even just metal-on-metal connections for straps). I've killed a couple myself over the years, so when I was adding my safety strap, it went above the swivel on the BR strap.
Ok - I've settled on a solution that meets all my criteria, which are listed below. I chose the Black Rapid RS-7 strap, and the "Fastenr-T1" which allows my Manfrotto RC-2 tripod plate to remain attached to the camera. I then used a black plastic clip lock that I salvaged off of a $8 LowePro point-and-shoot bag as a safety tether; very similar to M635_Guy's photo earlier in this forum. A few images of my setup can be seen at:
http://c5pix.zenfolio.com/p433795191
1) Sling Strap to keep 2nd camera off to my side
2) Ability to carry on either left or right side
3) Be able to slide up into picture-taking position without interference from hooded
sweatshirt, bulky jacket collar, etc.
4) Not scratch or scrape the back of the camera
5) Not get in the way of controls, buttons, etc
6) Have a quick-release ability to remove the sling when not needed
7) Allow my Manfrotto RC-2 plate to remain attached
8) Not have a single point of failure (e.g. only tripod socket -or- only Neck strap lug)
Thanks M635_Guy... I appreciate you posting that original photo, because that's what inspired me for this setup. The only thing in addition that I wanted was to be able to remove the tether completely when not needed. As you know the OpTech connectors leave one side of the connector attached to the Neck strap lug, and that's why I went with the clip lock. I suppose that I could have un-looped the OpTech band each time, but I just wanted something a bit quicker. In any event, having the extra tether sure is peace of mind. I wonder why the manufacturer(s) don't offer such an option?..?
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