p.2 #1 · My Blackrapid strap failed, camera dropped, lens won't autofocus now
I had one if these and it almost dumped my D700 and 105VR in the dirt. In my case, it wasn't the attachment to the camera, but rather the buckle adjustment came loose and unthreaded from the plastic buckle. Luckily I had my hand on my camera, and suddenly I felt slack as the strap slid off my back. Never again. Sold it that week.
p.2 #2 · My Blackrapid strap failed, camera dropped, lens won't autofocus now
To the OP....sorry to hear about your camera.
I have used BR straps for years...never had any issues. If something does go wrong, I'll file an insurance claim...sh&t happens sometimes. That's why I purchased insurance.
For those of you who do not use BR straps...I respect your decision not to use this product. But the bottom line is accidents do happen, and eventually somewhere down the line, something will happen to your precious equipment despite the fact there isn't a Black Rapid product in your house. Afterwards you will probably post about your experience, and then can have the luxury of reading posts from folks who make comments like "and that's why I never do ____" , "I don't know how anyone would use _____ product", and "that's why I never use _____ product".
p.2 #3 · My Blackrapid strap failed, camera dropped, lens won't autofocus now
thierryl wrote:
Hey everyone, so to answer the question. The "L" shaped hook that holds the "door" of the carabiner is what actually broke. I am pretty positive it had to be from some sort of previous damage. I am always checking my tripod mount and the carabiner for tightness as they always seem to work their way loose.
I have read about this happening to a few other people. I do not suspect it to be an issue from the manufacturing phase, especially with the advancements in metallurgy in today's age. I thinks somewhere from prior use the carabiner was overloaded with some type of force beyond its elastic limit which may have caused a slight strain or elongation and thus resulting in an eventual total failure. ...Show more →
Would you mind posting an image? I have four of them, being using them for four years. I can't figure out your description.
p.2 #5 · My Blackrapid strap failed, camera dropped, lens won't autofocus now
I had this happen to me. A few times I would have hand on camera and lift it then put it back down and thank goodness didn't let go because the camera came off the thread. I thought it was user error so I became diligent about tightening and retightening. I showed up at a wedding, put my camera on my rapid strap, made sure it was tight. Had my 70-200 on my camera and crash!! The camera fell to the carpeted floor lens first as I was trying to open the drapes for my first shot of the day.
I immediately threw up in my mouth everyone in the room gasped! Thank goodness the only thing they broke was the lens hood!! I emailed rapid strap that weekend, they misunderstood and thought my lens broke and asked me to email them photos of my broken lens (I got the distinct impression that I wasn't the first person to come to them with this problem.) I would email them first...
p.2 #6 · My Blackrapid strap failed, camera dropped, lens won't autofocus now
Yeah, this was my first Blackrapid product. I have about 5 or 6 local friends who have used these products for years without instance. All it take is one mistake and BAM! your camera falls. However, like I said previously, I do not believe it had anything to do with the construction of the strap. Rather at some point I must have had a lot of pressure on the carabiner part and strained the metal a bit too much. I am not the most careful person when it comes to handling y gear so I cannot surely say that Blackrapid is totally at fault. That would be unfair. however, I can say that I am looking into straps that provide more than just a single means of fastening your camera to a strap..
p.2 #8 · My Blackrapid strap failed, camera dropped, lens won't autofocus now
I've had the carabiner clip on mine mysteriously let go of the camera once.. No damage luckily.
I've been super anal about checking the lock ever since.
On a side note since you have the G series of the lens, you should be able to test the lens without damage since it is using an electrical contact and not the servo screw to drive the AF. Just a thought.
p.2 #11 · My Blackrapid strap failed, camera dropped, lens won't autofocus now
I use the black rapid tripod screws as well. I don't see any of them failing any time soon.
I don't like their carabiner design though so instead I bought some cheap stainless steel carabiners with screw lock.
They cost about $2 in your local DIY store and carry up to 30 lbs.
Sorry to hear about the mishap. Those newfangled lenses are too darn fragile though. My 55mm micr Nikkor dropped on concrete once, filter thread first, with a gripped D200 attached. No real damage done and everything still works
p.2 #14 · My Blackrapid strap failed, camera dropped, lens won't autofocus now
I opted out of the BR awhile back.
threw this together myself out of a Luma Labs strap and a Custom SLR base plate. simple and solid. basic machined design makes it almost impossible to screw up or fall apart. no need for leashes and add ons (which should not be needed in the first place)
p.2 #17 · My Blackrapid strap failed, camera dropped, lens won't autofocus now
I had the same failure with mine. I was lucky, I lifted it out of the (now not locked) clip rather than dropping it. I think I broke it tightening it down sometime earlier. They replaced the strap free of charge and since then I've used a screwdriver to help with leverage when tightening the screw into the tripod mount. I suspect that it makes a difference if you have the clip screwed shut prior to using it to tighten the tripod mount screw. I think that I may have used when open which put too much stress on the tip of the clp.
p.2 #18 · My Blackrapid strap failed, camera dropped, lens won't autofocus now
You all are some industrious so-and-so's. I don't think I've ever seen anything close to
those connectors.. They say worry is the Mother of invention, I'd best shore this up and put my mind at ease.
p.2 #19 · My Blackrapid strap failed, camera dropped, lens won't autofocus now
monochrome wrote:
Would you mind posting an image? I have four of them, being using them for four years. I can't figure out your description.
You're not alone. There's not a single "L" shaped part anywhere.
I hang my 300/2.8 from my BR all the time without worry. I do have zip ties as a "catch" for the carabiner to strap attachment. The buckle to open up the strap is also permanently fastened. The odds of a BR failing are just as likely as these homemade rigs and other common options. As usual, these problems are usually user induced.
p.2 #20 · My Blackrapid strap failed, camera dropped, lens won't autofocus now
Damn BR, carabiner scraped the rear of the bottom plate down to the bare metal surface beneath the bottom plate of my D700. I used also the jury rigs that folks have described using to prevent my camera from coming up bashed in. BR is a POS as far as I'm concerned.
