Archive 2022 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
AmbientMike Offline • • • • • • [X]
p.2 #1 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
It's funny, I put a new card in yesterday, kinda concerned about the camera in the car as I ran to the grocery store, and thought, well, I won't lose photos.
I've certainly run in to occasional danger in my travels, one time in Mexico years ago, before it got really bad, I got followed. Turned around and looked straight at him, ended it. White guy not a Mexican imo. A woman asked about going to a nature viewing spot locally, asked if it was safe, I kinda laughed and said no, not really. Gone there for years though trying to remember if anything ever got stolen. Knock on wood. Sometimes a couple vehicles meet up, I wave & don't take their photo. might be exchanging recipes but I doubt it lots of meth in E TX.
I don't use straps, just hold it in my hand. Shooting a rebel currently but one comment I got, even that might be seen as a big camera.
p.2 #2 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
AmbientMike wrote:
I don't use straps, just hold it in my hand. Shooting a rebel currently but one comment I got, even that might be seen as a big camera.
These days, I think anything bigger than a phone is considered a "big, expensive, professional camera" to everyone but photographers.
p.2 #4 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
Herb wrote:
Paris, Croatia, Italy,….any big cities you are a target and you need to be aware of your surroundings and take appropriate precautions…
That's also true in parts of most big US cities - NY, Cleveland, Memphis, LA, although being from those areas, we tend to know where the bad areas are. Head on a swivel at all times, even in relatively "safe" areas.
Doesn't mean you have to be paranoid, but you should be alert.
p.2 #5 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
When you're in tourist-party mode it's easy to let your guard down, and that's risky on unfamiliar soil. Bag grabs happen anywhere tourists frequent—not just a European thing. All too common here in Hawaii—plenty of videos with female Japanese tourists being dragged along a vehicle after their purse is grabbed while waiting for the crosswalk. Designer straps are stronger than you think. Some venues don't allow camera bags inside—stadium, Pearl Harbor, etc.—so meth heads in the parking lot watch to see who stashes gear in a car trunk.
PacSafe has a whole line of bags with wire mesh to make slash and run harder. You might get slashed but the bag will be okay:
p.2 #6 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
Gochugogi wrote:
PacSafe has a whole line of bags with wire mesh to make slash and run harder. You might get slashed but the bag will be okay:
I didn't think of it when I posted earlier, but I do also bring along a small PacSafe bag of this type — just large enough for phone, wallet, clip-on sunglasses, XPro2 with 27mm attached. It is great for going out light when I don't need multiple lenses, etc.
p.2 #7 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
Each of my cameras has a RRS L-bracket and that allows attachment to one of their heavy-duty quick detachable straps. It will take a helluva lot more than one swipe with a knife to cut through one of these straps.
p.2 #8 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
I second PacSafe. Bought two of their straps and a small bag when I went to Barcelona. Nothing happened anyway.
You want to be careful, though. A strap that cannot be cut works well in non-violent circumstances. If violence can be involved, you want a strap that can be cut so you don’t get hurt.
p.2 #10 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
When I was in flight training there was a NATOPS poster that showed a cartoon dude in a cartoon airplane with his head spinning 360 deg. The caption was "eternal vigilance or eternal peace". Applies to many things in life.
We tend to travel in tour groups like OAT or Road Scholar. Safety in numbers. When we're out on the town or wandering a city, I rely on my G1X3 since everyone has a P&S. Roughly 20 years of foreign travel and no issues. Still, eternal vigilance ...
p.2 #11 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
chez wrote:
Thieves will target the easiest victim. Don’t act like an easy victim. Look people in the eye, be aware of your surroundings, don’t have your camera dangling away from your body ( I always carry camera in hand using a wrist strap ). Backup each days images to another device.
Bottom line the chance of being robbed is very small, you can make it even smaller by doing a few simple things…but you cannot ever be 100% safe.
Insure and just enjoy your trip.
I've been to a few of the places mentioned, Paris, Rome, Moscow, Barcelona, etc and I agree with the above approach:
-Look people in the eye, keep your head on a swivel.
-Move irregularly if you can.
-Keep your back to a wall when you're not moving.
-Avoid crowds. Hard to in some cases, might not be a bad thing for COVID or other reasons.
-Run daily backups, dump your cards every night to a laptop. Shoot smaller cards and swap those out mid day to a card wallet in the same place as your money belt/passport holder etc.
-Don't look too obvious like a tourist, don't hold out your Lonely Planet or map.
One approach is to use a non-photographic bag, which a friend used to use a baby diaper bag to keep his video camera in. My personal take was, at some point you're going to have to pull your camera out of said bag, so, it'll pretty obvious. I figured I'd keep my camera right out, and follow the suggestions chez suggested.
Look like you're supposed to be there and are doing something deliberate.
ETA: You know, one thing I forgot to mention: I've always hated the new Canon straps which proudly proclaim the model of camera it came with, so much so that I actually try and find those old blue and red ones from the 20D era. I'm not saying this is the silver bullet that would keep you from being mugged, but not having a strap that says "CANON EOS R5" or whatever high end model is perhaps one less thing to be so obvious.
p.2 #12 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
tsangc wrote:
I've been to a few of the places mentioned, Paris, Rome, Moscow, Barcelona, etc and I agree with the above approach:
-Look people in the eye, keep your head on a swivel.
-Move irregularly if you can.
-Keep your back to a wall when you're not moving.
-Avoid crowds. Hard to in some cases, might not be a bad thing for COVID or other reasons.
-Run daily backups, dump your cards every night to a laptop. Shoot smaller cards and swap those out mid day to a card wallet in the same place as your money belt/passport holder etc.
-Don't look too obvious like a tourist, don't hold out your Lonely Planet or map.
One approach is to use a non-photographic bag, which a friend used to use a baby diaper bag to keep his video camera in. My personal take was, at some point you're going to have to pull your camera out of said bag, so, it'll pretty obvious. I figured I'd keep my camera right out, and follow the suggestions chez suggested.
Look like you're supposed to be there and are doing something deliberate.
ETA: You know, one thing I forgot to mention: I've always hated the new Canon straps which proudly proclaim the model of camera it came with, so much so that I actually try and find those old blue and red ones from the 20D era. I'm not saying this is the silver bullet that would keep you from being mugged, but not having a strap that says "CANON EOS R5" or whatever high end model is perhaps one less thing to be so obvious....Show more →
So don't do this?
Dec 18, 2022 at 12:44 AM
AmbientMike Offline • • • • • • [X]
p.2 #13 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
Mike_5D wrote:
These days, I think anything bigger than a phone is considered a "big, expensive, professional camera" to everyone but photographers.
I remember college student(s) being pretty impressed with my 180 Tamron. Especially + hood. Really not a big lens by FM standards. Surprised much more recently to hear someone refer to my rebel + 55-250 as big.
I don't know if we realize how non photographers see our gear. But your home can get robbed and even the Bible mentions to lay up your treasure in heaven not on earth, since you can get robbed. So theft has apparently been around for millenia. Not a new concept even back then
p.2 #14 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
gdanmitchell wrote:
I didn't think of it when I posted earlier, but I do also bring along a small PacSafe bag of this type — just large enough for phone, wallet, clip-on sunglasses, XPro2 with 27mm attached. It is great for going out light when I don't need multiple lenses, etc.
Probably a bit odd to reply to myself... but in this case I think it makes sense.
The subject of the PacSafe travel bags came up earlier here, and last night someone else asked me about this subject in a completely different forum. So I went to the PacSafe website and looked around and discovered that they DO make camera-specific bags that have a lot of these security features.
The page says they are currently sold out. I can't tell if this is a temporary thing... or if the products have been discontinued. (The literal words there are "sold out,"though, not "discontinued.")
I cannot vouch for the specific products on that page since I have not used any of their camera products. (I do have a small over-the-shoulder bag that I sometimes use for travel.)
p.2 #15 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
I would just opt for one that looks like a normal backpack, such as the Metrosafe 450, and keep my camera and lenses in neoprene bags inside.
gdanmitchell wrote:
Probably a bit odd to reply to myself... but in this case I think it makes sense.
The subject of the PacSafe travel bags came up earlier here, and last night someone else asked me about this subject in a completely different forum. So I went to the PacSafe website and looked around and discovered that they DO make camera-specific bags that have a lot of these security features.
The page says they are currently sold out. I can't tell if this is a temporary thing... or if the products have been discontinued. (The literal words there are "sold out,"though, not "discontinued.")
I cannot vouch for the specific products on that page since I have not used any of their camera products. (I do have a small over-the-shoulder bag that I sometimes use for travel.)
p.2 #17 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
nputtick wrote:
I would just opt for one that looks like a normal backpack, such as the Metrosafe 450, and keep my camera and lenses in neoprene bags inside.
Yeah, I'm not making a recommendation here, just replying to the original question about whether such things exist. When I posted earlier I did not realize that PacSafe made such things. So when I found that they do, I figured that the OP might be interested and that I should set the record straight.
As I wrote earlier, I usually travel light when it comes to camera equipment — and I also use bags that are either specifically NOT camera bags or at least don't look like camera bags. I don't carry a backpack of camera equipment, instead using a smaller messenger-style bag.
(I often use a backpack for non-photo luggage — small Osprey travel pack that fits in the overhead bin on flights and which I can carry around pretty easily.)
p.2 #18 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
This is EXACTLY the reason I'm leaving my R6 at home on my next trip to Europe! I opted for taking a Ricoh GRIII Street Edition which fits perfectly in my front pant pocket. It looks like a cheap point & shoot but packs an APS-C sensor and is fast. Granted, it only has a fixed 28mm f2.8 lens, but that's the focal length I shoot 99.9% of the time anyway.
p.2 #19 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
Herb wrote:
This is a real issue in Europe where thieves will cut your camera strap and off they go with your gear. Are there any straps that cannot be cut?
Have lived in Europe my whole life, been all over Europe and Croatia (am half Croatian) and never had my camera strap slashed or a bag snatched. I'd pay more attention to pickpocketers though. And as others said, insure your gear, worry less. No, the pictures on the memorycard can't be saved but are you taking this many moneyshots on citytrips? Highly doubt it. Anyway, here is a strap I used to use until I discovered I don't like using camerastraps: https://www.sun-sniper.com/en/rotaball-pro.html This one has a "Invisible slash proof STEEL WIRE". But I'd rather not walk around the whole day with a dangling camera. But you do you
p.2 #20 · Are there any camera straps that cannot be cut?
As a Brit now living in North America may I thank previous contributors for bringing some balance into this discussion. I am often amazed by the attitude of some North Americans that Europe is some sort of cesspit of danger and disastrous behaviour . Crime rates in European cities are far lower than many North American cities.
Of course there are risks and crime happens everywhere - but frequency and degrees of seriousness everywhere are blown out of all proportion by press reports and some social media.
It is so sad that some people seem to live their lives in terror of the 'what might just conceivably happen but is actually extremely unlikely ever to occur" event.
