Black Rapid strap - more secure?

[Schy]

Hi guys,

I'm planning to get the black rapid sport strap but am a bit nervous with how it connects to the camera as it might drop all the gear attached to it.

My question is, has anyone used some sort of a 'back up' safety mechanism with the BR strap? Like something connected to the camera's 'proper' eyelet strap holder to the strap itself? Am just really worried that the camera and lens might drop at least you have a 'back up' if that happens.

Or is there any alternative strap that offers this kind of connection from strap to camera? Or do you guys recommend other straps? :O not really keen on neck straps, but if it is long that can be worn like a shoulder strap, i might consider it.. Ive seen the crumpler options but not really sure how comfortable they will be..

[Wobbles]

Schy,
the BR attachment is very secure I've walked around many days with 1D + 24-70/70-200f2.8 + flash attached with no sign of coming loose..
Lots of others here use them & I've never heard a report of one letting go.
Cheers
John

[Schy]

Hehe! Is it just me being paranoid? Don't you ever feel or at least think that it might fall off? :O

[macmich]

i have used one for a while now and it has not losened at all
do you have a back up incase your seatbelt fails
cheers macca

[Lantern]

Mine works fine with 7D+lens+flash. No loosening of the attachment, and I 'drop' my camera while attached to the BR strap

[Wayne]

I would be interested to hear if anyone has any experience using one that has been screwed into the base of an L-plate?
I am thinking that with the L-plate being alloy, it may not bite as well as it does into the base rubber of the camera body.

[davidd]

I have attached the BR fitting to a small screw clamp from RRS, so I can attach it and detach it from my L-Bracket quickly when I want to use the tripod. I considered using a drop of Locktite on the fitting , as it does not need to be unscrewed, but so far it has been very secure without it.

[Wayne]

Thanks David, I know the mini RRS clamp you mean so I will order that.

[strictfunctor]

The BR fitting has its own rubber washer. So it doesn't work loose.
A major reason it doesn't is that the carabiner that connects to it
has its own swivel, so there's not going to be much torque applied
to the screw-in fitting.

[Schy]

Hehehe! Okay.. I'll be buying one of these straps soon!

Any advice which model to get?

[fishographer]

I almost got excited about the BR strap until I found the Carryspeed brand.
The attachment plate is much more secure and also let's you screw your tripod quick release plate onto it as well without the need for purchasing anything extra, it's also cheaper and the pro kit I purchased came with a couple of bonus extras.
It is very comfortable to wear and my 7D with any of my lenses sits snug onto my side nice and neatly

[Sifor]

I use a half BR system... purchased a fake BR strap on Ebay for $10, a steel swivel snap hook thing from Bunnings and a genuine BR fastener for my Manfrotto RC2 plate. I've been using it for a while now with my D800 + 24-70 2.8, it's on bloody tight..

I have thought about rigging up a backup - run some steel wire from the body eyelet to a snap hook that attaches to the BR fastener. That way the strap still takes the load and the wire would be a backup. Still, I can't be bothered doing that since I feel as though it's not going to come off anytime soon..

[MissionMan]

I mounted an Arca Swiss plate on the blackrapid screw and then I have the plates on my body and lenses where necessary which saves me having to unscrew the black rapid for tripod mounting or shifting between the body and longer lenses because they both use the same mount. As a backup, I use a climbing loop (rated to about 200kg's so pretty unlikely to break) but thats mainly because I'm using a battery grip on my camera and I'm not sure if I trust it completely.

Here are some pictures if what I said doesn't make sense. Excuse the picture quality, all I had was a little Sony TX10

[Epicaricacy]

I use the br 7, and have found it to be extremely secure. I don't have the slightest worry it will come loose, it really does give a sense of complete security when attached. It feels much stronger and more secure than the original straps.

The switching from camera for a tripod is a pain... I haven't investigated the purchase of the extra widget that can be used yet.

[fishographer]

Thats precisely why I went for the Carryspeed instead of the BR.....the Carryspeed plate screws to the bottom of the camera body into the tripod mount hole very tightly and there are numerous extra threaded holes for any tripod mount plate to screw onto the outside of that....no need to purchase any extras.

I got the CS Pro Camera Sling System for $59(+ postage) and comes with the extra hand strap and uni strap....the uni strap can be used as a secondary attachment that will screw into one of the other holes on the mounting plate or into a tripod mount on a larger lens and clips onto the upper part of the shoulder strap to give extra security.

The Carryspeed also seems to have a better angle of attachment so it sits more snug on my side and doesnt have any swinging metal parts to scratch my camera or lens.

[Schy]

Thanks for your input guys!

@MissionMan - thank you for posting the photos! Exactly what i had in mind but slightly different.

Also, i didnt know that the BR straps are $100! Haha! Might meed to wait a week or two for me to get it..

@fishographer - how do you find the carryspeed brand? No hassles?

[strictfunctor]

I haven't had this long, but it seems to work very well.

It's a plate that is compatible with Manfrotto RC2 and Arca Swiss, with an
extra extension that lets me mount the BR lug. Solves the tripod + strap
problem quite nicely.

[fishographer]

Schy, no problems whatsoever, couldn't find a seller in Aus though so just ordered it direct from their website, took about a week to make it all the way to Tassie

So far it's been great, used it on a few bush walks in the wet even, haven't had a reason to use the extra safety strap yet but have used the hand strap a bit and find it quite handy(excuse the pun)

[Schy]

Schy, no problems whatsoever, couldn't find a seller in Aus though so just ordered it direct from their website, took about a week to make it all the way to Tassie

So far it's been great, used it on a few bush walks in the wet even, haven't had a reason to use the extra safety strap yet but have used the hand strap a bit and find it quite handy(excuse the pun)

Was it $60 or something? ooohhhh.. Im so tempted now..

[MissionMan]

Was it $60 or something? ooohhhh.. Im so tempted now..

Don't be tempted by the dark side. Save and get a black rapid. Cheap pricing leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to the dark side.