Carry Speed CS-Pro Camera Sling System review by Anon

[anon]


The following is my review of the Carry Speed CS-Pro Camera Sling System,

I decided to review it for a couple of reasons, mainly interest by another member of the forum, because of my initial reactions to the product, and comments on the net regarding issues with the plate...

Please note, the parts of this review relate to how the system attaches to my camera, which is a Pentax K5 with a Pentax battery grip, if you use a different camera some off this review may not be applicable.

On more than a few occasions I initially thought why did they do it that way, but after giving it a bit of thought I could see reasons why...

I bought the CS-Pro for 4 reasons...
1) I wanted a way of carrying my camera that was easy to access, and did not like the neck strap that came with the camera.
2) The Pentax battery grip design prevents the tripod from being centered under the lens, and I'm hoping the plate will help.
3) I need to improve my stability when shooting hand held, and I'm hoping a strap might help with this.
4) I like toys

WHATS IN THE BOX

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There is the padded shoulder section, the strap that joins with the shoulder section to form the sling, a speed connector, a base-plate, a ball head, a clip and hook, a clip and wrist strap, a bolt with D and lanyard, Allan key, user guide and a sticker.


THE SHOULDER PAD

It's big, nice and comfy, it also does not have webbing running along the length of it, which means that it can stretch, which initially concerned me considering that I'd be hanging about 2 grand off it... Now why didn't they run webbing along the length? well a quick think about this and I suspect the reason is that it would create a narrow band where the weight of the camera would rest, rather than spreading it out as the current design does. I'd be surprised it this would fail, and the only criticism of the shoulder pad section is the slightly tacky (in my opinion) company logo, and the faint wetsuit smell, all in all no great issue here.


THE STRAP

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The strap receives some criticism on the net, there is a stop (in the first strap picture) intended to limit the travel of the speed connector on the sling, rather than design a part specifically for the job, they seem to have used a buckle originally intended to function in a similar way to a belt buckle, it serves the purpose of the stop quite well, but as there is no mention of it on the user guide, first inspection suggests that the strap has not been assembled correctly, as nothing else is connected to the buckle.

The three tab clips that connect the shoulder pad and strap are nice, and with a little practice can be opened one handed, (though why you'd want to I'm not sure), I do think that they would reduce the chance of someone unfamiliar with the clips un-clipping them and running away with your camera, but I'm not convinced that having clips there is necessary, a little loop of prussic cord through the loops the clips pass through would prevent clip shenanigans from being an issue, and Edelrid do a nice one in black...

The strap length is adjustable, and if it were a great issue the strap webbing could be easily replaced with webbing of another length as long as you sewed some loops in the ends...

My main criticism for the strap comes at the end that connects on your chest to the shoulder pad, there is a D-ring with bar, which I guess is the new version of the quick front adjustment pictured (but not explained) on the User Guide, the end of the strap can pass through the D and in-fact the clip as well, which while it is unlikely to do while the strap is under load could result in your camera dropping to the ground. Do I think it would actually happen, no, do I think it's impossible, also no. I think I'll be using a bit more prussic cord to ensure that it can't happen, it's sad really as had the loop been sewn around the D rather than sewn and then passed through the D this would not be an issue at all...