False economy!

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Dave
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I was at Gait Barrows this morning, one of many togs photographing the Lady's Slipper Orchids. One of the other togs, with some expensive kit (Canon 1dX, Canon 100mm Macro - I couldn't see which models, and Canon MT-24 Macro Twin Lite) had his shoulder strap fail on him, dropping his kit about 3 feet and smashing the Twin Lite controller. What had happened was the riveted part of the carabiner had come out of the hole in the sliding metal loop on the strap - either the hole was too big or the riveted head was too small. I asked what type of strap he had and it was this.
If you're a member on here and see this then I really feel for you, and I hope you have some joy contacting the manufacturer of the strap. I would also suggest contacting your local Trading Standards and see if they can do anything.
However, I have to question the wisdom of spending so much on kit and skimping on the one item stopping that kit from hitting the deck. False economy indeed.

Dave
 
It took me ages before I finally made that slow realisation that I was never spending much money on the one thing which kept four figure's worth of quite breakable stuff from plummeting to the ground. It's quite easily overlooked in the rush to spend money on shinier things, I think.

Situation now thankfully rectified. :D
 
This nicely mirrors a rant I've been wanting to have about tripods. Again, people pay huge sums of money for their cameras and lenses but only want to pay £100 for the tripod. You just have to look at the many 'what tripod' threads in this section to see what I mean.
And don't get me started on airgunners and their telescopic scope buying habits as they're just as bad.
 
How unlucky or was it really an accident waiting to happen.

I feel much the same about fitting cheap tyres to my cars.
 
I have a strap from the same brand (another model) and it has a very different way of attaching the camera. I'm glad it didn't happen to me but now you got me worried... As a matter of fact I also bought a very cheap wrist strap some weeks ago and tested it before attaching a camera.... Just a little bit of manual traction and a little shock was enough to make the attachment fail. I'm not going to use that one for sure.
 
Buy all the cheap camera bodies you like, but when it comes to the gear that protects both bodies and lenses, never skimp. Bags, straps, cases, tripods etc. Buy the best you can afford.

I had a genuine Black Rapid sport strap [the one this cheap linked one is trying to emulate really] for years and I always felt my gear was safe using it. I used to hang a D800E + TC + 300mm lens on there and it felt a tow truck wouldn't pull it apart. It was expensive as far as straps go, but better than bustng 5K worth of gear to save maybe £60
 
Buy all the cheap camera bodies you like, but when it comes to the gear that protects both bodies and lenses, never skimp. Bags, straps, cases, tripods etc. Buy the best you can afford.

I had a genuine Black Rapid sport strap [the one this cheap linked one is trying to emulate really] for years and I always felt my gear was safe using it. I used to hang a D800E + TC + 300mm lens on there and it felt a tow truck wouldn't pull it apart. It was expensive as far as straps go, but better than bustng 5K worth of gear to save maybe £60
This
And (maybe off topic) the urge some people have to buy high end gear from questionable sellers offering said gear for too good to be true prices :thinking:
 
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It's not just about how expensive the gear is. Most of my gear is cheap in comparison to others, it's second hand, older tech, but it's worth a lot to me, as it's all i can afford. I'm very precious in how i treat it and do everything reasonably possible to make it secure to my strap and stop it from getting knocked or dropped.
 
Over the years I've bought 3rd party gear with significant savings over named brands rarely with any visible / practical difference.

BUT

I bought one of the cheap Black Rapid clones... and it went straight in the bin. Thin webbing, poor stitching and the metal bits just felt "iffy"
 
I bought one of the cheap Black Rapid clones... and it went straight in the bin. Thin webbing, poor stitching and the metal bits just felt "iffy"

I bought one of those a while back too - took one look at the webbing when it arrived and decided it was never going near my camera. Ended up just using the shoulder pad, replaced the fitments and webbing with ridiculously over-specced stuff, and it did me good service for a while for probably a quarter of the price of a genuine BR. The webbing was rated to about 500kg, so I think the tripod collar on my lens would have given out long before the strap. :D
 
Agree about not buying crap that could potentially damage your gear, but

I think we are in danger of forgetting that some people don't have loads of cash to weigh in on top quality stuff.
Sometimes you buy what you can afford and more often than not it's a lot better than bugger all.

We have an old car, to a lot of people it would be crap, but starts and stops just the same as it has done since 1998.
As my long departed Dad always said "third class ride is better than a first class walk"
 
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Agree about not buying crap that could potentially damage your gear, but

I think we are in danger of forgetting that some people don't have loads of cash to weigh in on top quality stuff.
Sometimes you buy what you can afford and more often than not it's a lot better than bugger all.

We have an old car, to a lot of people it would be crap, but starts and stops just the same as it has done since 1998.
As my long departed Dad always said "third class ride is better than a first class walk"
You might want to reread the OP ;)

We're discussing £5k + of gear hanging off a £10 strap. The poor guy clearly could 'afford' a better strap, just chose not to.
 
You might want to reread the OP ;)

We're discussing £5k + of gear hanging off a £10 strap. The poor guy clearly could 'afford' a better strap, just chose not to.


I did read it and my opening line reflected that.

This nicely mirrors a rant I've been wanting to have about tripods. Again, people pay huge sums of money for their cameras and lenses but only want to pay £100 for the tripod. You just have to look at the many 'what tripod' threads in this section to see what I mean.
And don't get me started on airgunners and their telescopic scope buying habits as they're just as bad.


The rest was a general comment about advice given to buy expensive gear because it will last longer or its lighter.
Tripod for 100 quid might not be the latest greatest, but it will certainly do the job safely

I am guilty of this myself , but one can forget that times are quite hard for many these days
 
I am guilty of this myself , but one can forget that times are quite hard for many these days

All the more reason to buy a decent strap really! Photography is a very luxury hobby for me, my budget is ridiculously low and everything I own has been bought used as cheaply as possible. I can't really afford to replace it if it breaks, so I think for someone in my position, a decent strap is possibly even more valuable than it is to someone who has plenty of cash to throw around.

With you on the tripods though - some of the sub-£100 models now are perfectly decent in terms of not breaking. They may be a bit more wobbly and more of a pain to adjust, but I'd not worry about them collapsing in a hurry.
 
FWIW, I quit using BR straps several years ago as I had one carabiner clip fail and I wore part way through a second... the clips are (were?) made from cast zinc, not stainless steel. That said, I've damaged several other straps over the years as well.

That's my biggest issue with most straps, they lack redundancy... if one point fails the whole system fails. The webbing itself is of little concern, even cheap/lightweight webbing with marginal stitching will hold quite a lot of weight. And there's always that one that gets through even the best QC.
 
I meant guilty of recommending expensive items without thinking, all my straps are Optech which have never let me down
 
All your gear is as good as the cheapest link. Ensure you buy one that has a reputation for quality.
Else it could easily be a hefty bill for damage caused!
 
I meant guilty of recommending expensive items without thinking, all my straps are Optech which have never let me down
I like the Op-tech pro-loop... "speed strap" functionality but with redundant attachment points.
I'm also using a PD slide... but it lacks any redundancy, so it gets periodic inspections looking for wear/signs of trouble.
 
I would suggest adding another 1-star Amazon review for the Focus - looks like this has happened to other people, so it's clearly not fit for purpose.

Another vote for Op/Tech - never had a problem with these, and have used them on most cameras for more than 15 years.
 
I struggle to understand why anyone would trust their kit to any strap with a single screw in fixing point no matter who makes it.

The only strap I use is attached to the strap lugs on my 500. The tails are sewn in to stop them unravelling and I check it for damage regularly. Even so I quite often have my hand on the lens foot when carrying it.

If I'm carrying a camera/lens combo out walking then I use a cotton carriers set up which, as far as I'm concerned, is a far more secure way of carrying a camera.
 
I struggle to understand why anyone would trust their kit to any strap with a single screw in fixing point no matter who makes it.

The only strap I use is attached to the strap lugs on my 500. The tails are sewn in to stop them unravelling and I check it for damage regularly. Even so I quite often have my hand on the lens foot when carrying it.

The security of a single screw point on a BR isn't really any different to a standard camera strap if properly used and well made. If one connection point fails on a standard strap the camera would still crash to the floor. To stop a camera failing to the floor when a strap fails you need a secondary connection to another secure point. That why safety tethers have been made for BR straps. The most likely point of failure is the screw connector/carabiner, a safety tether to a separate lug point connected to the endless strap. It's unlikely the endless would fail if properly made. It's the design that makes the difference if they both made to the same standard. A standard strap should be less likely to fail than a BR strap through material failure. User error failure is completely different and probably more likely with a BR style strap. The strap on your 500 sounds like it's an ideal 'upgrade' to secure the standard strap though probably not quick release like the BR style straps (I definitely wouldn't try a large lens on a BR strap). Regular checks of straps and connections is always the best method to prevent unexpected failures.
 
I always make my own straps. They can all carry my own weight of 15 stones. , which if you catch the strap on somthing that could be what it needs to manage.
Any strap is only as strong as its weakest part.
 
I never use the strap on my camera, always hold it by the hand grip on my 1D or tripod mount on lenses. Think I do it as it annoys my missus - she's always telling me to bring a bag:naughty:
 
Check out the Sun Sniper range of straps and harnesses from Tetenal. I bought one at the photo show in Birmingham earlier this year and am pleased with it. The harness has a locking device which helps reduce the chance of the tripod mount fixing coming loose and your camera crashing to the ground.
 
I have a black rapid ,but I have totally dispensed with the carabiner part of it having a couple of near misses ,also I found the metal to metal noises alerted birds to my presence ,solution I cut off the carabiner hook and replaced it with two sets of optec quick release short straps attached to the oblong metal slide .heath Robinson but it works well and gives double security
 
Check out the Sun Sniper range of straps and harnesses from Tetenal. I bought one at the photo show in Birmingham earlier this year and am pleased with it. The harness has a locking device which helps reduce the chance of the tripod mount fixing coming loose and your camera crashing to the ground.

There was another guy there using a Sun Sniper strap, and he showed me the carabiner which was worn nearly half way through! He said this was after 7 years of use though.

My own strap is a Black Rapid which I've been using for over a year without any issues, and no signs yet of any wear. I always hold on to the lens foot when I'm carrying my kit though, just in case!

Dave
 
I use a sigma 150-600 sport attached to a 1D body ,so a fair bit of weight ,initially my black rapid was attached by the carabiner and b/r half dome on the lens foot .on a couple of occasions I found the half dome had started to unscrew while on walkabout .so as in my previous post I worked out a better idea myself which I have now used for over two years daily with no problems
 
I have a black rapid ,but I have totally dispensed with the carabiner part of it having a couple of near misses ,also I found the metal to metal noises alerted birds to my presence ,solution I cut off the carabiner hook and replaced it with two sets of optec quick release short straps attached to the oblong metal slide .heath Robinson but it works well and gives double security

....I use a Black Rapid too but only to hang my camera on (by Arca-Swiss plate on lens collar) when I'm not actually shooting with it. I have an Acratech quick release Arca-Swiss clamp attached to my Black Rapid with it's security 'lock' which I never need to open. But I also have two, not just one, plastic cable ties attaching the Acratech directly to the chest strap, hence bypassing any failure of the Black Rapid metal parts.

The Acratech Swift Clamp is very expensive but absolutely worth every penny as far as I am concerned. I have used mine for several years now.

https://www.bobrigby.com/acratech/item/acratech_swift_clamp_1146

:)
 
The problem wouldn't have happened if the guy had checked that swivel connection now and then. It would have been obvious to the curious naked eye that it was beginning to wear, that the hole was getting wider and nearly wide enough to let the head of the peg through. Everything that's used and never checked will eventually fail somewhere, it's just that good well-designed gear will (usually) last longer before failing.

You can also check the thing over before you buy it. That nail-head-in-hole swivel joint on the Focus strap is obviously cheap and shoddy and won't last long. The Black Rapid one is a better and stronger version, but it's still an inherently poor design of swivel, subject to wearing in use in exactly the way which will cause the peg to drop through the hole. That's why I prefer the designs which have a ball bearing swivel. Much more secure, and swivels more easily when heavily loaded too. Oddly enough, some of those better engineered sling straps cost less than the Black Rapid.
 
I don't recall ever buying a strap of any kind, I just use the FREE ones that come with my cameras and I've never had an issue with any of them; that guy clearly wasted £10 while others of you have clearly wasted far more :D
On the other hand, since the bundled straps usually come with large, prominent logos, how many hours have you put in as an unpaid advertiser for the camera companies? :)
 
On the other hand, since the bundled straps usually come with large, prominent logos, how many hours have you put in as an unpaid advertiser for the camera companies? :)

Probably far fewer than I have driving my car, which is also covered in badges 'advertising' for free; as are many of my clothes. I think I'd best rip every badge off my car and walk around naked now - cheers :)

Spending money on straps, slings, belts whatever as a means of not 'advertising' has to be the daftest thing I've heard in a long while :D

Dave
 
I don't recall ever buying a strap of any kind, I just use the FREE ones that come with my cameras and I've never had an issue with any of them; that guy clearly wasted £10 while others of you have clearly wasted far more :D

Dave

Your principal could apply to lots of things, for example keeping the crappy headphones that come as standard with most mp3 players.
No thanks, but if that's what works for you, go for it
 
Joking aside, it's really about comfort and utility - e.g., the Op/Tech Pro straps do a good job at distributing the weight of a heavy camera. If Nikon bundled one of these I'd probably use it (unless it was bright yellow!). I think the only one I've kept on the camera is the Leica strap, which is cleverly designed to stop the split rings scratching the top plate . Of course none of these things are actually free, but priced into the cost of the camera by the manufacturer or distributor (Nikon, for one, doesn't include them in all countries).
 
Joking aside, it's really about comfort and utility

Yep - that'd be my reason for buying something different too, but my cameras are usually in the rucksack which is strong & comfy, they don't hang off a shoulder long enough to be uncomfortable but I do use the (free) straps to carry two in one hand at times :)

Dave
 
my favourite material for straps and belts, is full grain oil tanned leather. It is softly flexible rather than stiff. and has a nice stretchy bounce to it when carting heavy stuff with it, In much the same way as Op-tech straps do. But unlike the neoprene they use, oil tan leather has a natural stretchiness. I make my camera loops out of fine nylon cord which is sewn and then the join beaded with araldite. any single loop can carry my weight, and being nylon have a natural wear resistance. I use military grade nylon or steel D rings. I tend to use small Conway buckles for adjustments (as used for bridles and reins)

This is a light weight one that I made for my daughter
 
my favourite material for straps and belts, is full grain oil tanned leather. It is softly flexible rather than stiff. and has a nice stretchy bounce to it when carting heavy stuff with it, In much the same way as Op-tech straps do. But unlike the neoprene they use, oil tan leather has a natural stretchiness. I make my camera loops out of fine nylon cord which is sewn and then the join beaded with araldite. any single loop can carry my weight, and being nylon have a natural wear resistance. I use military grade nylon or steel D rings. I tend to use small Conway buckles for adjustments (as used for bridles and reins)

This is a light weight one that I made for my daughter

Looks very good. Perhaps you should set up a business!
 
It is absolute crap to think that the only way to stop your camera plummeting to the ground is spending loads of cash. total crap, .If you are stupid enough to think a strap is a fit and forget item then you deserve the high repair bill that will occur.
Being sensible and checking for frays and weakness in the strap costs nothing.
Anybody who decides that hanging their camera from the tripod screw is a good idea asks for and deserves the expensive repair bill that is a consequence of using the cameras tripod screw hole for a use that it was never designed for.
Common sense is free of charge (the government I'm sure will try to change that) Please, whether you use the free perfectly adequate designed for the job strap that came with the camera or you pay for an after market strap it is important to check straps for wear tear and frays.
 
Whilst it may not have originally been designed for it I wouldn't say the tripod thread point isn't capable of withstanding the loading (I won't be surprised if manufacturers haven't beefed up the tripod socket knowing how it's now used). Nikon seems happy to endorse a black rapid strap and sell it via their wwbsite as an accessory.

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product/apparel/an-sbr2-blackrapid-quick-draw-strap.html

The OEM straps are ok but not as comfortable having larger lenses like a 70-200 f2.8 hanging from it. It's worth noting Nikon don't recommend hanging lenses like the 70-200 f2.8 from the camera lens mount without additional support of the lens, that makes the OEM strap unusable supporting a lens of that size hanging off the camera and strap.
 
heres my heath robinson set up ,the long arca plate for tripod or monopod fitting cost all of £4.50 from e.bay ,extra hole drilled for leash £0 .two sets of optech leashes about £10 .its noiseless .it works ,its easily replaceable its extremely easy to unclip to either use in a hide or on a trip/mono-pod and will work with ANY over the shoulder type strap with the long oblong metal slider .. i did try the optech sling strap with it to cut out the metal part but i'm to large to wear it comfortably .as with everything its just a idea that works might suit some not others .View attachment 103126View attachment 103127
 
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