False economy!

[Fuzzdog]

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

I do like that they give you that little attachment point on the side of the tripod collar on those - I have two Peak Design connector thingies either end of a long arca plate attached to my 100-400L, I do find myself longing to move one of them to a different location on the lens for a bit of redundancy.

 

[the black fox]

I do like that they give you that little attachment point on the side of the tripod collar on those - I have two Peak Design connector thingies either end of a long arca plate attached to my 100-400L, I do find myself longing to move one of them to a different location on the lens for a bit of redundancy.

the real beauty of my set up is it allows you to get the centre of gravity spot on (depending on camera body /grip etc) so on walkabout its hanging by my side perfectly balanced and allows for very rapid deployment if i see a approaching bird

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

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

I have checked a number of clips and carabina type fastenings and while many look the same as others, I have found that many parts are made of zinc based alloy. a stainless steel one will not show any appreciable wear even after heavy use nor will military grade nylon, however Zinc alloy is subject to both rapid wear and what is worse unexpected cracking. If zinc alloy is bent, cracking and total failure will follow almost at once. Many such clips sold as stainless steel, are nothing of the sort.