Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: Vieri Bottazzini on June 14, 2018, 01:15:57 pm
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Ladies and gentlemen,
today I published my review of Harry Benz amazing straps for Leica cameras (Harry Benz also produces straps for any camera, of course). You can read the article following the link below:
HARRY BENZ “THE BROGUE” STRAPS FOR LEICA CAMERAS REVIEW (https://vieribottazzini.com/2018/06/harry-benz-the-brogue-straps-for-leica-cameras-review.html)
Hope you'll find it interesting, thanks for reading. Best regards,
Vieri
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Bad link
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Bad link
Fixed.
Jeremy
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Fixed.
Jeremy
Thank you very much Jeremy! :) Best regards,
Vieri
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An example of Leica users adding some "style" to go along with their hyped cameras.
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I don't worry about nylon abrading and suddenly giving way. You can see wear on nylon strapping loooong before the strap is compromised. I am an OpTech fan, no problems with either the stretchy neoprene or the nylon or the hardware. These Benz straps are nice looking, though.
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I don't worry about nylon abrading and suddenly giving way. You can see wear on nylon strapping loooong before the strap is compromised. I am an OpTech fan, no problems with either the stretchy neoprene or the nylon or the hardware. These Benz straps are nice looking, though.
I also use the OpTech neoprene straps. I like how I can quickly unclip them when working from a tripod so they don't blow in the breeze. Then, I tend to misplace them so being cheap is nice too. I have a bunch scattered around my bags and regularly recover them from the washing machine as well.
Not very stylish but neither am I.
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Does one actually pay that much for a strap and feel they got their money's worth?
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I use Peak Design. Easy to remove and or change. I have 4 different styles and use them all in various situations. My straps need to be strong, comfortable, adjustable, removable and discreet. The Benz straps don’t meet all those criteria. They are pretty though.
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UPstrap - dont know if anything comes close for the $. Great non-slip shoulder pads and kevlar ends for the models I use. Stellar.
UPstrap (http://www.upstrap-pro.com/category/camera-straps-full-list.html)
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Does one actually pay that much for a strap and feel they got their money's worth?
Its the Leica thing. Users don't seem to care about value. They have bought into a lifestyle brand that has cameras in the lineup.
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UPstrap - dont know if anything comes close for the $. Great non-slip shoulder pads and kevlar ends for the models I use. Stellar.
UPstrap (http://www.upstrap-pro.com/category/camera-straps-full-list.html)
This.
I only wish they were available in Europe (without expensive and slow shipping).
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This.
I only wish they were available in Europe (without expensive and slow shipping).
I have at least 3 different Upstraps for different cameras. They are fantastic - Never any problems. I live in the UK and have friends/relatives send them to me. Maybe you can do this?
Good luck,
Brian
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I have at least 3 different Upstraps for different cameras. They are fantastic - Never any problems. I live in the UK and have friends/relatives send them to me. Maybe you can do this?
Good luck,
Brian
Next time I goto the US on business I will try to get organised and have one (or so...) delivered to the hotel :-) For now I am switching the one I have from camera to camera using Peak Design clips!
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My real question is this:
If I get Harry Benz straps for my cameras, will my photos look like Vieri's? :D
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My real question is this:
If I get Harry Benz straps for my cameras, will my photos look like Vieri's? :D
:D I am not sure whether you'd want that to happen in the first place! :D
About the Leica haters, I truly cannot understand what their real problem is. Has anyone forced anyone to buy a Leica camera, ever? Not that I know of. Not buying them is enough to show Leica that you don't like their products, going about hating them tells me that the problem is somewhere else, not with the cameras themselves. I don't see Mercedes users hating BMW's ones, or Porsche users hating Maserati drivers that bad. :D
While I cannot speak for others, for me personally there is no hype involved in my choice to use Leica equipment. My Leica SLs and their zooms are just amazing image making tools, and for me once one works with Leica optics it is nearly impossible to go back to anything else, and I won't if I can help it. But that's just my opinion, everyone can have different opinions of course, there are amazing cameras and lenses from other brands that do the job perfectly well. I am not losing my time hating anyone who uses other brands, nor am I thinking any less of them.
About the strap, reading the article would have answered any questions about money's worth: Leica SL has a different arrangement for strap lugs, and regular straps (including Leica's own) besides making the camera less comfortable to carry, will get strained at the point of contact and, eventually, erode and break there. Harry Benz provided a genius solution to that problem, and that alone - to me - it is worth the money. The fact that the straps are truly a work of art is just a bonus for me. By the way, Harry Benz is an incredible craftsman putting a huge amount of work and love into his products: as with Leica, nobody forces anyone to buy his products but if nothing else I wish people at least respected that.
Best regards,
Vieri
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:D I am not sure whether you'd want that to happen in the first place! :D
About the Leica haters, I truly cannot understand what their real problem is. Has anyone forced anyone to buy a Leica camera, ever? Not that I know of. Not buying them is enough to show Leica that you don't like their products, going about hating them tells me that the problem is somewhere else, not with the cameras themselves. I don't see Mercedes users hating BMW's ones, or Porsche users hating Maserati drivers that bad. :D
While I cannot speak for others, for me personally there is no hype involved in my choice to use Leica equipment. My Leica SLs and their zooms are just amazing image making tools, and for me once one works with Leica optics it is nearly impossible to go back to anything else, and I won't if I can help it. But that's just my opinion, everyone can have different opinions of course, there are amazing cameras and lenses from other brands that do the job perfectly well. I am not losing my time hating anyone who uses other brands, nor am I thinking any less of them.
About the strap, reading the article would have answered any questions about money's worth: Leica SL has a different arrangement for strap lugs, and regular straps (including Leica's own) besides making the camera less comfortable to carry, will get strained at the point of contact and, eventually, erode and break there. Harry Benz provided a genius solution to that problem, and that alone - to me - it is worth the money. The fact that the straps are truly a work of art is just a bonus for me. By the way, Harry Benz is an incredible craftsman putting a huge amount of work and love into his products: as with Leica, nobody forces anyone to buy his products but if nothing else I wish people at least respected that.
Best regards,
Vieri
RIGHT ON!
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I don't worry about nylon abrading and suddenly giving way. You can see wear on nylon strapping loooong before the strap is compromised. I am an OpTech fan, no problems with either the stretchy neoprene or the nylon or the hardware. These Benz straps are nice looking, though.
Since all my equipment is relatively lightweight (m4/3, Sony RX10), I prefer a smaller (and cheaper) strap such as the Domke 1", without the swivel (Domke has a really bad habit, with both their straps and bags, of having some pieces of metal flying around far too close to lenses and such). This is the absolute best non-slip strap I've ever used. I've added the OpTech small quick-release loops to the end of the strap, with the mating end on each of my camera bodies, so that I can move the strap around and/or interchange it with the small OpTech wrist strap. Granted it does not have the cachet of the Benz strap nor quite the comfort of the OpTech neoprene straps, but when I really need the comfort or the weight-bearing capability, I put on a salvaged Vanguard shoulder pad, which sot of defeatsthe lightweight purpose of the Domke strap, or I switch to a Black Rapid cross-body strap. However, in another life, when I can afford a Leica, I might consider looking at one of the Benz straps. However, not emotionally needing such, I would probably stick to my Domke setup.
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... However, not emotionally needing such, I would probably stick to my Domke setup.
Thank you for your comment - just a quick note to say, once more, that my reason to go looking for straps in the first place (and eventually finding Harry Benz's ones) had nothing to do with emotions and everything to do with the way the Leica SL's lugs have been designed: that's much less romantic perhaps but I needed to solve a very real potential problem there :)
Best regards,
Vieri
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Thank you for your comment - just a quick note to say, once more, that my reason to go looking for straps in the first place (and eventually finding Harry Benz's ones) had nothing to do with emotions and everything to do with the way the Leica SL's lugs have been designed: that's much less romantic perhaps but I needed to solve a very real potential problem there :)
Best regards,
Vieri
I understand where you're coming from; however, the small nylon loop on the OpTech strap would easily fit the Leica SL flat lug. However however, I'm not sure about the weight-carrying capacity. IIRC, the SL is a fairly heavy piece of equipment, and certainly pricey enough that I wouldn't take any chances with it.
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I understand where you're coming from; however, the small nylon loop on the OpTech strap would easily fit the Leica SL flat lug. However however, I'm not sure about the weight-carrying capacity. IIRC, the SL is a fairly heavy piece of equipment, and certainly pricey enough that I wouldn't take any chances with it.
Once more, the problem is not to fit a strap through the lugs, it's in the strain that the lug exert on the strap since they are not turning like the usual rings on usual camera lugs. It's all explained in the article, and on Harry Benz's website (with a diagram too). Best regards,
Vieri