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Author Topic: Michael's Toy Shop - how suitable for heavy gear are bottom-attaching slings?  (Read 3664 times)

AFairley

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After listening to Michael's & Kevin's unreserved praise of the Blackrapid strap, I'd like to alert them to this thread at DPR, in which the OP claims that the use of a bottom-attaching strap damaged his Nikon D800 (caused separation between the bottom plate and the rest of the camera).  Nikon's response was "impact damage,"  though the OP swears he wasn't swinging the camera around or that it knocked against anything.  

One poster in the thread related this:
"On speaking with Nikon I was told that the tripod socket was intended for support on a tripod and not designed as an access point for the camera to be suspended from. I then contacted BlackRapid and was told how strong the connection screw was (rated to x? kg), but they would not comment on if camera was designed to be carried in that manner, referring me back to Nikon for that information.

Nikon's recommendations were in regard to both camera bodies and lenses such as the 70-200. Their position was that the camera strap is to be attached only to the intended lugs and that the lens is to be supported by hand."

This occurence seems to be an outlier, since I haven't heard of anyone else having this problem, and it seem to me that it's quite possible there was a manufacturing defect in the camera.  That said, for me, while I think these style straps are a great idea for lightweight cameras, I would not carry my D800E + 24-70 that way.  When I saw the thread I stopped carrying the camera attached to a monopod over my shoulder, as I used to do, which with the bouncing motion of walking could put a lot of lateral stress on the tripod mount/bottom plate.  Maybe an excess of caution, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I do like the security of an across-the-chest strap, so I carry that camera/lens combo across my chest on a long Ape Case strap (attached to the strap lugs) that lets it hang at hip length, I can easily raise the camera to eye level without the stap binding or anything.  Anyway, the picture in the tread made my blood run cold, so I took the most prudent course.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3338762

If Michael could get some meaningful response from Blackrapid on the issue, I'd be interested to hear what they say, since it really is a very attractive carry system.
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Kevin Raber

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Interesting post on DPR.  However if all of that was true the same issue could happen when camera is on a tripod.  I will not profess to be an expert but it sounds like other mitigating circumstances.  Also, both Michael and myself have RRS plates attached to all the cameras we use the Black Rapid with.  I know plenty of people that use Black Rapid straps on plenty of different camera systems and have never heard of any issues from these folks.  They are heavy wedding shooters and commercial shooters.  And, in all the time I have had my straps I have never seen what was described or had an issue.  As a qualifier the heaviest lens I use on the Nikon is an 80-400mm zoom and there doesn't seem to be any issue.  No problems on my OMD, of Fuji X either.  I have even used it with the Phase One Camera.  But once again always attached to an RRS plate.

Kevin
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Bart_van_der_Wolf

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But once again always attached to an RRS plate.

Hi Kevin,

That RRS plate will distribute the push/pull/moment forces over a wider area, even if the plate itself has a single connection to the camera body.

Cheers,
Bart
« Last Edit: November 01, 2013, 06:00:54 pm by BartvanderWolf »
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Kevin Raber

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And, that is why I said it, plus I did say I have friends who use it without plates and have no issues. 

Kevin
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barryfitzgerald

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I'm not a fan of metal that can bash around and cause damage esp a buckle so for that reason I'd rule out these products.
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stamper

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I sometimes attach one end of my strap to the tripod hole and the other end to the right hand lug on the camera. With that set up when you turn the camera to the vertical then the strap doesn't dangle over the LCD or the viewfinder which can be annoying.

Dale Villeponteaux

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I'm not a fan of metal that can bash around and cause damage esp a buckle so for that reason I'd rule out these products.

The buckles are plastic.

Regards,
Dale
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barryfitzgerald

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I know the buckles are plastic but the main attachment is metal and it's not something I'd be comfortable with. Maybe it's just me, I've tried one and like the idea, but it has limitations too. If you have a flash mounted it's not a good idea to use a BR
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Dale Villeponteaux

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I see your point.  Mine is attached to a RSS plate, and the clip only impacts metal.  Curiously enough, the RSS plate shows no evidence of scarring.

Regards,
Dale
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Craig Arnold

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« Reply #9 on: November 03, 2013, 03:00:06 am »

It seems to be unavailable now, but I got a couple of Y-straps a few years ago.

Similar idea to RRS strap but smaller, cheaper, and MUCH more comfortable.

Essentially it's just a thin 1" wide loop of seatbelt-like material, but softer. On that goes a large-ish keyring which goes through one of the lugs on the side of the camera.

You can adjust for length. And the same basic principle of the strap staying in place but allowing the camera to slide along it.

I've used it for years on my Canon 5D2 and enjoyed it tremendously.

Now that one can no longer buy them, I would likely make my own in future, though honestly I expect the two that I have to last longer than I will.

Looks like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmpk/3031394380/
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