Camera Straps what do you like?

[480sparky]

This was not caused by the Black Rapid strap. This is poor handling.
Same thing can happen using a tripod. If the wind blows your tripod over & breaks your camera, Do you blame the tripod or the wind?
Ive seen similar damage done to hot shoes. So was it the Speed
lights fault or poor handling?

Please show where this has ever happened using a tripod. Cite your source for this claim, please.

Me. I had a camera fall over on a tripod. Totalled my Pentax MX. It wasn't caused by the tripod.... it was caused by my not setting it up correctly.

As for the hotshoe portion of your question, I managed to rip the shoe right off my ME Super when I banged it against the outside corner of a CMU wall. It wasn't the speedlight's fault. It was my not paying attention to what I was doing.

Now please don't ask the obvious strawman question and ask me to provide proof it happened. It was in the early 80s. There was no need to take photos of the damages just to 'prove' something.

 

[Scatterbrained]

Big heavy lenses come with their own tripod foot/mount. If carrying a heavy lens, The BR gets attached to the Lens, not the camera.

That seems even more awkward. Wonder if you could use the tripod mount and lens collar at the same time. Seems like it may be more balanced that way.

Actually they balance perfectly from the lens foot. I keep my Black Rapid around just for my telephoto lenses.

 

[Buckster]

Me. I had a camera fall over on a tripod. Totalled my Pentax MX.

It tore the bottom of the camera off at the screw-in mount? That's what we're talking about here - the strength of that screw in mount, and how it relates to stress.

If that's true, it SURELY shouldn't be trusted to hang a camera upside down on!

Appreciate you admitting it was your own fault for setting it up incorrectly, but still, it shows that the area in question is not designed for stresses beyond just sitting nice and quiet on top of a tripod, and I think that's the really relevant point here.

 

[dcbear78]

I have a black rapid knock off and works well. My suggestion is get the one that has the extra strap that goes under your arm to hold it in place better.

But I mostly use a Camdapter hand strap.

But as I start to do more weddings where I want to carry two bodies I'm going to pick up a Hold Fast Moneymaker. I've been told they are very comfortable and they look amazing!

Interestingly they connect with the bottom screw but also have a backup to one of the normal strap lugs.

 

[480sparky]

Me. I had a camera fall over on a tripod. Totalled my Pentax MX.

It tore the bottom of the camera off at the screw-in mount? That's what we're talking about here - the strength of that screw in mount, and how it relates to stress.

If that's true, it SURELY shouldn't be trusted to hang a camera upside down on!

Appreciate you admitting it was your own fault for setting it up incorrectly, but still, it shows that the area in question is not designed for stresses beyond just sitting nice and quiet on top of a tripod, and I think that's the really relevant point here.

It didn't remove the bottom of the camera, but the result of the damage was the same......... an unusable camera. It bent the heck out of the bottom. And keep in mind.... film cameras were built like Sherman tanks in those days. I have no doubt that if I were to exactly duplicate the incident with a modern DSLR, the bottom would come off as in the photo.

 

[Buckster]

It didn't remove the bottom of the camera, but the result of the damage was the same......... an unusable camera. It bent the heck out of the bottom. And keep in mind.... film cameras were built like Sherman tanks in those days. I have no doubt that if I were to exactly duplicate the incident with a modern DSLR, the bottom would come off as in the photo.

Thanks for the clarification.

I take it then that we agree that the tripod socket of a camera is not built to withstand the stresses beyond it being used to sit calm and pretty on top of a tripod.

ETA: Just to clarify a bit more, did the camera body break loose from the tripod as a result of the fall, or did they stay screwed together?

 

[480sparky]

Thanks for the clarification.

I take it then that we agree that the tripod socket of a camera is not built to withstand the stresses beyond it being used to sit calm and pretty on top of a tripod....

No. I have no evidence to either support nor discount such a statement. My best response would be "Depends on the camera in use".

.....ETA: Just to clarify a bit more, did the camera body break loose from the tripod as a result of the fall, or did they stay screwed together?

It stayed together. But the damage to the bottom can best be described as 'structural', in that it wasn't just cosmetic damage. Skewing the bottom of the camera outward caused all the internal mechanisms, like the shutter and film advance gears, to become dislodged. The tripod, an aluminum Slik, ended up with a dented leg but remained functional.

 

[Buckster]

Thanks for the clarification.

I take it then that we agree that the tripod socket of a camera is not built to withstand the stresses beyond it being used to sit calm and pretty on top of a tripod....

No. I have no evidence to either support nor discount such a statement. My best response would be "Depends on the camera in use".

.....ETA: Just to clarify a bit more, did the camera body break loose from the tripod as a result of the fall, or did they stay screwed together?

It stayed together. But the damage to the bottom can best be described as 'structural', in that it wasn't just cosmetic damage. Skewing the bottom of the camera outward caused all the internal mechanisms, like the shutter and film advance gears, to become dislodged. The tripod, an aluminum Slik, ended up with a dented leg but remained functional.

In that case, while I can appreciate the story of your experience, I don't honestly see how it addresses the idea of whether or not the tripod mount on a camera can handle the stresses of hanging it off a sling, for or against.

Again, it's an interesting story, but I really don't understand the relevance when it was claimed that the damage shown in the photo, where the camera's tripod mount pulled out and broke right off and dislodged from the strap, breaking the body in the process, could also happen with a tripod, so I asked to see such a claim substantiated.

I don't think yours actually meets that criteria.

If I'm missing something, feel free to point it out.

 

[JacaRanda]

I use a number of different Black Rapid straps; same basic idea as yours, except not quite the bargain price.

The cost and using the tripod mount are the main reasons I have not wanted or tried out any BR straps. I keep hearing how comfortable they are, but when I see folks with them (lots of folks), I just can't imagine that they are any more comfortable or secure than what I use. In fact, the straps are narrower where all the weight is on the shoulder, that really makes me wonder.

I do like the cute little pouches some models have, to carry extra cards in. That would make it worth it to spend the extra cash since my pockets all have holes in them.

 

[Buckster]

I use a number of different Black Rapid straps; same basic idea as yours, except not quite the bargain price.

The cost and using the tripod mount are the main reasons I have not wanted or tried out any BR straps. I keep hearing how comfortable they are, but when I see folks with them (lots of folks), I just can't imagine that they are any more comfortable or secure than what I use. In fact, the straps are narrower where all the weight is on the shoulder, that really makes me wonder.

I do like the cute little pouches some models have, to carry extra cards in. That would make it worth it to spend the extra cash since my pockets all have holes in them.

That $8 one on Amazon mentioned earlier in the thread has the pouch too. And a little DIY can be used to add more even.

 

[DarkShadow]

Well here is BR mounted to the body tripod mount but as I said I hold the tripod color by the tripod Collar mount handle.The strap it self measures about 2 3/4 in width where it wraps over the shoulder and its decently padded for comfort and has a SD card pocket.

I can honestly say its very comfortable for me to walk for hours while

supporting it to balance weight between my shoulder and camera with my right hand and at worst my fingers or hand will become uncomfortable first before my shoulder ever does and it never does.

 

[480sparky]

In that case, while I can appreciate the story of your experience, I don't honestly see how it addresses the idea of whether or not the tripod mount on a camera can handle the stresses of hanging it off a sling, for or against......

There won't be a one-size-fits-all answer to it because some cameras are better built than others.

....Again, it's an interesting story, but I really don't understand the relevance when it was claimed that the damage shown in the photo, where the camera's tripod mount pulled out and broke right off and dislodged from the strap, breaking the body in the process, could also happen with a tripod, so I asked to see such a claim substantiated.

I don't think yours actually meets that criteria.

If I'm missing something, feel free to point it out.

Again, I will point out that cameras from the 70s were more like tanks, make with lots of metal. As opposed to the plastic which failed in the photo shown.

If you would be so kind as to send me a camera and lens identical to the one in the photo, as well as a duplicate Slik tripod I had back then, I'd be more than happy to recreate (as best I can) the impact and would post the results.

 

[Buckster]

In that case, while I can appreciate the story of your experience, I don't honestly see how it addresses the idea of whether or not the tripod mount on a camera can handle the stresses of hanging it off a sling, for or against......

There won't be a one-size-fits-all answer to it because some cameras are better built than others.

....Again, it's an interesting story, but I really don't understand the relevance when it was claimed that the damage shown in the photo, where the camera's tripod mount pulled out and broke right off and dislodged from the strap, breaking the body in the process, could also happen with a tripod, so I asked to see such a claim substantiated.

I don't think yours actually meets that criteria.

If I'm missing something, feel free to point it out.

Again, I will point out that cameras from the 70s were more like tanks, make with lots of metal. As opposed to the plastic which failed in the photo shown.

If you would be so kind as to send me a camera and lens identical to the one in the photo, as well as a duplicate Slik tripod I had back then, I'd be more than happy to recreate (as best I can) the impact and would post the results.

Burden Of Proof.

It's not my claim that the same damage that's shown in the photo, where the camera's tripod socket suffered a catastrophic failure and suddenly, without warning, allowed the camera and strap to separate, leaving the camera to drop to the ground, is just as likely to happen on a tripod. That being the case, it's not my burden to prove it, nor even to help, especially when I think it'd be a lot like hunting live unicorns. Sorry. You should probably petition the person who claimed it, and see if you can get any evidence or data from them that confirms it to be true.

Obviously, I question the whole thing as a comparison, or I wouldn't have even asked in the first place. Thing is, when something doesn't make sense to me, I get curious, and start asking questions. In some places, it's called critical thinking. In others, it's shortened to "learning".

So, here's what's got my noodle questioning the veracity of this claim...

On the one hand, a strap attached to a camera's tripod socket are both supposedly doing their jobs hanging onto each other, in what is, in as simple a stress-related description as I can think up, a tug-of-war. When the tripod socket fails from the STRESS of it's own weight and probably the momentum from the bobbing of the camera as the person walks, which would be happening every time they use it, likely tending to weaken that point over time in that tug-of-war, the socket pulls out of the camera, damaging it in the process, and allowing the rest of the camera to drop to the ground.

On the other hand, we have a camera sitting atop a tripod, attached at the camera's tripod socket, both supposedly doing their jobs. Unlike in the other scenario, there's no tug-of-war stress factor, there's no additional stress from a bobbing motion using momentum and it's own weight to try to pull the two apart, even if that means breaking the camera in the process.

But, as if by magic, some mysterious force STILL might pull the two apart, damaging the camera in the process, like the damage seen in the photo of the camera that broke from the strap when the tripod mount lug pulled out - according to the claim, that is.

Oh, you want to introduce the idea of doing something that the system is NOT designed for, like pushing the tripod over so that the camera hits the cement?

Well then, where's that added destructive element with the first scenario; The one with the strap bobbing along playing tug-of-war with the camera every time it's used, as that system was SUPPOSEDLY designed to be able to do?

Apples to apples, it doesn't make sense to me, but I'm open to hearing about what I missed.

So, my friend, feel free to make sense of it, OR to actually produce evidence that the same forces and damage we see in the photo are inherent in a camera on a tripod, OR you can just leave it to whomever actually made the claim - totally up to you.

Always a pleasure chatting with you! Hope your day's going great!

 

[480sparky]

It's not my claim that the same damage that's shown in the photo, where the camera socket failed and separated from the strap, .............

Stop moving the target. The photo doesn't refer to the camera base separating from the strap. It shows the bottom plate separating from the camera.

I don't mind having a discussion about a subject, but when you constantly change it you become impossible.

So, my friend, feel free to continue with your shifting-sands analogy. OR you can actually try to stay on the same subject. OR you can change your strategy to discuss another facet of photography.

Always a pleasure! Go forth and actuate!

 

[Buckster]

It's not my claim that the same damage that's shown in the photo, where the camera socket failed and separated from the strap, .............

Stop moving the target. The photo doesn't refer to the camera base separating from the strap. It shows the bottom plate separating from the camera.

I don't mind having a discussion about a subject, but when you constantly change it you become impossible.

So, my friend, feel free to continue with your shifting-sands analogy. OR you can actually try to stay on the same subject. OR you can change your strategy to discuss another facet of photography.

Always a pleasure! Go forth and actuate!

I'm not moving any targets at all here.

1. The subject of the thread is camera straps.

2. The conversation then included whether it's safe to attach said straps to the tripod mount of the camera. I did not steer it in that direction. I hadn't even commented on that aspect of it yet. I watched it slide right by, figuring that someone else could field it, since I'm no expert on that in particular.

3. A photo was shown by someone (not me) that relates to that question, showing a camera damaged when the tripod mount failed and pulled away from the strap.

4. Someone else (not me) then said that the same thing can happen on a tripod.

5. I questioned the veracity of that claim, and have been asking for something to substantiate it.

6. You told a story about knocking your tripod over and damaging the camera.

7. I asked if the camera and tripod separated, which is the whole point of questioning HOW it's the same as the photo and problem referred to by the person who said the same thing could happen on a tripod.

8. You said that it did not separate.

9. I pointed out that it's not at all the same thing in that case.

10. I explained why I'm questioning the claim, and asked for enlightenment to anything I missed in my explanation that might account for the discrepancies I pointed out.

11. You accuse me of moving the target.

Dare I to ask where in that sequence of events I have even attempted to move the target?