Double Harness $129 + shipping vs 22 from optech.
Support on a camera strap?
This is the kind of expensive add-on, like a battery grip on a D90, that seems to me to be more of a weenie wagging thing than anything else.
I've used Op-tech straps for years, happily, with never a failure and see no reason to pay more for no clear deliverable value.
You can do whatever floats your boat; the OP asked for input and I've given mine.
bbfn,
Lew
Still, you linked to Amazon and the Optech on Amazon is
$32.99 not $22 (only fair to use the same suppier for both to compare prices). But that aside, there are lots of differences, which I agree is very personal to each photographer. Some may prefer one to the other at any price, others may be swayed by price above other factors. There is no right answer.
That being said it just sounded like you were saying the only difference is price, and that is not true, there are many other differences which may or may not be important to someone. For example, the Optech is not detachable whereas the BR is (I own the BR in question, I use it sometimes as a single camera strap and sometimes as a double, it comes apart and works as a standard BR single strap). The Optech attaches to the camera body, I prefer the attachment to the lens on long lenses for better balance. The Optech has no method of keeping the camera from swaying forward when I lean forward to bend down and adjust something, the BRs do. The Optech has no attachment points for joeys or a brad, the BR does. The Optech uses standard cloth for the mounts to the camera which the sharp edges on some camera will cut through (that is why some strap manufacturers use Kevlar for those types of attachments) whereas the BR does not have that problem. The Optech uses plastic quick releases near the camera which scares me as they could accidently get activated, the BR does not. The Optech does not allow the cameras to sit with the lens facing back where it doesn't get in the way and bang on things as I walk by, the BR does. The straps that attach to the camera on the Optech are much smaller than the BR strap. The Optech does not allow the camera to "swing" up into position smoothly, the BR does.
Now none of that may matter to you or the OP, to each their own, but implying that there is no difference other than price is just not correct. The Optech may do exactly what you need, and that is great, it will not however, for any amount of money, do what I need it to do. Which is why I use the BR, not because it is name brand, not because it is more expensive, not because someone else uses it, but because it is as close to the perfect strap for what I need as is currently manufactured.
Whichever strap the OP chooses, I wish them the best of luck with it!
Allan
