Camera straps through the ages

Kawaiithulhu · May 2, 2015

Since I have 3 35mm cameras I started wondering what everyday straps were current and common for each era.

On the M3 I just put a simple, thin leather strap. The camera weighs almost nothing and this is sufficient.

But on a Nikon F Photomic, a working camera from 1966 what kind of strap would be common to see?
And on a Nikon F3, similarly a working camera but much heavier with a motor drive and from the more modern early 1980's?

Theo Sulphate · May 2, 2015

Not sure of the material used, some sort of synthetic, but for the 1980's and 1990's Nikon, I remember the wide black strap with yellow Nikon logo. Canon had the red, white, and blue EOS logo, among others (such as a red strap with white Canon logo).

I'm surprised how many hippie style third party straps there are and how well they sell.

I'm sure there's a collector here that has them in canonical (heh) order.

Alan Gales · May 2, 2015

Back in the early 80's I had a hippie strap on my first camera, a Canon AV-1 and also on my acoustic guitar.

My Contax 139 came new with a thin black strap that widened and form fitted my neck. It was synthetic and the neck part felt like leather but wasn't. I really liked it and wore it out. It was a huge improvement over the hippie strap. I replaced it with a black Contax leather strap also from the 80's. It was nice too but a little bulkier.

tony lockerbie · May 2, 2015

Theo is quite correct, I still have that wide strap on my Nikon F3. When I put a new strap on any heavy SLR these days I use the US made Op-Tech straps, made from wide neoprene...they may not be contemporary, but are very comfortable. I think that the straps from Domke are pretty good too, and if you want something low key, the Artist and Artisan range is nice.

Alan Gales · May 2, 2015

tony lockerbie said:
Theo is quite correct, I still have that wide strap on my Nikon F3. When I put a new strap on any heavy SLR these days I use the US made Op-Tech straps, made from wide neoprene...they may not be contemporary, but are very comfortable. I think that the straps from Domke are pretty good too, and if you want something low key, the Artist and Artisan range is nice.

I had the Op-Tech on my Hasselblad. They are nice!

I have an UPstrap on my Nikon D300. It's nice because it has quick releases on it. I can quickly take off the strap and hook on an UPstrap wrist strap which I like for shooting sports.

John Koehrer · May 2, 2015

The original F straps were leather, usually black or burgundy.
They were 3/8" or so wide but made by folding leather about 3/4" wide and sewing the open edges together. There may have been some sort of filler because they weren't flat as might be expected.

AgX · May 3, 2015

At my collection of consumer cameras and their original straps I see in this historic order: leather, pvc, nylon webbing.

Russ - SVP · May 3, 2015

I prefer Wapiti and the original Black Rapid R strap.

bsdunek · May 3, 2015

Nobody mentioned the metal chain straps of the 50's. My Dad always had one of those on his Retina.

AgX · May 3, 2015

In years I have only come across one chain (neck) strap. And that was most likely not even a camera manufacturer item.

PentaxBronica · May 3, 2015

I make my own now, unless I want an original one. Look for instructions for a paracord camera strap, there are a few around.

Looking at Pentax it seems to have gone leather (on Spotmatic and earlier) then webbing from the K series on (for some reason dipped in paint at first, then later models have plain nylon - painted straps seem to have been found on K series and the ME/MX but not later cameras). Straps began to widen around the late 1980s with the SFX, then went wider again with the Z and MZ series bodies (which included a couple of neat pockets for the viewfinder and hotshoe covers). Strangely they're now back to standard straps about the same width as those from the late '80s!

The 6x7 seems to have had a wide webbing strap with "Pentax" woven into it in red, these were presumably also sold separately as I've had two 35mm bodies equipped with them. One now holds my Super A with Motor Drive A and Digital Data M back, as that's a hefty outfit by the time you've added a decent lens.

There was also a "10 Million Sold" commemorative strap which came in a tin, I have a fairly decent example which I keep for anything which lacks a strap as it has simple click hooks rather than needing to thread webbing through loops.

benjiboy · May 3, 2015

I have some original Canon FD straps, like the grey nylon one supplied with the New Canon F1, and the bright red fabric wide one with the white Canon logo on it that I have never actually used because it draws too much attention to you.
The straps I prefer and use on my 35mm SLR cameras are black Domke 1 1/2" wide gripper straps, and on my Mamiya C330F I have an Op/Tech Prostrap.

Kawaiithulhu · May 3, 2015

You could build an entire car out of paracord, if you set your mind to it!

Thanks for all the input and for keeping it kind of on focus with a mix of practical, modern and original looks.

Sirius Glass · May 3, 2015

I have used thin leather straps, wide leather straps, wide cloth straps, hippie straps, Op-Tech straps, Minolta straps, Minolta straps with blue letters, Nikon straps, Tessina wrist straps, Hasselblad strap, Graflex handles, and Graphic handles.

Alan Gales · May 3, 2015

AgX said:
In years I have only come across one chain (neck) strap. And that was most likely not even a camera manufacturer item.

I've seen a few of them on old 35mm cameras here in the U.S. like Zeiss Ikons and such. They must have been an aftermarket item. Zeiss would never make crap like that!

GarageBoy · Oct 9, 2015

AN4B and AN6Ys came on lots of 1980s Nikons-
I hate the hippie straps- not sure why they're even popular

Ko.Fe. · Oct 9, 2015

Kawaiithulhu said:
...

On the M3 I just put a simple, thin leather strap. The camera weighs almost nothing and this is sufficient.

Have you tried it with Summarit 50 1.5 or goggled Summaron and grip on it?

Peltigera · Oct 9, 2015

GarageBoy said:
AN4B and AN6Ys came on lots of 1980s Nikons-
I hate the hippie straps- not sure why they're even popular

What, exactly, is a hippy strap?

Rick A · Oct 9, 2015

Peltigera said:
What, exactly, is a hippy strap?

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...qmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_5yupdtcp1b_e

benjiboy · Oct 9, 2015

AgX said:
In years I have only come across one chain (neck) strap. And that was most likely not even a camera manufacturer item.

I remember them but I can't think of a more uncomfortable camera strap to cut into the back of ones neck, I would think not many of them survive today because the previous owners threw them in the bin.

MontanaJay · Oct 9, 2015

In the early 1970s, before they were manufactured, I (and others) adapted a guitar strap for my heavier cameras, and the "hippie strap" took off from there.
In the same era there were metal chain straps on sale, due to a outbreak of slash (with a knife), grab and run camera thefts in NYC, among other cities. They were not comfortable to use though.

Peltigera · Oct 9, 2015

so 'hippy' means attractive?

Peter Simpson · Oct 9, 2015

(only peripherally about straps)

I have tied paracord loops through the end of the shoulder strap and the sewn loop on my Domke bag. I do not trust the plastic hardware.

Marvin · Oct 9, 2015

Never cared for the Hippie straps normally just used the ones provided with the camera. I was looking at straps last night on B&H and think I would go with the Op-Tech straps.

blockend · Oct 9, 2015

Leather straps that used to come with most cameras, even Zenits and point and shoots, have become bespoke items with prices to match.

Camera straps through the ages

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency