Less weight - do you use camera straps around your shoulder? HoldFast?

haring · Oct 29, 2016

I am a wedding photographer. After a long day of shooting a wedding I am just so tired of having my cameras on straps around my neck.

I saw some people use camera straps around the shoulder which puts the weight on the shoulder rather than the neck area....

Do you use them? Which one would you recommend? How about HoldFast camera straps?

Thanks so much!

Kirks518 · Oct 29, 2016

If I were in your shoes, I'd look at something like the Black Rapid Backpack Breathe, or similar. There are others on ebay that do the same job. It's a strap/harness that distributes the weight towards your back.

I know my neck is strained after a couple of hours walking around with a camera, and if I do the strap on one shoulder across my chest, my neck is better, but my shoulder is pretty beat up.

Alan Gales · Oct 29, 2016

These are popular. http://blackrapid.com/Straps/Sport-Breathe.html

I've never used a Blackrapid myself. I used to be a Union Sheet Metal Worker. I wore two large leather pouches filled with tools on a thick leather belt around my waist. I bought some suspenders to distribute the weight off my waist and onto my shoulders. It made a world of difference. Going from your neck to your shoulder should make a huge difference at the end of the day.

Tim Stapp · Oct 29, 2016

Wedding shooter here as well. Have a look at the Optech straps. It is a complete system. I love mine. An associate utilizes their two camera harness during the ceremony.

fstop · Oct 29, 2016

Are there Divorce photographers?

benjiboy · Oct 29, 2016

fstop said:
Are there Divorce photographers?

There aught to be, it would be potentially much more lucrative than shooting weddings, because in the U.K two out of three marriages end in divorce , but in my case after fifty two years of marriage I'm afraid she's stuck with me

Alan Gales · Oct 29, 2016

fstop said:
Are there Divorce photographers?

Only for the famous like Brad and Angelina. They call them Paparazzi.

AgX · Oct 29, 2016

Kirks518 said:
It's a strap/harness that distributes the weight towards your back.

The ones you hinted at are two-cameras harnasses. Seen how they are designed I rather fear the cameras would be bumping into each other constantly. Do they?
(Of course one could couple the two straps and just hang one camera to them.)

haring · Oct 29, 2016

Thanks so much! The Blackrapid seems to be reasonably priced....

Alan Gales · Oct 29, 2016

haring said:
Thanks so much! The Blackrapid seems to be reasonably priced....

Of course if you really want to spend some money you could replace your Canikon outfit with a lighter weight Fujifilm Xt2 kit.

You do nice work by the way.

Kirks518 · Oct 29, 2016

AgX said:
The ones you hinted at are two-cameras harnasses. Seen how they are designed I rather fear the cameras would be bumping into each other constantly. Do they?
(Of course one could couple the two straps and just hang one camera to them.)

I've never used them, but heard good things about them. I *think* that there is some clip or QR that keeps them tight to your body when they aren't being used.

benjiboy · Oct 30, 2016

AgX said:
The ones you hinted at are two-cameras harnasses. Seen how they are designed I rather fear the cameras would be bumping into each other constantly. Do they?
(Of course one could couple the two straps and just hang one camera to them.)

That's impossible, the cameras are on opposite sides of your body. https://optechusa.com/dual-harness.html
This IMO would be ideal for wedding shooting.

AgX · Oct 30, 2016

You are right. Those photos of the chinese offers from Ebay though give a different impression. Maybe they are just badly staged.

Helios 1984 · Oct 30, 2016

haring said:
Thanks so much! The Blackrapid seems to be reasonably priced....

I've been using a Blackrapid for a few years now, I can recommend the CrossShot. I also use a small safety cable for extra peace of mind.

bain · Oct 31, 2016

Just a loose wrist strap, or most of the time no strap at all.

benjiboy · Nov 4, 2016

You have to be prepared to "suffer for your art"

Trask · Nov 4, 2016

Just looked at the Black Rapid online. It has that strap that goes under the arm, but it seems to me that they have designed it to go under the wrong arm -- it should go across the chest under the other arm. When I use a strap it is usually on my left shoulder, which I unconsciously hunch upwards to ensure the camera strap doesn't slip off. This can be fatiguing over the long run. A strap across my chest under my right arm and coming back across my back pulling the strap inward to the left shoulder would be much more secure. I have no idea what the designers of Black Rapid think that strap under the arm does, so I would be curious to hear an assessment from a user.

benjiboy · Nov 4, 2016

Trask said:
Just looked at the Black Rapid online. It has that strap that goes under the arm, but it seems to me that they have designed it to go under the wrong arm -- it should go across the chest under the other arm. When I use a strap it is usually on my left shoulder, which I unconsciously hunch upwards to ensure the camera strap doesn't slip off. This can be fatiguing over the long run. A strap across my chest under my right arm and coming back across my back pulling the strap inward to the left shoulder would be much more secure. I have no idea what the designers of Black Rapid think that strap under the arm does, so I would be curious to hear an assessment from a user.

They are made in right and left handed versions.

GRHazelton · Nov 4, 2016

I use the Black Rapid to position the camera on my right side; since I'm right handed the camera comes readily to hand. My only problem is putting the rig on, its easy to end up with the "R" inverted, which gums up the works, to some extent. Thus far I've used it only with my Pentax K 5, a d*****l camera, the real test would be with my Pentax 645n, a rather heavy but wonderful wonderful beast. I've also used it with the el-cheapo Amazon sling bag. Still working out the optimum configuration of the sling bag, but so far the combo works well with the sling over the Black Rapid.

benjiboy · Nov 5, 2016

I dislike the idea of my camera hanging upside down so Black Rapid straps and their clones are a no no in my book.

MattKing · Nov 5, 2016

OpTech make an accessory strap that works like the Black Rapid but attaches to the lugs on a camera

fstop · Nov 6, 2016

Alan Gales said:
Only for the famous like Brad and Angelina. They call them Paparazzi.

I thought paparazzi was something you could get at an Italian restaurant.

mgb74 · Nov 6, 2016

By coincidence, I was talking to a photographer friend (weddings, editorial, event work) about what he uses. He doesn't like straps around his neck, so he uses a belt clip made by Peak Design (I'm not sure what model). When using multiple bodies, he has a "dedicated" belt to clip them to.

one90guy · Nov 7, 2016

haring said:
Thanks so much! The Blackrapid seems to be reasonably priced....

I have the Blackrapid, been using it for several years. At 68 I was in need of help, have carried Nikon F4s and Mamiya 6 together with no problem. I believe you will enjoy using it. Good luck.

David

mweintraub · Nov 7, 2016

fstop said:
Are there Divorce photographers?

I've seen photos done after a divorce to show the person's happiness. So yes.

Less weight - do you use camera straps around your shoulder? HoldFast?

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