Got my Luma Cinch strap.
So far it's been really nice!! I like the fact that it attaches at 2 different points because when wearing it as a sling, it doesn't swing around.
It's very easy to shorten and lengthen while you're using it.
It's a bit pricey, but it's extremely functional. I,m very happy with it.

Hey, love the Black Rapid.... and will be getting the Manfrotto RC-2 with the Black Rapid screw, so I can easily switch to tripod mode. Thanks to all for the ideas....

Just got my Black Rapid in the mail yesterday. Will check this out in Atlanta.....

briantek said:
Love my blackrapid but lately I have been shooting a lot without a strap at all.

8-O

Love my blackrapid but lately I have been shooting a lot without a strap at all.

On my D700, I am still using a long, wide and super-soft deer leather strap I originally made about 25 years ago for my 35mm film Canon camera. I will have to make another one for my D800 when (if) it arrives.

Indeed, I hope they are way tougher than i realise, but don't you carry/hold/support heavy lens/camera setups from the lens (300mm to 600mm lenses)? If not then the lens could snap from it's mount with the camera? They don't use the tripod mount on the camera. Hence, that is a moo (yes I said moo :D) point?

My comment was about the quality of the screw.

Even the Quick Strap uses a screw in the tripod mount, and it manages to put more strain on the screw due to the mounting plate but it looks good too. I considered that set-up but didn't get as far as examining it as my Slik QD PUK was a problem.

My comment about chinese screws was addressed to Lamarfrancois as I got the impression he may be using a fleabay special.

spraynpray said:
...many years of experience of product failures in many applications...

We appreciate the wisdom, hence my nifty backup system.

spraynpray said:
Good luck trying to get your chinese seller to give a toss after taking your money too.

FYI, the Quick Strap can be bought direct from a British guy who gives great customer service and prices. Just a quick google and a look on couple of forums will tell you this.

spraynpray said:
Your comment about the tripod mount design? They are way tougher than you realise - check out the way sports photographers carry heavy lens/camera combinations on them all day every day. Do you see them falling off? I wonder how many have el cheapo screws holding them together...

Indeed, I hope they are way tougher than i realise, but don't you carry/hold/support heavy lens/camera setups from the lens (300mm to 600mm lenses)? If not then the lens could snap from it's mount with the camera? They don't use the tripod mount on the camera. Hence, that is a moo (yes I said moo :D) point?

dotslash said:
hmm, well until I see scientific stress tests between the various versions (i've read about and seen multiple failures of both BR and copycat versions), all I'll say is good luck with your single point of failure, which fundamentally, is attached to a point on the camera not designed for what these straps are using it for.

Seeing as it sounds like you are an engineer, maybe you could rig up a stress test and prove us all wrong.

I'm a retired engineer now, what I did was to give you a heads up based on many years of experience of product failures in many applications. If that isn't good enough, then like I said - good luck - it is your camera after all. Good luck trying to get your chinese seller to give a toss after taking your money too.

Your comment about the tripod mount design? They are way tougher than you realise - check out the way sports photographers carry heavy lens/camera combinations on them all day every day. Do you see them falling off? I wonder how many have el cheapo screws holding them together...

Such is the effect of stress raisers, you could get an inferior metal to out perform a superior metal if it is made correctly.

dotslash said:
Agree with you here lamar, for some things, i can see that spending the money is worthwhile, but you raise a perfect example with Nikon own brand battery grips there. If only the third party manufacturers in the battery grip arena were as reliable (AFAIK) as the manufacturers in the strap market.

Also, if you buy a Quick Strap, you help the British economy. If you buy BR, you help the American economy. So I guess the buyer can support whichever country they think needs their money most! ;)

Agreed about cost of battery grips, but not about any one country's economy - the best quality gets my money wherever that comes from. If the BR fastenR-T1 hadn't been good enough, I would have made my own.

'nuff said.

lamarfrancois said:
Point taken about cheap stuff - with PC power supplies you'd be absolutely right. But why do Nikon charge £400 for a battery grip? (MB-D12) Or £300 for a battery charger? (MH-26) People will pay through the nose for camera accessories , compared to the costs of manufacturing them.

Agree with you here lamar, for some things, i can see that spending the money is worthwhile, but you raise a perfect example with Nikon own brand battery grips there. If only the third party manufacturers in the battery grip arena were as reliable (AFAIK) as the manufacturers in the strap market.

Also, if you buy a Quick Strap, you help the British economy. If you buy BR, you help the American economy. So I guess the buyer can support whichever country they think needs their money most! ;)

spraynpray said:
That £30 will seem trivial when the cheap Chinese screw snaps off at one of the many stress raisers carelessly created during rushed manufacture and his 5 grand camera and 3 grand lens land on the floor.

Doesn't sound like you are an engineer and so don't know how much more likely the cheap copy version is to fail than the slightly more expensive version.

It is all about risk avoidance my friend but if you think you are right, it's your camera. I am only trying to assist people who don't know what they are looking at beyond the price tag.

Good luck.

The strap itself is reasonably well made with a sturdy metal plate screwed into the camera's tripod socket clamped onto the straw. The screw itself is held to the plate via a metal tab .The clamp would still hold the camera if the metal tab were to fail but there would be more more stress loadings through the tripod mount - which if anything is the real point of weakness as said above.

Point taken about cheap stuff - with PC power supplies you'd be absolutely right. But why do Nikon charge £400 for a battery grip? (MB-D12) Or £300 for a battery charger? (MH-26) People will pay through the nose for camera accessories , compared to the costs of manufacturing them.

hmm, well until I see scientific stress tests between the various versions (i've read about and seen multiple failures of both BR and copycat versions), all I'll say is good luck with your single point of failure, which fundamentally, is attached to a point on the camera not designed for what these straps are using it for.

Seeing as it sounds like you are an engineer, maybe you could rig up a stress test and prove us all wrong.

dotslash said:
lucky he saved £30?

That £30 will seem trivial when the cheap Chinese screw snaps off at one of the many stress raisers carelessly created during rushed manufacture and his 5 grand camera and 3 grand lens land on the floor.

dotslash said:
I'd use the same backup solution if I had the rip off BR version, anything can fail, no matter how much money you spend.

Doesn't sound like you are an engineer and so don't know how much more likely the cheap copy version is to fail than the slightly more expensive version.

It is all about risk avoidance my friend but if you think you are right, it's your camera. I am only trying to assist people who don't know what they are looking at beyond the price tag.

Good luck.

spraynpray said:
@lamarfrancois - see my post 3 above yours.

Are you feeling lucky?

lucky he saved £30?

Also, Wii strap for use as a wrist strap and it doubles as a backup solution when hooked onto a caribena on the £20 Quick Strap I use - I'd use the same backup solution if I had the rip off BR version, anything can fail, no matter how much money you spend.

@lamarfrancois - see my post 3 above yours.

Are you feeling lucky?

KenRC51 said:
Black Rapid!!

Got a knockoff equivalent Rapid shoulder sling strap for my D300 for about £20 here - feels much more comfortable than the neck straps - particularly with an 80-200 f/2.8 mounted too. Overall it's quite a nice bit of kit so far.

@spraynpray.... thanks, I may investigate this Black Rapid FastenR-T1. My strap is almost always looped around my wrist, so I can carry the camera in my right hand with my fingers around the right side, the camera hanging from my finger tips. And, in the event of a stumble or fall, I quickly try to roll to the right, cuddling the camera into my stomach. After all, we heal, cameras do not. Or so I heard my daddy say about furniture. (He was in the business)

I have a NIKON AH-4 hand strap, but find it is inconvenient to get my hand out of.

As a rule of thumb, I either black out the words NIKON and camera model on the strap or use a different strap. I really prefer to not have folks know what I am shooting with and have told a few folks already the D4 is "an old NIKON" . This avoids anyone who may have an ulterior motive for their curiosity. My cameras are blacked out as well with gaffer's tape.

The last place for a strap is around my neck, unless I am cary a camera into my house. Then I turn the lens towards me, put the strap over my head and this keeps the lens pointed downward and less likely to bang on door frames, etc.

I use my D90's strap on my D800
The new straps are ugly and not comfortable !

Cheers

When you use it on the Manfrotto it is easy and very safe. It is the specially extended Black Rapid FastenR-T1 which is made to pass through the Manfotto plate. On my QD 'puck' I had to remove the old stud and turn away the old cast in boss to allow it to work. The Genuine Black Rapid fittings are excellent from an engineers perspective - unlike the chinese copies that are around. When you examine the Black rapid parts you will see that they are very well made, properley cut threads not torn, and have a nice radius at the transistion from the thread to the head so there are not stress-raisers present (it is stress raisers that cause snapping mainly).

I would use it even if I had a heavy D4 but the D90 with grip and 70-300VR isn't light. I do however have the sling quite short and I have a precautionery hand under the lens base when I walk ;-)

spraynpray said:

Here is my solution to the problem of wanting to keep my Slik tripods' QD puck in place. I turned the original centre out of the puck to take BR's Manfrotto QD plate mounting ring. Looks like hell maybe, but works well:

OK, my question here is how secure the ring is in the plate on the camera bottom. I use the Manfrotto RC-2 Plates but would not trust the bolt tightening handle to carry the weight of the camera. Is that a substantial piece you show in your photo?

Nikoner said:
Janoch:

I am wondering about your use of metal hook, does it not leave scrap marks on the camera body?

I would also worry about the safety pin accidentally depressing, and unhooking for a disaster.

There's a really good LowePro strap I tried with a D300 that had quick release clips, if I remember correctly, in plastic (eek!). The user said they don't release as long as there is tension on the strap. I don't trust myself with it, but they do sell the same strap without quick release clips.

The LowePro strap was really nice, grippy, with good ventilation- in the box Nikon straps don't breathe on a hot day, trapping sweat and making you feel miserable.

msmoto said:
What a great question. Thanks so much...
Tommie

You are welcome. I commented because it looked like a hardware store odds'n'ends bucket hanging on the side of your beautiful D4!

BTW please stop posting pictures of it. I am trying to ignore them as I cannot afford one. ;-)

Here is my solution to the problem of wanting to keep my Slik tripods' QD puck in place. I turned the original centre out of the puck to take BR's Manfrotto QD plate mounting ring. Looks like hell maybe, but works well:

Black Rapid R-5 with my D7000, connected to my MB-D11 usually with my 24-70 lens on.

The triangles can take Black rapids clip too. I have also found that the manfrotto quick release plates are pretty secure for clipping. What are those plastic things that cover up the triangles for? (scratching?)

spraynpray said:
@msmoto: Are the rings still necessary?

What a great question. These were on my D200 and I think the small triangular strap rings on the D200 would not accept the rather fat hook of the DOMKE Gripper strap. However, once you questioned this, I took the large rings off and the hooks go into the triangular rings on the D4 just fine. Thanks so much... I will try it without the rings and see if this works.

Tommie