You shouldn’t need a massage therapist when you’re done shooting for the day.
Photo by ginnerobot
Unless, of course, you’re getting yourself in some awkward positions to get that great shot. In which case, contort away. But I’m talking about neck and shoulder pain from carrying a heavy camera, especially if you’ve got a big telephoto lens attached.
Factory camera straps don’t cut it. They’re rigid, unforgiving, and uncomfortable. Plus, the massive “Canon” or “Nikon” scrawled all over them just scream out, “look at me! I have an expensive camera!”. Granted, the camera itself does a fine job of yelling it out, but if you’re walking with it tucked deftly behind your back with a plain looking strap, no one is the wiser coming from the front.
I recently picked up an Op/Tech Super Classic camera strap after reading that its unique construction makes cameras feel 50% lighter and 100% more comfortable. I can happily report that it’s not just a gimmick. The stretchy neoprene distributes the weight across the strap, an ergonomic godsend. The underside is made with non-slip material so the camera can’t slide around on your shoulder.
Quick release clips make it easy to go stealth if you want to lose the padded shoulder bit (I can’t really think of a reason to do this, but hey, it’s an option). They’ve cleverly alternated the clips so that you can clip together the straps with the shoulder bit removed to make a smaller strap.
Perhaps the best part is that these are made 100% in the USA. For the low cost, it could be the best bang-for-your-buck piece of camera equipment you buy in a long time.
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5 Comments... join the discussion!
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Those straps don’t appear to be available anymore – however they also make this one, which seems to be delivering good reviews on Amazon and is, in fact, a little cheaper. I’m expecting delivery next week for one, actually.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00092KD9C/ref=ox_ya_oh_product
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Thanks for looking out Siobhan. The links have been updated to point to the latest version you suggested.
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I would imagine they sell them in the shops, they had all the different op/tech straps at one of the camera shops here in Melbourne. If you just do a search for “op/tech camera straps” in Amazon you’ll come up with all sorts of different models, depending what you want/need. I did try a few of the different ones – the Classic strap, as opposed to the Super Classic strap that I reviewed here, doesn’t have the non-slip underside on the shoulder strap.
One other consideration on some of the straps is the loop strap vs. standard strap. I personally see no difference unless you are constantly removing the strap from the camera (the loop one would be easier to remove and put back on).
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Thanks Carlo, very helpful review!
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