During my slow summer season I'm getting all my systems in place for when I get busy again. I'm upgrading the computers, I'm sending the cameras in to get serviced, and I'm replacing worn out items like camera straps.
The best strap out there is made by Al Stegmeyer at UPstrap. The novel feature of the UPstrap is that it doesn't slip off your shoulder. It has these rubberized nubby things that just plant the camera on your body, and it doesn't move. Because pro DSLRs are such heavy beasts, we tend to carry them on a shoulder, and you're always shifting and yanking them up when they slip. With an UPstrap, they don't budge.
I used to use the Optech wide strap for all my equipment, and I was worried that the UPstrap, because it is narrower, would be less comfortable. But the opposite is true--that wide strap gets in the way, and the springiness of the Optech makes it problematic in the field. But I liked the quick release design of the Optech, so I had someone put some quick release clips on an UPstrap so I could keep that system. Now the company has added a quick release version that is apparently more secure than other models out there.
Their website: http://www.upstrap-pro.com/
Love, love, love my camera upstraps.
I tried the camera bag upstrap and ended up taking it off -- oddly it seemed too grippy for that purpose (kept twisting my shirt around under it; maybe the extra weight over and above the camera weight?)
Posted by: david adam edelstein | August 07, 2007 at 10:34 AM
Like the strap you mentioned, Domke straps have a sticky nubby side, also, and they are quick release.
Posted by: Michael A Shapiro | August 08, 2007 at 07:54 AM
"oddly it seemed too grippy for that purpose"
I had the same reaction to their camera straps. For both my D80 and my Hexar RF, the grippiness seemed like overkill. Well made, though.
Posted by: matt | August 08, 2007 at 10:41 AM