RS-4 R-Strap from BlackRapid
28 Feb 2009
Pros:
- Carrying the camera over your should is a lot better for two reasons. First, it is free to rotate so you can stick it behind your back which makes getting into tight spaces and through crowds a lot less of a hassle. Also, since the camera is hanging upside down, if you’ve got a flash on the hotshoe it isn’t awkwardly under your arm getting knocked around; it’s conveniently hanging down by your pocket.
- Using it in the intended x-chest manner is definitely as nice as advertised. The grip is right where you’d want it to quickly reach down and grab it, and as soon as you’re done shooting the camera gets out of your way.
- I now much prefer having the strap mounted to a long lens, so that when I switch to a short one the 70-200 or whatever stays right where I need it, rather than having the strap on the camera and trying to juggle two loose lenses and a bag.
- The padding makes a nice ad-hoc knee pad when you’re going to be in the same spot for a few minutes
Cons:
- My biggest complaint is how difficult getting the clasp onto the provided L bracket is. At first I figured this was just a good way of making sure things didn’t start falling off, but (unless I’m doing something wrong) it could be just as secure and be a little easier to get on. Granted, I’m not doing this all the time, but every time I do it takes three or for tries to get things lined up. Certainly wouldn’t be an issue with a tripod QR.
- I find that the should pad tends to creep down my chest pretty quickly. Maybe after bringing the camera up to shooting position 10 times I’ll have to reset the pad. It doesn’t really get in the way until it’s like all the way down and when you try to bring the camera up instead of having the flexible nylon mesh just moving out of the way, you’re contending with a pretty solid shoulder pad and things get kind of awkward. I think maybe if the pad were a bit contoured this would be less of an issue, so maybe it will go down with use.
All-in-all, very happy.