[madison_wi_gal]

When I retired my ME Super, I removed the really nice wide red paisley groovy neck strap that had squeeze clip ends from the ME super and put it on my K-r. The problem is it the K-r doesn't have rings, it only has slots for straps, so my squeeze clip ends are inserted in those, can't swing freely and it makes the whole thing very stiff. It also doesn't bend out of the way when I've got the camera vertical so I accidentally take a lot of pictures of the edge of my strap.

There are a lot of neck straps out there that'll work, including the one that actually came with my K-r, but now I'm starting to look at hand straps.

I mostly wind up carrying my camera in my right hand by the battery lump anyway and then the strap falls from that unless I put it around my wrist but it's really cumbersome. I almost never put it around my neck although sometimes I'll swing it over my shoulder and carry the camera on my back if I don't need it right away.

I'm wondering what the pros and cons are for a neck strap versus one of these hand strap things?

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Last edited by madison_wi_gal; 02-19-2017 at 09:58 PM.

[Tas]

When I retired my ME Super, I removed the really nice wide red paisley groovy neck strap that had squeeze clip ends from the ME super and put it on my K-r. The problem is it the K-r doesn't have rings, it only has slots for straps, so my squeeze clip ends are inserted in those, can't swing freely and it makes the whole thing very stiff. It also doesn't bend out of the way when I've got the camera vertical so I accidentally take a lot of pictures of the edge of my strap. 🙁

There are a lot of straps out there that'll work, including the one that actually came with my K-r, but now I'm starting to look at these other types of straps that you can find where it connects with a loop on the shutter side of the camera, has a handgrip, and then connects on the tripod hole at the bottom.

I mostly wind up carrying my camera in my right hand by the battery lump anyway and then the strip falls from that unless I put it around my wrist but it's really cumbersome. I almost never put it around my neck although sometimes I'll swing it over my shoulder and carry the camera on my back if I don't need it right away.

I'm wondering what the pros and cons are for a neck strap versus one of these handheld things?

G'day,

I ditched my neck strap several years ago for a hand strap. The hand strap I chose (Camera Hand Strap | Ultra Fit Hand Strap With Ultra Plate) comes with a handy plate allowing for the attachment of tripod mounts and other slings, some photos can be found here: Hand strap only showing bottom plate and two... - Tas's Album: Hand strap feedback - PentaxForums.com

This topic has popped up a couple of times on the forums, the latest one I contributed to can be found here: Need Assistance Choosing a Sling (Thanks!) - PentaxForums.com The OP for that thread was after a sling strap, but there are several discussions on hand straps and alternatives to neck straps too that might be of assistance.

I still only have a hand strap on my camera and the sling strap is reserved to aid carrying long lenses for sports photography. I don't really miss a neck strap getting caught on things or blowing around in the wind, which were the main reasons I went with a hand strap.

Good luck with your decision.

Tas

[photolady95]

I use this one:

OP/TECH USA Cam Strap-QD (Black) 1801021 B&H Photo Video

And have one on every DSLR I own, all five of them.

[madison_wi_gal]

I use this one:

OP/TECH USA Cam Strap-QD (Black) 1801021 B&H Photo Video

And have one on every DSLR I own, all five of them.

I saw that one too, that might make more sense if I have to quickly get my right hand free.

---------- Post added 02-19-17 at 23:22 ----------

G'day,

This topic has popped up a couple of times on the forums Tas

Yeah, I should have looked first, I will read that one now. Cheers!

[following.eric]

Hands Down the Peak Design Slide.

The quick release is amazing for tripod use and the one hand adjustment is perfect depending what you are wearing...also because it is quick release you can throw a second set of tabs onto a second body and easily (5 seconds) throw the strap onto another camera.

I got one 6 months ago and it was one of those items you don't know how you ever lived without it and how you'll ever be able to go back to the standard Pentax strap.

Peak Design Slide...amazing

[madison_wi_gal]

Ah, I am so much more informed now that I dug into this topic!

I now know terminology: what the K-r has is a slotted lug. If it had lug rings I wouldn't be in this predicament, as the swivel snaps I had on the old strap would have worked. Jamming them through the slotted lugs put them off at a weird angle and the camera never hung properly, and that is what caused the strap to get in the way.

OK, anyway. If I get rid of the strap, I see two basic designs - a strap that ONLY attaches at the (for me, anyway) right slotted lug and then loops around my right wrist, OR a two ended hand grip that attaches at the right slotted lug and also at (or near) the tripod mount. If I upgrade the strap I can try the Peak Design Slide as mentioned above.

They all have pros and cons so maybe next step is to buy one of each that has been suggested here so far and mess with them.

Thanks all!

[beachgardener]

I might be old school, but for DSLR I choose a neck strap, maybe a small light camera would be suitable with a hand strap.

There is a nice selection of both types here Lucky Camera Straps | Leather Camera Straps, Australia Made. The best gift for Photographers

[madison_wi_gal]

I might be old school, but for DSLR I choose a neck strap, maybe a small light camera would be suitable with a hand strap

Well, I'm old school too, so I do like the idea of a neck strap. Those look very nice!!

---------- Post added 02-20-17 at 00:02 ----------

Or I could jerry rig my beloved old strap by using these as lug extenders... hmm.
So many options!

[beachgardener]

I recently bought a slim 30 grip black/white for a black Spotmatic F, I will try to do a picture of it tomorrow morning.

This one: https://www.luckystraps.com.au/collections/new-slim-straps-for-mirrorless-an...ip-black-white

[pakinjapan]

I'm wondering what the pros and cons are for a neck strap versus one of these hand strap things?

to me, I dropped my K5 pretty bad 3 times and the last time was the worse and the camera retied for good. the big difference is, if for whatever reason the camera jump out of my hands;
For neck strap (if it is on my neck), the camera is safe.
For hand strap or wrist strap, the camera will be rolling on the floor.


Now, neck strap is the only way to go for me, and I always make sure it is on my neck unless I am using a tripod.

---------- Post added 02-20-17 at 03:18 PM ----------

I am using neck strap + camera clips (PeakDesign). Strap go to my neck and camera clipped to the clip on my backpack so that it won't swing left and right when I have to walk fast or run. I used to use hand strap + camera clips for quick action but you know, sometime things go too quick and camera fly out of hands!

[officiousbystander]

I also use the Op/Tech modular system. I can easily swap from neck to hand to sling straps: whatever the occasion warrants.
But I mostly favour the hand straps. Having a camera around my neck just doesn't make sense. It's not comfortable or secure. Have to secure it in my hand in any case.

[BigMackCam]

I use this one:

OP/TECH USA Cam Strap-QD (Black) 1801021 B&H Photo Video

And have one on every DSLR I own, all five of them.

I use one of those on my K-5. It's pretty good... For a DSLR *without* battery grip and with reasonably light lenses, it works very well. The foam wrist loop is quite stretchy, though, and I wouldn't want to rely on it with a heavier combination.

[pepperberry farm]

Peak Design Slide - and I use the lugs, not the tripod mount for my Slide...

[jeffrey.wetherill]

I've used Joby Wriststraps for years. They are excellent quality and have held up extremely well. They give that extra confidence when holding the camera in your hands, especially when photographing from heights.

Joby DSLR Wrist Strap (Charcoal) JB01271 B&H Photo Video

[k22]

Made my own hand strap out of paracord. Simple, cheap, reliable. Takes up minimum space.