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So, 90% of my photo outings are in nature, more often than not in rugged trails and unbeaten paths. Often along the shore of a salt marsh and the St Lawrence River (salt water).
So, I need a great strap "system" which is:
1. secure! I don't want to drop my cameras in salt water or on rocks
2. comfortable: lots of weight carrying two camera bodies with lenses attached.
3. durable: no flimsy plasticky-like material.
I have looked all over, including this very site here (and its search engine) and found litterally hundreds of threads and posts on the subject matter: STRAPS!
Because of that, it has been increasingly more confusing to decide what to buy.
First option which seemed to be the best for me was the R-Strap system by Black Rapid .... until I noticed that the cameras would hang down in a wobbly manner near your waist/hips and possibly become a hazard in likely encounters with trees, branches, rocks , etc ...
This system doesn't allow for tripod/monopod use, unless you remove the swivel part under the camera.
However, that wouldn't be a problem as I do most of my bird/nature pics handheld, except for some long exposure shots once in a while.
This question goes to those using the R-Strap system:
I wonder is how "high" is this system allowing you to carry your gear? Can it be as high as your "belly", for instance, and not having two cameras dangling all over at thigh height?
Second option, was a "holster" type of carrying gear: problem is that you have a loose camera in your hand(s) and, if not also fitted with a strap, you are likely to drop the camera one of these days.
So, by combining this system with a reasonably good and comfortable strap, it would likely be better than the R-Strap -- I saw that one can attach a quick-release plate on the camera(s) as well with this holster-type gear.
Third option was simply getting a "normal" strap (or combining two of them in some way) but wide enough at the neck/shoulder level for a comfortable fit and proper weight distribution.
Lots of options out there; lots of choices, lots of confusion.
If anyone can jump in and suggest something, based of the infornmation provided above, I would certainly be most happy!
Cheers!
JP
Last edited by jpzk; 02-25-2010 at 09:23 AM.
Reason: Spelling