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Best (safest) strap for a big lens tripod foot (1 Viewer)

Apodidae49

Apodidae49

Well-known member
When I eventually get my Tammy 150-600 G2 (or Nikon 200-500) what’s the safest strap to use for carrying?

I am currently using a Black Rapid Curve Breathe with my D7200 and 18-200 zoom. Can I just use that with the long lens with the addition of a safety tether?

I’ve also seen somewhere on eBay that sells a screw fastener identical to the Black Rapid Fastner but in stainless steel.

Anyone recommend a different safe strap to attach to the Tammy for carrying?
 
Apodidae49 said:
Will that fit to the tripod foot of a BIG lens Andrew? I’ve seen videos of the Slide and it looks like it only fixes to two anchor points on the camera and a big zoom lens will put undue pressure on the lens mount if it’s just “hanging off” the camera.
Click to expand...

I would think it could fit, depending on the type of mount. I've not tried fixing it to a lens though. I also think there's a larger version of the Slide, which might be worth considering.
 
Andrew Whitehouse said:
I would think it could fit, depending on the type of mount. I've not tried fixing it to a lens though. I also think there's a larger version of the Slide, which might be worth considering.
Click to expand...

The Black Rapid Sport or Curve have the design and mechanics right (in my opinion) the weak spot (if that is what it is) is the screw fastener in the camera base.
 
Apodidae49 said:
The Black Rapid Sport or Curve have the design and mechanics right (in my opinion) the weak spot (if that is what it is) is the screw fastener in the camera base.
Click to expand...

Attach the scew fastener to the tripod foot of any big lens - that's what you want carrying the weight. Also attach a safety tether to the camera itself if you want extra security (though in the event of a failure of the main attachment all the weight is coming back through the lens mount).

I thought the screw fastener of the Black Rapid setup was stainless steel (looks like 304) though I'm just going on what I thought was memory ! :)

Mine shows just the slightest necking on the inner surface of the carabiner. I have seen pictures on the net of much worse - real risk of inevitable failure. IMO it is less than ideal to cinch the screw fastener up using the carabiner as this is one way of causing the damage to start. Best to carry a little accessory bodgie bar or something like that.

Also check the tightness frequently as various pieces work their way loose from cinched up tight from time to time.

There are other brands out there, and people have had failures or near failures on just about any of them including the Black Rapids. Up to ~7lbs seems sensibly doable with care and attention though.




Chosun :gh:
 
This was my Black Rapid sling after only 5 months of lugging around a Sigma 150-600 Sport attached to a Canon 7DII in 2015. Weight of lens and camera, 4kg/9lb.

The wear on the carabiner was from the attachment screw, which was made from a harder metal than the carabiner. To be fair to Black Rapid, they gave me a full refund, but if you go down that route, watch for wear if you're carrying a heavy combination.

They may have changed the carabiner metal since then, I don't know.

In the four years since then I've been using a Sun Sniper sling for the same job. It's lasted fine, but the tether I made to connect the lens body to the strap for additional security has done its job on more than one occasion when the swivel on the attachment screw wasn't sufficient to prevent the screw coming loose, releasing the load.
 

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Chosun Juan said:
Attach the scew fastener to the tripod foot of any big lens - that's what you want carrying the weight. Also attach a safety tether to the camera itself if you want extra security (though in the event of a failure of the main attachment all the weight is coming back through the lens mount).

I thought the screw fastener of the Black Rapid setup was stainless steel (looks like 304) though I'm just going on what I thought was memory ! :)

Mine shows just the slightest necking on the inner surface of the carabiner. I have seen pictures on the net of much worse - real risk of inevitable failure. IMO it is less than ideal to cinch the screw fastener up using the carabiner as this is one way of causing the damage to start. Best to carry a little accessory bodgie bar or something like that.

Also check the tightness frequently as various pieces work their way loose from cinched up tight from time to time.

There are other brands out there, and people have had failures or near failures on just about any of them including the Black Rapids. Up to ~7lbs seems sensibly doable with care and attention though.




Chosun :gh:
Click to expand...

On doing a bit of research (Google) it seems the Black Rapid FastenR5 is stainless steel coated in nylon. the stainless steel one I saw on eBay for £7.50 states max load of 3kg and the D7200 with the Tammy on is 2.7kg.

However, it seems like Scroogery to spend all that money on a camera, lens and harness to skimp on the one bit that is crucial to holding it safely. So I’ll get a spare Black Rapid fastener for £19.99 and leave it in the lens tripod mount.
 
This thread may be of interest: https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=360407

I ended up going for the Withlin - https://www.amazon.co.uk/WITHLIN-Camera-Safety-Tether-Olympus/dp/B01NBTXGCH

Been very pleased with it. Things to bear in mind: it is right-handed; the screw to the lens tripod foot can become loose over time (though think that's just physics...); I had to lose my normal strap on the camera to affix the safety strap, and it's a lot easier to undo the safety strap from the sling than from the camera, which means that when I go to a smaller lens, I don't have a strap at all, plus the safety strap dangles from the camera. However I can live with that in exchange for the confidence in the strap when out and about with the big lens.

Hope you find something to your liking.

Ian
 
Apodidae49 said:
On doing a bit of research (Google) it seems the Black Rapid FastenR5 is stainless steel coated in nylon. the stainless steel one I saw on eBay for £7.50 states max load of 3kg and the D7200 with the Tammy on is 2.7kg.

However, it seems like Scroogery to spend all that money on a camera, lens and harness to skimp on the one bit that is crucial to holding it safely. So I’ll get a spare Black Rapid fastener for £19.99 and leave it in the lens tripod mount.
Click to expand...
Are we talking about apples and oranges here ?

To make sure we are all on the same page ......
The fastener hooked up to the carabiner attached to the sling gets screwed in to the tripod foot. That way you only have ~750grms hanging off the camera mount, instead of ~2kg+

There are a number of ways to attach an additional safety tether as have been mentioned already.

Check all of them often ! :t:
ie. make it a habit to check before, after, and several times during a session :cat:





Chosun :gh:
 
Chosun Juan said:
Are we talking about apples and oranges here ?

To make sure we are all on the same page ......
The fastener hooked up to the carabiner attached to the sling gets screwed in to the tripod foot. That way you only have ~750grms hanging off the camera mount, instead of ~2kg+

There are a number of ways to attach an additional safety tether as have been mentioned already.

Check all of them often ! :t:
ie. make it a habit to check before, after, and several times during a session :cat:





Chosun :gh:
Click to expand...

I only intend to attach the Black Rapid to the Tammy tripod foot but overall you’ve still got 2.7kg hanging off the strap but hardly any strain on the lens mount.
 
Apodidae49 said:
I only intend to attach the Black Rapid to the Tammy tripod foot but overall you’ve still got 2.7kg hanging off the strap but hardly any strain on the lens mount.
Click to expand...
Yep - that's the right way now :t:

Both the fastener (now coated) and carabiner (plastic shroud?) look to be somewhat redesigned (finessed) and that may help the wear problem. Here are some examples of the uncoated setups - the carabiner could actually wear right through https://www.google.com.au/search?tb...i10i30j0i8i30j0i13j0i8i13i30j0i24.bydTJbyBSpk

Take reasonable care and you should be OK. Additional safety tethers to the camera, and a lens tether as Barred Wobbler mentioned may be prudent. (I haven't gone to those extents yet, but I'm pretty cautious).

The beauty of these slings (apart from the ease of carry and speed of snap shooting) is that the length stops can be set up so that you end up with a triangulated brace when the camera is raised up to the eye, and leaning back places a bit of tension on it which makes it pretty stable. I'm sure you'll quickly come to love it ! :t:





Chosun :gh:
 
Still going with the Black Rapid Curve Breathe on the tripod foot of my Nikon D7200 / Nikkor 200-500 VR but I have succumbed to the Peak Design Slide Lite for my carry round outfit of D7200 / Nikkor 18-200. Its a well made bit of kit and using one of the toggles on the tripod plate and one on the strap link is a very comfortable way of carrying and shooting.
 
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