Black Rapid R-strap

By Martin Joergensen | August 26, 2008 12:23 PM | Permalink

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I did hear of the Black Rapid strap a while back, but when I searched the web I found no trace of it. That might have been because I searched for Black Rabbit and not Rapid, which is the name of this new camera strap and seems to be exactly what it is: rapid.

I have toyed with many different camera strap systems in my time, and not so few home cooked contraptions - "suspensories" as some of my friends have dubbed them.

But I must admit that the Rapid R-Strap seems pretty neat compared to my own clumsy inventions.

The thing is that I have always used the eyelets on the camera, while this one literally turns things upside down by using either the tripod socket or the D-ring in a quick release plate - on the camera or on the lens tripod foot. It seems to leave the camera very well balanced, and judging from the videos on the inventor Ron Henry's web site, it's quick and easy to use too.

BTW: it's funny how many videos with camera shutter sounds still use the sound of old film cameras, where you can clearly hear the film being wound - click-bzzzzz, click-bzzzz rather than click-click-click. Well I digress...

The R-Strap way of mounting the camera leaves it upside down at your hip when the strap is worn across a shoulder, and enables you to quickly lift it to the eye for a shot. The main target group is obviously photographers with several cameras - at least two - but people carrying one camera will probably enjoy using the Black Rapid with a single body. It seems quite comfortable, and even though I don't like carrying stuff in straps across my body, I can see the advantages with this construction.

I see only one immediate disadvantage: the quick release plates for the Arca Swiss style ball heads - like the excellent Markins ball heads - will not accommodate this strap easily. They are not fastened with a D-ring, but with a hexagonal screw.

I will see if I can get my hands on one and try it out. I like the idea, and certainly welcome anything that can make it more convenient to carry two cameras.

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