Update July 28, 2009
I’ve now used this r-strap since may. I love Love LOVE LOVE it. I wear it on opposite shoulders from my crumpler 6 million dollar home, which serves as a lens bag. I’ve used it at weddings, portrait sessions, and just around town shooting. It’s perfect.
WARNING. Stitch all your webbing back to itself with upholstery thread. You want to make it impossible to get the webbing undone from the buckles without a knife. Yes, my strap came apart and I dropped my 5d Mark II on the ground. Twice. At $35 bucks per UV filter, I’ve now spent more than it would have cost to buy a real R-strap. The investment is no good for me, but for everyone else, follow the directions and you’ll save yourself some money. Stitch it till your fingers bleed.
Update May 1st, 2009
Wow, lots of visitors searching for R-Strap variations. Sadly, more visitors searching for R-straps that a Denver photographer. If you end up making one, let me know in the comments how it works out and any improvements you make to my design. I end up slinging a camera on one shoulder and a Crumpler 6-Million Dollar Home with a few lenses across the other shoulder to make for a bad-ass fast lens switching rig. It’s comfy, nicely balanced, and fast. I looked at the shootsac for a shooting bag (as opposed to a camera bag that would fit all my gear, I don’t expect the crumpler will fit all my gear, just the 50% of it that I’ll need during a portrait session or wedding).
Update March 8th, 2009
Ok, I think I’ve got it. Use this strap from REI (or other messenger bag strap that is comfy). Get a seam riper or pointy x-acto knife and take one of the clips off. I did this a while ago, so can’t remember exact steps, but look at pictures for final result and make yours look like mine. I had the blue 3/4″ webbing sewn, but didn’t trust my stitching. I’ve now got this plastic do-hickey from REI as well, and that keeps the two ends nicely snug, and also allows me to take the strap off easily if I want to. (if you really wanted to be secure, take some of that Upholstery thread I mentioned and put a few stitches through the blue webbing ends.)
Had this strap on for about 4 hours of shooting yesterday at a fashion shoot. Switched shoulders a few times, but loved the setup every minute.
Update March 3rd, 2009:
I’ve so far used this at a few portrait sessions. I love the lightweight nature of this strap, but it’s not an all day strap with the 1 inch webbing. At the end of a 1:30 session, I’m glad to take it off. It’s not something I’d want to be a tourist with for an all-day outing. But, for active shooting, it is SO much better than the around the neck strap that comes with cameras, and works much better than the sling carry with a traditional strap. I’m going to Germany in a few weeks, and will update this with modifications I make before I depart.
I’m not that handy, but when I get the itch to do it myself, I go all out. 2 trips to REI and a trip to a mountaineering outfitter later, I have what I think is my perfect camera strap for now. Still testing it for long periods of time, but here it is. Inspired by the function of the Blackrapid R-Strap but improving and simplifying, I’ve made a strap that lets the camera hang messenger-bag style right at your hip, while allowing instant access to the camera without shifting the main strap on your body. It’s like the camera is on a track or rail, and just rides right up the track to shooting position. I didn’t like how other DIY R-Straps (and the Original R-Strap) had lots of hardware. All the other designs has bulky clips and lots of strap material, relatively speaking, compared to this version. I also didn’t like how they relied on a tripod mount. One blog commenter out there wondered if the tripod mount was built to take the stress of a moving camera. I don’t know, but I do know the existing strap anchors on either side ARE designed to take the weight of a camera.
Ingredients:
1 inch tubular webbing. Enough to loop from shoulder to your opposite hip with a bit extra for fudging.
3/4 tubeular webbing, about a foot, but less would do. 1 inch would work fine, but my goal here was to reduce the presence of the strap to the minimum. Any other sturdy climbing cord or webbing would work for this, but the webbing is sewable.
Nylon upholstery thread. Your friendly discount store sells this in their fabric department.
1 1/2 inch keyring. Or whatever you have lying around in your junk drawer. You could use 2 for security, but I don’t think its necessary, judging from what Nikon put on my D300 as the factory strap anchor. Again, the smallest size that fits the webbing and feels sturdy is the way to go.
1″ Tri-Glide Sliders. These are those plastic do-hickeys that allow you to connect the ends of the 1″ webbing and adjust your strap. Most camping/outdoor stores should have these.
Steps:
Cut your 3/4 webbing to make a bracelet-sized loop. Burn those ends well. Slide your keyring on and then stitch the ends together with your thread. The more stitches you can get in, the better. Webbing isn’t that tough to get a needle through, but a thimble might save your finger. I used a pretty fat needle. Make sure you tie that thread off really well at the end. Your camera’s life is on the line, and this is the weakest link. I did about 30 stitches and then gave it a really good tug-nothing budged.
The rest is simple. See pictures for how to assemble. Size it so the camera rests on your hip…then go find some squirrels in the yard on which to target practice. Be amazed at how fast you can shoot those suckers.
Refinements and comments are welcome. If you can’t sew and your camera falls on the sidewalk, you can whine in the comments below. I’ll never approve them for posting, but at least you will get the satisfaction of complaining to someone.
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