Tuesday 1 June 2010

Black Rapid:: R-Strap 2 - In Use

I used the double Black Rapid R-Strap on a shoot at the weekend and just had to do an update post. If you haven't read my previous post on my choice of strap set-up, check out Black Rapid:: R-Strap .

Although my weekend shoot was not a long one, I was blown away by just how much of a difference the R-Strap(s) were in both comfort and ease of use. Due to the uncertainty of the weather on Sunday, I wore a waterproof jacket in case of rain. I was really pleased that I could wear the double R-Strap under my jacket and it was both comfortable and inconspicuous (although I was paid to do a job, so I could be as conspicuous as I liked). I wasn't sure if the larger phone pouch and storage compartments of the RS-5 would be too bulky to wear under a jacket, but it was fine. It will probably be a bit big for under a suit jacket, but I'll test that out later in the month.

I would normally have a camera hung over each shoulder with the standard Nikon straps, which makes it slow when changing from one body/lens combination to the next. Hanging one camera over my right shoulder and getting the other from the left takes time and I've missed plenty of shots in the past, or even just not bothered changing. There's been a few times when I've almost dropped a camera too.

The double R-Strap was perfect and it felt so natural! As one camera was going down in my right hand, the other was coming up in my left hand. I had no problem swapping over for just one shot with the 70-200mm and then back to the 17-55mm. The cameras glide up the straps smoothly every time.

I used the RS-5 as a single strap yesterday when out walking, and it performed spot on too. The camera tends to spin round a bit with just a 50mm on it, but I expected that. With all my other lens's though, I can reach down without looking and know exactly where the grip will be.

The R-Strap is a first class product and I recommend it 100%. I have just ordered a FastenR-3 so that I can leave a fastenR on my 70-200mm tripod mount. As the FastenR-3 looks a bit more low-profile than the 2, I'll probably put it on the camera grip so that it fits in the bag while still attached to the camera.

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