PhotographyCamera strap clips
I'm picky when it comes to camera straps. I have used the standard Canon, Konica Minolta and Sony straps that came with the cameras I own, and ironically, the strap that came with the Canon Powershot S1 is the most comfortable of those. Unfortunately it says "Canon Powershot" and is an ugly silvery color. Then I found the Optech pro loop strap, and never looked back as far as neck comfort goes. It detaches very quickly as well. Great strap.
However, the Optech strap doesn't detach completely and I can't stand dangling bits when I have no need for a strap. But getting the dangling ends off and putting them on every other day is an annoying chore. I am seriously baffled by the inability of the camera industry to come up with a standardized, convenient way to attach and detach straps, leaving no dangling parts on the camera body. Guitar and bass guitar straps have a standard, which is not a very good one, but at least it's a standard. Even then, if you want something more advanced, you simply exchange strap systems, for instance into the excellent Schaller strap locks I've been using for almost 20 years. It works with every single guitar strap, and it fits onto every single (bass) guitar body.
So I searched for the ultimate fast strap connectors. It all seemed so simple: the German brand Hama make these here clips:
Hama marks them as "best seller" even though you get hooks less sturdy than the ones pictured. The clips detach any strap fully in seconds. However, when they're on your camera, they annoyingly get in the way of your right thumb and index finger when you're in portrait mode. Holding the clip and strap flush against the right side of the camera body is somewhat painful with a heavy lens and will probably scratch the camera's finish. In short: still too much dangling bits.
Being the self-proclaimed handyman that I am, I figured I could cook up something myself.
I made a preliminary pair of strap clips. They're extremely compact and detach in a few seconds. Not only that, but the clips aren't permanently attached to anything, so you can also change straps in seconds. No tools are required (although using a normal bolt instead of a knurled pin makes it even more compact). They don't depend on the standard triangular connectors, but instead attach directly to the camera's strap eyelets. There's one disadvantage: in their present form, they only work with higher-end SLR bodies with those triangular connectors, not with cameras that have slot lugs.
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1. These are the clips. Two steel strips with threaded holes. On one end, there's a M2.5 x 10 mm bolt with a nylon tube for the strap end. On the other end, there's a lock pin with a threaded end and a knurled head.
2. This is what it actually looks like. It really is very compact, especially when you use a second bolt instead of the knurled pin. But that defeats the purpose of "quick on and off".
The sides were made from tapped strips used for mounting backplanes and modules in industrial 19" subracks (VeroTec EuroTec caseframes), the knurled pins are used to temporary secure the modules in those caseframes. You could of course, get an M2.5 hand tap tool, pre-drill with a 2 mm bit and thread the strips yourself out of a scrap piece of steel. The knurled pin could be made out of a slightly longer bolt with tightened hex nuts for the knurled part. The nylon tube can also be replaced by a number of hex nuts.
Now these are preliminary. I intend to make something that's less fiddly and better looking, preferrably made out of a single part and a lock pin.
Fuzzcraft.com comment system 1.1
2011-09-04 Frank
I'd be very interested in these. I have made my own leather camera straps and would love to have these instead of just the normal split rings I have been using.
2011-12-24 Vinnie
I also am in the market for alternative clips and these are definitely in the right direction.
Where did you get the pieces, particularly the sides. Did you have these them fabricated or are they available somewhere on the web?
2011-12-25 Fuzzcraft
Hi Vinnie,
As an answer to your question, I updated the page. Please see above.
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