Robert Watcher
Well-known member
To tell the truth - up until a week or so ago, I thought camera wrist straps were useless. I couldn't understand why I would want to use one, and I didn't like the delicate looks of any of the ones that I had seen.
What changed my mind is my use of 2 small Olympus Pen cameras (and a DLSR with long lens) at a Buskerfest recently. I carried the cameras in my shoulder bag and could swap them in and out OK - but it became a real nuisance because I did not want to carry all of the cameras around my neck. So I had my E-PL1 with holga lens without a strap at all - my E-PL3 with the thin Olympus strap that comes with the camera - and my DSLR with a hand grip. There were so many times when I wished that I could just let one of my small Pen cameras dangle on my wrist while I grabbed and took the few shots I needed with my DLSR or while I changed a lens on the E-PL3 that was hanging on my neck.
I don't like the straps that come with cameras and never use them. That is, except for when I am wanting a strap on my Pen cameras. In that case I had no choice if I wanted to use a strap because my normal straps are just too big and bulky and so often get in the way of looking at the LCD screen for focusing. I also got thinking about when I am street shooting in Central America, and for security reasons I want a camera strap that is wrapped around my wrist a few times in case someone is eyeing it up and plans on grabbing it from me. . .
. . . it was those sentiments that got me thinking about using a wrist strap. I then realized how strong the small Olympus straps were and that they would make a great wrist strap. So I made a loop around my wrist with the strap and asked my wife to mark the length and sew it strongly (like she would a pair of jeans) and then cut off the excess. She actually did it while the strap was still on the camera and then we took the rest of the strap off the lug and set it aside to make another one for another camera. If I didn't happen to have a wife who is a seamstress and has all of the gear, I think that I would go to the local shoe repair shop and see if it may just cost a few dollars for them to run a stitch across the fabric.
It fits well and comfortably - - - and the funny thing is that that cheap looking strap all of a sudden transforms into a thick professional looking wrist strap. Two things I may or may not change in the future may be - sewing in some sort of quick release hook - and some type of band to tighten up against different size wrists. Although I am the only one that will be using the strap likely and so it fits perfectly my ability to have the camera dangle without falling off, and still having enough slack so that I can access different parts of the camera and working comfortably without it being so snug that it pulls at my wrist.
I actually can now see that I may make a wrist strap for my hand held DSLR that I use for my commissioned work - such as when I am using the camera on a tripod for family portraits and I find the camera straps get in the way of my viewfinder - so I don't use them. The extra security of knowing that the camera is attached to something when I take it off and on the tripod would comforting. Or in the middle of a dance floor at a wedding when I am holding my camera high in the air and pointing down taking action shots - I would feel better knowing that if I were bumped by someone or lost my grip, that the camera wouldn't fall to the floor or onto someones head.
What changed my mind is my use of 2 small Olympus Pen cameras (and a DLSR with long lens) at a Buskerfest recently. I carried the cameras in my shoulder bag and could swap them in and out OK - but it became a real nuisance because I did not want to carry all of the cameras around my neck. So I had my E-PL1 with holga lens without a strap at all - my E-PL3 with the thin Olympus strap that comes with the camera - and my DSLR with a hand grip. There were so many times when I wished that I could just let one of my small Pen cameras dangle on my wrist while I grabbed and took the few shots I needed with my DLSR or while I changed a lens on the E-PL3 that was hanging on my neck.
I don't like the straps that come with cameras and never use them. That is, except for when I am wanting a strap on my Pen cameras. In that case I had no choice if I wanted to use a strap because my normal straps are just too big and bulky and so often get in the way of looking at the LCD screen for focusing. I also got thinking about when I am street shooting in Central America, and for security reasons I want a camera strap that is wrapped around my wrist a few times in case someone is eyeing it up and plans on grabbing it from me. . .
. . . it was those sentiments that got me thinking about using a wrist strap. I then realized how strong the small Olympus straps were and that they would make a great wrist strap. So I made a loop around my wrist with the strap and asked my wife to mark the length and sew it strongly (like she would a pair of jeans) and then cut off the excess. She actually did it while the strap was still on the camera and then we took the rest of the strap off the lug and set it aside to make another one for another camera. If I didn't happen to have a wife who is a seamstress and has all of the gear, I think that I would go to the local shoe repair shop and see if it may just cost a few dollars for them to run a stitch across the fabric.
It fits well and comfortably - - - and the funny thing is that that cheap looking strap all of a sudden transforms into a thick professional looking wrist strap. Two things I may or may not change in the future may be - sewing in some sort of quick release hook - and some type of band to tighten up against different size wrists. Although I am the only one that will be using the strap likely and so it fits perfectly my ability to have the camera dangle without falling off, and still having enough slack so that I can access different parts of the camera and working comfortably without it being so snug that it pulls at my wrist.
I actually can now see that I may make a wrist strap for my hand held DSLR that I use for my commissioned work - such as when I am using the camera on a tripod for family portraits and I find the camera straps get in the way of my viewfinder - so I don't use them. The extra security of knowing that the camera is attached to something when I take it off and on the tripod would comforting. Or in the middle of a dance floor at a wedding when I am holding my camera high in the air and pointing down taking action shots - I would feel better knowing that if I were bumped by someone or lost my grip, that the camera wouldn't fall to the floor or onto someones head.
