Most cameras, especially professional and enthusiast models, come supplied with a camera strap. A camera strap isn’t something you spend too much time thinking about; they’re usually attached the day you get your camera and promptly forgotten.
The main benefit of using a camera strap is that you don’t have to keep holding the camera with your hands. You can your hands for other things, while the camera hangs safely from the strap. However if you’re in the habit of carrying a couple of bodies over your shoulder, chances are your straps will have become twisted at some point and camera straps can be quite annoying when placing your camera back into a camera bag. The strap often needs to be carefully folded and if it’s not, it can become twisted. This, in turn, can often lead to fraying – and a frayed strap is one that can let you down when you least expect.
This is something our technicians see every week when cameras are brought in for servicing or sensor cleaning.
Many customers buying new cameras struggle to fit their straps in the correct way to ensure they won`t come undone. We are always happy to fit straps for you, even if you haven’t bought the equipment from us. We might be a company that earns our living repairing equipment, but we hate seeing a customer who hasn’t fitted their strap correctly, and it has slipped or come undone and damaged a camera or lens.
A camera strap can act like a failsafe. In the unfortunate event that you drop your camera, the strap will prevent it from falling to the floor. While you should always aim to keep a good grip on your camera, in busy areas such as city centers or crowded train platforms, you can easily take an unexpected knock and lose your grip. A camera strap helps in these situations, and also provides protection from opportunistic thieves.
However, straps can break. Depending on the strap, there may be multiple points of possible failure. Some use a split ring between the camera strap lugs and the strap itself. The split in the split ring may be widened through use, causing either the strap to come off the ring or the ring to come off the camera. A strap can also work its way backwards through the slider and come loose. Stitching on straps can break, as can the actual material from which they are constructed.
Replacement straps are not expensive – certainly less than the cost of repairing or replacing your kit if the strap gives way! We sell genuine straps from Canon, Nikon and Sony, and many of the major manufacturers make stronger straps that are specifically designed for telephoto lenses. This is useful if you are habitually kitting yourself out with a heavier setup!
It’s important to get your strap from a trusted manufacturer, as this will ensure you’re getting a quality product. We stock reputable strap-makers like Think Tank, Domke, Black Rapid and Op-Tech, all of whom produce fantastic all-weather straps.
We’ve also picked out a few great straps and strap accessories you might not have heard of! These are a great way to give your camera some additional protection.
The Activity Clip Strap Locker cоmрlеtеlу lосkѕ уоur саmеrа tо уоur bоdу whеn уоu аrе runnіng, bіkіng оr сlіmbing а mоuntаіn.
The Activity Clip Strap Locker keeps the camera locked in perfect position when needed.
The Rotaball-Strap-Surfer is dеѕіgnеd fоr mіrrоrlеѕѕ аnd ѕmаll саmеrаѕ, and it аllоwѕ уоu tо аttасh уоur саmеrа tо уоur сrоѕѕ-bоdу bаg оr bасkрасk. Іt іѕ сараblе оf hоldіng саmеrаѕ thаt wеіgh uр tо 5kg, аnd includes the Rоtаbаll Ѕаfеtу Соnnесtоr, whісh аllоwѕ уоur саmеrа tо ѕріn 360° frееlу. This also includes thе nеw Вlоkkеr, a failsafe device to рrеvеnt уоur саmеrа frоm bесоmіng unѕсrеwеd.
Dеѕіgnеd fоr mіrrоrlеѕѕ аnd ѕmаll саmеrаѕ, thе Ѕun-Ѕnіреr Тhе Rоtаbаll-Ѕtrар-Ѕurfеr аllоwѕ уоu tо аttасh уоur саmеrа tо уоur сrоѕѕ-bоdу bаg оr bасkрасk
The SpiderPro Leather Hand Strap has been rеdеѕіgnеd tо рrоvіdе ultіmаtе соmfоrt аnd frееdоm оf mоvеmеnt. Іt’ѕ соmраtіblе wіth аll trіроd рlаtеѕ but іf уоu dоn’t hаvе оnе, nо mаttеr; thе kіt соmеѕ wіth раrtѕ thаt аllоw for uѕе wіthоut а рlаte
For use with both Mirrorless and DSLR cameras
The Underarm Strap frоm Ѕun-Ѕnіреr is dеѕіgnеd tо kеер уоur саmеrа ѕtrар аnd ѕhоuldеr раd ѕесurеlу іn рlасе, еvеn іn thе mоѕt ехtrеmе оf сіrсumѕtаnсеѕ. It’s cоmраtіblе wіth mаnу ѕtrарѕ аnd brаndѕ.
Designed to keep your camera strap and shoulder pad securely in place even in the most extreme of circumstances.
Many Fixation customers love Peak Design straps because they are versatile, very strong and simple to use. Often when photographers collect their new gear, they will choose these over the straps supplied by the manufacturer, and we keep them in stock for this reason.
If there’s one thing to remember from this blog, it’s this: always check your camera’s anchor points when you have your gear attached to a strap. Replacing a fraying anchor or even a whole strap is not a huge expense, but replacing or repairing your camera body or lens almost certainly will be. So check, and check again!