Would you buy this from me, and for how much?

Those of you who saw me at MouseFest 2006 probably noticed that I was wearing my camera on a harness instead of a traditional camera strap. Well, the one I wore at MouseFest was just a mock-up that I made to see how well it worked; I have since created a much better final version from scratch.

But I have had a few people ask me about it, and I'm wondering how well it would sell if I put them out for sale.

So, with Tim's permission, I'm posting a poll here to see how much interest there might be in my camera harness as a commercial product, and what sort of price would be appropriate for it.

I've written up a fancy description and had my buddy the photographer take a few product shots (see below).

The questions I have are:

1) Would you buy this product?
2) Does $30 seem reasonable?
3) Would you buy the optional media card pouches?
4) Does $10 for a pair of media card pouches seem reasonable?
5) Would you buy the optional back suspender strap?
6) Does $5 for the suspender strap seem reasonable?

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The WillCAD Camera Harness is a unique new system for carrying heavy cameras. ​

Unlike an ordinary camera strap, the WillCAD harness puts the weight of a large camera on your shoulders, not your neck, distributing the weight evenly to both the left and right sides of the body while holding it securely, even when your hands are away from the camera. But when adjusted correctly, the harness allows easy shooting from both the horizontal and vertical positions.

Made from super-tough 2" wide polypropelene strapping and plastic fixtures, the WillCAD harness has no metal pieces to scratch or scuff your camera, no sharp edges to poke you while wearing it, and is fully size-adjustable for maximum comfort.

The WillCAD harness comes standard with foam shoulder pads, D-ring attachment loops that fit standard 5/8" camera strap slots, and snap swivels which allow the camera to be quickly and easily detached from the harness.

Optional accessories include a belt strap, Compact Flash (CF) or Secure Digital (SD) memory card pouches, and a vinyl ID pouch.

Other "camera" harness systems on the market are actually designed for use with binoculars, not heavy SLR cameras. Made from thinner, 1" straps and lacking shoulder pads, these harnesses can dig painfully into the shoulders when used with a heavy camera and are uncomfortable for long-term wear. The WillCAD harness, with its 2" straps and shoulder pads, is comfortable enough for all-day wear while walking, hiking, or enjoying your favorite theme parks.

 

I guess I didn't describe the suspender strap very well.

It's an extra strap that clips onto the d-ring in the middle of the X and connects it to your belt in the small of your back. This takes weight of really super-heavy cameras (such as those with giant L glass on them) and transfers some of it to your belt for comfort.

 

1. Since I play the saxophone and am used to having heavy things hanging from my neck, I don't mind using regular camera straps. So, I probably wouldn't buy it, but I do think it is a good product.
2. $30 sounds reasonable
3. Media card pouches? Yes
4. $10 is reasonable
5. Suspender straps? Probably not. Again, I don't mind regular neck straps.
6. $5 sounds reasonable

 

It's an interesting product design. So, from a woman's point of view -

1) Would you buy this product? No. The across-the-chest strap is not a suitable design for a female photographer (my opinion).
I also wonder about the camera 'bouncing' against your body as you walk.

2) Does $30 seem reasonable? Probably . . .
3) Would you buy the optional media card pouches? If the harness would work for me, I'd probably want at least one pouch.
4) Does $10 for a pair of media card pouches seem reasonable? Probably . . .
5) Would you buy the optional back suspender strap? Not sure - the idea of being that "strapped" in is a bit much for me.
6) Does $5 for the suspender strap seem reasonable? Given the construction materials, yes.

 

I also posted this poll on the Tagrel boards and several other women made the same comment. I wonder if eliminating the chest strap, or figuring out a way to make it removable, might fix the problem. I need to get a few women photographers to try it out and help me with the design.

But as far as the camera bouncing, that's one of the biggest advantages - camera bounce is way, way less than with a neck strap. I walk around all day with mine, with my hands completely off the camera, and it only bounces when I walk run or spin around quickly; at normal walking pace, the camera is steady as a rock.

Yes, I think the Op-Tech Bino-Cam harness is my primary competition. But the Bino-Cam was designed for binoculars, and not even for super-heavy binos; it's plenty strong enough to carry the weight of a heavy camera, but it's made of 1" strapping and has no padding, so it will dig into your shoulders like a knife after a short time.

No worries - the harness won't slip over your head with the camera on. Because of the slack, you do have to be careful not to bang the camera against furniture or walls, and if you bend down to tie your shoe, it might hit the floor, but otherwise, the harness is much more secure and stable than any single camera strap.

 

You might want to look at a design more like this for the ladies. I know a couple of girls that played the bari sax when I was in high school and they loved these straps.

Neotech Sax Harness:



[This attachment has been purged. Older attachments are purged from time to time to conserve disk space. Please feel free to repost your image.]

 

Actually, I was getting ready to play the usual devil's advocate and give you a million reasons why it won't work ... but I kind of like the concept. I've used the Bino harness before and it is basically useless with my 5D. Straps are way too thin. This thing looks a little ridiculous, but it seems like it would be a vast improvement over a traditional strap. Less movement, less digging into the neck and (important for Disney), no neck sweat on a long day's shooting in July !

Furthermore, the system has a lot of flexibility. You could easily figure a way to add additional storage onto the harness for an extra lens, memory cards, a blower, etc. You could probably even design a way to hold two cameras at once for Tim.

I agree the design is probably unsuitable for the ladies with the chest strap, but you could always sell two versions.

My only concern with the product is if I buy it, would my wife instantly divorce me ? She'd clearly think I went over the deep end.

 

Its the only way to do it. The guy I took lessons from even uses one with his alto because he has some neck problems.

 

That's a pretty cool design, but it has a single attachment point, so it wouldn't work for a camera. Whether you hooked the camera up with one lug, or put a split hanging strap on the front that went to both attachment points on the camera, the camera would swing around worse on that design than on a standard neck strap.

For a sax, however, it's a great design. And I have seen a similar design used on Stargate SG-1 for carrying the FN P-90 sub-machine gun, so it does seem to have more applications than just sax.

I was a little apprehensive about wearing it in public the first time, but after I tried it a few times, I realized that nobody even seems to notice it. So I guess it's not as dorky looking as I thought. I think most people who see it on me simply assume that it's some sort of "professional" carrying system, despite the fact that my camera is a Canon 300D, a common consumer-grade DSLR.

I have found, during my research on this design, that trying to put anything heavier than a few memory cards or a lens cloth onto the harness makes it too ungainly to shoot with. The problem is that when you raise the camera to your eye, the whole harness moves - as does anything attached to it. Put an extra lens on it, and you wind up with a lot more weight moving around, and possibly swinging around.

Extra lenses and other large accessories would have to go in a bag or on a belt. I keep my Speedlight in my pocket when I'm not using it.

But it's quite easy to put one or two pair of my memory card pouches onto the upper straps without causing undue trouble. I haven't tried it with three pair, though I think there's enough room on the straps.

Hm... a two camera version... a nice problem. A nice problem. I shall give it some thought.

* Note to self: create divorce liability waiver for inclusion with all products.

 

I know it wouldn't work as it is for a camera. I was just thinking that it would be easy to modify the sax strap design to have two attachment points, and then you would have a possible women's version.

 

I do like this design. Especially, as was noted earlier, it keeps your neck free. My strap gets very uncomfortable after a couple of hours on a hot and sunny day.

One question for us thrill riders, how does it work on RnRC or Dinosaur? ;D I hate putting my camera in those mesh storage sacks but the traditional strap is a pain.

For the ladies...an X-strap in front design which might work for both sexes and might handle the geography of a women better while still allowing the camera to be attached as it is.

 

On rides with belts or lap bars, you don't even have to take the camera off. It stays in your lap perfectly stable - and even usable. ToT, Star Tours, Dinosaur, Jurassic Park, Test Track, it works on all of them.

On rides with shoulder restraints, however, the camera has to come off. Cameras simply won't fit under the restraints. RnRc, Mission: Space, Dueling Dragons, and similar ridea are all a no-go.