Warning for BlackRapid Users

Will, thanks for sharing your thoughts on plastic vs metal hardware. ; You do have some excellent points there. ;

Initially, I wanted to use plastic hardware to prevent scratches, but I couldn't find a clip that swiveled, would allow me to quickly disconnect the strap from the camera and that wouldn't open easily on its own. ; I've had trouble with plastic snaps coming open accidentally in the past on a laptop bag. ; If I got the bag caught on anything, it would bend the plastic clip far enough that the closure would spring open to the outside of the clip. ; I like the Le Hook because it doesn't look like it will have that problem. ;

To prevent the Le Hook from rubbing or scratching the finish on the camera, I'm going to get some nylon tubing to slide over the hook. ; In my limited testing so far, the super swivel does not come in contact with the camera when I pull it up to my eye, so I'm not worried about covering it so it can't scratch anything.
 
"Jeff Fillmore" said:
Thanks for the pictures and description Michael- please let us know how you like it after an outing or two.

No unfortunately- it just snaps in and rests in a tiny indent maybe 1/16th an inch deep.
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Well, Jeff, you always have the option of drilling the bolt through and through, then adding a split ring. All you need is a drill, a bit of the proper size, and a press or guide to hold the round bolt still while you drill. If you don't have access to any of these tools, your local high school may have them in the metal shop.

"mSummers" said:
Will, thanks for sharing your thoughts on plastic vs metal hardware. ; You do have some excellent points there. ;

Initially, I wanted to use plastic hardware to prevent scratches, but I couldn't find a clip that swiveled, would allow me to quickly disconnect the strap from the camera and that wouldn't open easily on its own. ; I've had trouble with plastic snaps coming open accidentally in the past on a laptop bag. ; If I got the bag caught on anything, it would bend the plastic clip far enough that the closure would spring open to the outside of the clip. ; I like the Le Hook because it doesn't look like it will have that problem. ;

To prevent the Le Hook from rubbing or scratching the finish on the camera, I'm going to get some nylon tubing to slide over the hook. ; In my limited testing so far, the super swivel does not come in contact with the camera when I pull it up to my eye, so I'm not worried about covering it so it can't scratch anything.
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The snap swivels I use on my camera harness are quite robust. In fact, they're a little too stiff, and are often tough to get unclipped from the camera. But I prefer it that way; I'd hate to have one of them break or unclip while carrying an expensive camera.
 
Will, ; What size is the vinyl ID pouch you have on your website? ; I'm looking for one that is 3" wide or less on the short side for my camera strap.
 
"mSummers" said:
Will, ; What size is the vinyl ID pouch you have on your website? ; I'm looking for one that is 3" wide or less on the short side for my camera strap.
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Overall they're 4-1/2" x 3-3/8", just big enough to fit credit-card size stuff.

You can find smaller ones at office supply places, but those will not have zipper closures.
 
"Jeff Fillmore" said:
Thanks for the pictures and description Michael- please let us know how you like it after an outing or two.
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After using the new hardware setup at Cass this weekend, I'm definitely happy with it. ; As I predicted, the plastic head on the Uncle Mike's Super Swivel did work its way to the open position once or twice, but since it is spring loaded, it was never in danger of opening. ; I didn't get a chance to order the 5/8 tubular nylon to put over the Le Hook to prevent scratching yet. ; I did find that since I'm using the Really Right Stuff "L" Bracket, the dander of scratching the camera is minimized because the Le Hook rubs on the bracket instead of the body. ;

When comparing shots with other photographers it was really nice to be able to unhook the camera and hold the camera where they could easily see it instead of trying to twist the camera around while still attached to the strap. ; Overall, I'm really happy with this hardware setup.
 
I love my black rapid straps, I have a few and while the RS-4 straps have caused me to drop my camera once, the RS-7 is nice. ; I prefer using two RS-4 straps (modified to keep the strap from pulling out).

I leave my Manfrotto plates on my cameras and lenses, then just use either a quick connect or I have a couple little opto straps attached to the same bottom strap holder that the hand strap uses.
 
I've been using a BlackRapid strap recently and really like it. ; And it looks like they've read this forum, since they just announced the FastenR-T1. It replaces the screw in your QR plate so you can have the best of both worlds. ; I hope to get one to use at PixelMania.
 
"ddindy" said:
I've been using a BlackRapid strap recently and really like it. ; And it looks like they've read this forum, since they just announced the FastenR-T1. It replaces the screw in your QR plate so you can have the best of both worlds. ; I hope to get one to use at PixelMania.
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I picked up one of these last week- seems to work very well. ; I will probably just use it all the time now since the regular Black Rapid connector had an annoying tendency to curl up the rubber on the bottom of my camera.
 
Hmm. ; Maybe I should look at one as well, or at least the other connector. ; What I've done is switched all of my Arca-Swiss plates to ones that have a "monopod" mounting hole on it (so I can screw my strap into the plate directly and just unscrew if I'm using a tripod. ; Doesn't take that long)
 
It seems that the FR-T1 connector bolt will only work with certain plates. ; I have the plate that came with my 486RC2 head, and the bolt is just a tad proud of the bottom of the plate, so that when I try to mount the camera on the tripod, the plate does not completely engage in the head, and I have a wobbly mount.

I can't find any info about the particular plate that I have, as there are no markings on it to specify model number. ; I may just order one of the plates from Amazon, and see if that works better. ; I'm assuming that all RC2 plates will work on RC2 heads.

Boris
 
Right, it's an RC2 plate, but the Manfrotto labels the plates RC2 system, and the specific plate that is now out is the 200PL-14. ; I can't tell if the 200PL-14 is different from what I've got. ; If it isn't, then the bolt they are selling will not work, and I find it hard to believe that they didn't test that completely before release. ; So I'm kinda stuck thinking that my plate must be an older version with slightly less room under the camera where the bolt head lives.
 
"BorisMD" said:
It seems that the FR-T1 connector bolt will only work with certain plates. ; I have the plate that came with my 486RC2 head, and the bolt is just a tad proud of the bottom of the plate, so that when I try to mount the camera on the tripod, the plate does not completely engage in the head, and I have a wobbly mount.

I can't find any info about the particular plate that I have, as there are no markings on it to specify model number. ; I may just order one of the plates from Amazon, and see if that works better. ; I'm assuming that all RC2 plates will work on RC2 heads.

Boris
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Uh-oh. ; I have not even tried mounting it on the tripod yet- just on the camera itself. ; I hope I don't run into this problem.
 
Well, there is only one way to tell Jeff, I am interested to see what you all think of this. ; Since I don't have a lens that has a tripod mount on it, I am interested in this strap, BUT I don't want to have to take it off every time that I want to mount my camera to the tripod, and if this mount will work on my tripod, I might really be interested in getting this strap sooner, rather than later. ; I am also thinking that since I am going to get another tripod at some point, it just might be better to deal with for a little while.
 
Well, I bit the bullet and ordered a new plate. ; The one on the video looks different from the one I have, so I'll see how this goes and let you know.
 
Well I am tripodless at the moment since my two old ones have gone to Ebay and my new one is not here yet- but it seems to fit just fine on the ballhead. ; Good to go I guess.
 
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