Carrying your camera?

friesianfan69

friesianfan69

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Donna
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Is it safe to carry your camera over your shoulder etc?
I mean if i take my dogs out for an hour plus, its easier for my camera to be accessible to grab a shot when needed.
If i got my big heavy 70-200 lens on, it wont damage my camera or lens by it just hanging on my shoulder?
Sorry silly question but needed to ask.
 
The Camera should be fine - but your shoulder / neck might end up aching a bit if you have a heavy camera & lens hanging off it for an hour or more :)

A lot of people use a sling strap (such as Peak Design, or Blackrapid) to better distribute the weight - some of these also allow you to connect the strap to the tripod foot of the lens (if it's heavier than the camera), which reduces the possible strain on the lens mount.

The other possible concern is dropping the camera or bashing it into something, but that will depend on how much rushing about you need to do while also walking the dogs.
 
+2 for Black Rapid. I go out for a walk every day and just sling it on under my coat. Leaves my hands free, protects it from rain, and it takes only a few seconds to prepare for a shot.

It can be annoying for cheaper zoom lenses that just fall open as you walk (because it naturally hangs upside down) but decent zooms or non-extending ones are fine. No problems with primes obviously...
 
If you want to grab a quick shot while out walking (I'm guessing you probably mean birds, or other fast moving wildlife) would it not be quicker & probably safer to have the camera hanging around you neck in the traditional manner? I would have thought that chest to eye-level was quicker than side to front to eye level. As to the safety I imagine (based on seeing how my wife carries her handbag in 'iffy' areas) that it would be harder for a mugger to pull your camera from you if around your neck, than if simply hanging on your shoulder.
 
Larger lens that are deemed a problem in this area come with there own straps... so if yours hasnt then should be ok :)
 
I take my gripped 7D2 or 5D3 out with my 100-400 almost every day walking the dog for an hour or more. I use a long OpTech strap diagonally over my shoulder so the camera sits on my left hip and the strap on my right shoulder. I find this quick and comfortable, and it is easy to swing the camera onto my back if I need to bend down which ensures I don't clonk Pip the dog over the head with it. With the medium sized lenses (70-200 f/2.8 and 100-400) I use the camera mounts as the camera is vertical and not, therefore, putting strain on the lens mount. The 500f/4 is always carried by the tripod foot (also over my shoulder, but on an OpTech sliding strap). The other advantage to this is that, when changing lenses, the camera immediately falls with its front against my body, and is so very protected when it is without a lens.
 
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Lawsyd said:
If you want to grab a quick shot while out walking (I'm guessing you probably mean birds, or other fast moving wildlife) would it not be quicker & probably safer to have the camera hanging around you neck in the traditional manner? I would have thought that chest to eye-level was quicker than side to front to eye level. As to the safety I imagine (based on seeing how my wife carries her handbag in 'iffy' areas) that it would be harder for a mugger to pull your camera from you if around your neck, than if simply hanging on your shoulder.
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When i say on my shoulder its over my neck to lol if that makes sense.
 
Lawsyd said:
If you want to grab a quick shot while out walking (I'm guessing you probably mean birds, or other fast moving wildlife) would it not be quicker & probably safer to have the camera hanging around you neck in the traditional manner? I would have thought that chest to eye-level was quicker than side to front to eye level. As to the safety I imagine (based on seeing how my wife carries her handbag in 'iffy' areas) that it would be harder for a mugger to pull your camera from you if around your neck, than if simply hanging on your shoulder.
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Yes anything from birds, deer or dogs, and horses
 
I have always carried my cameras cross body and where possible tucked under my arm.
I do not care for many modern slings that fix by the tripod screw. They swing about and seem relatively prone to knocks.
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
I have always carried my cameras cross body and where possible tucked under my arm.
I do not care for many modern slings that fix by the tripod screw. They swing about and seem relatively prone to knocks.
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My camera doesn't swing much on my Blackrapid strap. You can also get other versions that have locking clips to reduce the swing. It's much less likely to be dropped than a traditional strap.
I tried using a standard strap around my neck and under shoulder and while it is secure under the shoulder, the lens points straight out and is more likely to get knocked and it takes longer to get the camera out from under the shoulder and up to your eye.
The sling strap works well because you can leave the camera down by your side (lens pointed down out of the way) and pull it to your face really quickly.
I bought mine just before a trip to Norway and it was great trekking about in the deep snow. If I slipped in the snow and ice, I had both hands free to catch hold of something and since I was wearing gloves a lot, it meant if the camera slipped out of my gloved hands (like when changing lenses), it would be caught safely on the strap. Having both hands free was also useful for holding onto the kids, pulling sledges and walking sticks.

I do like my BlackRapid strap; though there are two occasions that I don't use it. 1) When I need to use a tripod, 2) When I want a less bulky strap in my bag (for example if I'm just going out with a small bag and 1 lens).
 
ABTog said:
I tried using a standard strap around my neck and under shoulder and while it is secure under the shoulder, the lens points straight out and is more likely to get knocked and it takes longer to get the camera out from under the shoulder and up to your eye.
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Perhaps it is because my cameras have grips so the attachment points are different, but mine hangs straight down out of the way on my left hip and is very easy to get to - the lens is against my thigh and doesn't stick out at all. I use an extra-long OpTech strap so it sits comfortably. I know lots like them, but personally I would always be panicking about the screw coming undone on a strap attached to the tripod mount.

As a female, I also find that straps with slides on catch on my bosom and simply don't work as they should, which might be something for the OP to bear in mind.
 
MadWoman said:
Perhaps it is because my cameras have grips so the attachment points are different, but mine hangs straight down out of the way on my left hip and is very easy to get to - the lens is against my thigh and doesn't stick out at all. I use an extra-long OpTech strap so it sits comfortably. I know lots like them, but personally I would always be panicking about the screw coming undone on a strap attached to the tripod mount.

As a female, I also find that straps with slides on catch on my bosom and simply don't work as they should, which might be something for the OP to bear in mind.
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Black Rapid did (possibly still do) make a strap designed to get around that problem, the Black Rapid RS-W1, see here:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFtOXCpGM9k


Other manufacturers might also make something like that too.
 
ABTog said:
Black Rapid did (possibly still do) make a strap designed to get around that problem, the Black Rapid RS-W1, see here:

Other manufacturers might also make something like that too.
Click to expand...

Good to know, thank you, but I would never use a strap attached to the tripod mount, so BR is out, and, to be honest, my current set-up works so well I really don't miss a slide on the strap at all; the strap spins around with no difficulty at all. Useful info for the OP though :-)
 
I used to use a Black Rapid but after getting banged in to too many times whilst carrying my 6d and 28-300L i decided to make a switch and ended up with the Lower Pro Toploader 75 AW bag. It is a sling bag that keeps the camera in exactly the same place as the Black Rapid did but keeps it covered up in a protective (and waterproof) padded bag. Whenever the opportunity for a shot arises I can get the camera out, compose,take the shot and get the camera back in its bag again very quickly. The Toploader 75 is the biggest in the line up of the Toploader range and can even accommodate my gripped 7d and 100 - 400 (closed of course). It is an excellent bag, and with its wide shoulder strap I can carry around my gear for 2 - 3 hours without knowing its there, and 3 - 5 hours having known I have been carrying around my camera all day - but then neither the 6d/28-300L or the 7d/100-400L are light combinations!
 
Dave_S09 said:
I used to use a Black Rapid but after getting banged in to too many times whilst carrying my 6d and 28-300L i decided to make a switch and ended up with the Lower Pro Toploader 75 AW bag. It is a sling bag that keeps the camera in exactly the same place as the Black Rapid did but keeps it covered up in a protective (and waterproof) padded bag. Whenever the opportunity for a shot arises I can get the camera out, compose,take the shot and get the camera back in its bag again very quickly. The Toploader 75 is the biggest in the line up of the Toploader range and can even accommodate my gripped 7d and 100 - 400 (closed of course). It is an excellent bag, and with its wide shoulder strap I can carry around my gear for 2 - 3 hours without knowing its there, and 3 - 5 hours having known I have been carrying around my camera all day - but then neither the 6d/28-300L or the 7d/100-400L are light combinations!
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I been googling these, whats the difference between AW and AW 2?
 
I assume the 2 is the newer version. I have had a quick look at the specs of the 2 and I can't see what the differences are to my AW - There must be some though. From what I can see both the AW1 (like I have) or the AW2 are top quality bags and you won't be disappointed with either.
 
Just to add, the BR (women's) is called the kick, annoyingly most common in pink and they do an additional connector to allow use with tripod plates too.
I'm having this dilemma and being female, I find the whole strap/boob thing irritating that some make one point out and squash the other so you end up doing a half madonna!
I definitely need to try one before buying. I don't mind paying for the right thing. I have an ongoing neck problem so need to find a good solution.
Going to look at the bag mentioned too (y)
 
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