Strap always getting in my way, anybody else?

[Toogy]

Everytime I turn the camera into portrait position the strap falls right in front of the viewfinder!! I thought it was maybe the Canon strap so I got a Lowepro Neoprene strap and it does the same thing. I push it out of the way and it wants to find itself back in front of the viewfinder.
Anybody else find this? It is starting to drive me nuts!! Any helpful suggestions? other than removing the strap completetly!

[tommykjensen]

My Canon strap does the same.

[GyRob]

thats why i dont use a strap :)
Rob

[condyk]

Anybody else find this? It is starting to drive me nuts!! Any helpful suggestions? other than removing the strap completetly!

The neck strap sucks ... as do all such straps in my experience. I got a hand strap and that is great. Very discrete and easy to carry. Take off the neck strap, put on the hand strap and smile :)

[lostdoggy]

Can't wait for the POTN Strap !!!

[elbirth]

yeah, I'm hoping the POTN strap will be better, since it has the quick release on it.... you'll still have th short ends of the strap, but hopefully those wont get in the way as much....and if they do, they're much easier to put on/take off

[johndm]

The neck strap sucks ... as do all such straps in my experience. I got a hand strap and that is great. Very discrete and easy to carry. Take off the neck strap, put on the hand strap and smile :)

I've just remembered, got a hand strap in my sock drawer.....kinda sneaked it in via Ebay..

Gonna put in on when my POTN Strap arrives, coz she knows about that..:D

[Toogy]

I have the hand strap, but I am a little scared of only using it, especially in portrait position, because you are basically using it strapless.

[condyk]

I have the hand strap, but I am a little scared of only using it, especially in portrait position, because you are basically using it strapless.

Why can't you use it in portrait position?

I figured that I'd probably dropped my dinner maybe once or twice in 30 years, so the chance of dropping my camera was maybe the same ... give or take some maths. :lol: :lol:

Of course, someone always has an experience of dropping their camera in some apple pie, or tripping over the Cat, or something, but who wants to live life according to 'it may happen' ... sure, once in 10 years maybe it will. Meantime, let's all suffer by putting up with daft neck straps every single day. :lol:

[Curtis N]

Just take the picture in horizontal mode and crop the sides off later.

Or just grab the camera with the strap under your hand. Geez. This isn't rocket science.

And don't reply with any crap about losing half your pixels when you crop the sides off. I was just joking about that.

[elbirth]

^ not angry there, are we? It's a simple common annoyance, no one's saying that there's no way around it other than just not using a strap at all, just that it's annoying to constantly have to deal with it. Holding it against the camera while taking a picture isn't exactly the most comfortable thing to do, either, which we resort to having to do.

People are just looking for a way around it, if one exists.

[DAMphyne]

I just let the strap "fall" under my thumb. It stays out of the way for portrait and landscape.
Give it a try.

[Vetteography]

Get a battery grip, then attach the right side of the strap to the post on the grip instead of teh camera. Then the strap naturally falls away from the viewfinder. it also allows the camera to hang more naturally when you have a long lens mounted.

[the.digital.guy]

I have a Canon E-1 Hand Strap that works great for me.
I also have a second 20D that I do not have a battery grip for;so I bought this one on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=30050&item=7514566361&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

It works Great !!!!

[Curtis N]

^ not angry there, are we?
No, I'm not angry. Sorry if I sounded that way.

[Belmondo]

The Op/Tech strap has two quck disconnects that allow you to remove most of the strap easily. It leaves a pigtail a few inches long on both sides of the camera, but it does get the bulk of the strap out of your way. If you know you're not going to need the neck strap, just remove it and use only the hand strap.

At least that's what I do.

[ggibbs1971]

I have the optech strap, with the quick disconnects. I took out the middle, neoprene, section. Connected the two stubs, make a nice short strap. Solves any problem I have. I also leave all the strap connected, however I double wrap the strap around my right arm. This help when I need to steady the camera.


Geoff

[mvonditter]

Get a battery grip, then attach the right side of the strap to the post on the grip instead of teh camera. Then the strap naturally falls away from the viewfinder. it also allows the camera to hang more naturally when you have a long lens mounted.

Now that's the best idea I've heard in a while...Thanks:) That's why I hang out here. Every now and then there is this epiphany that crops up and shasam!!:lol: Now if I could only get a few of my own.

[Tom W]

The Op/Tech strap has two quck disconnects that allow you to remove most of the strap easily. It leaves a pigtail a few inches long on both sides of the camera, but it does get the bulk of the strap out of your way. If you know you're not going to need the neck strap, just remove it and use only the hand strap.

At least that's what I do.

If the pigtails are as flexible as the ones on my Tamrac strap, the neck strap will naturally fall out of the way as you raise the camera to your face. From what I can see, they are considerably more flexible than what I already have.

[tim]

If you keep the strap around your neck it tends not to be in front of the lens, at least for me. Occasionally it's annoying, but i'd rather have the neck strap as insurance than risk dropping the camera.

[Tom W]

If you keep the strap around your neck it tends not to be in front of the lens, at least for me. Occasionally it's annoying, but i'd rather have the neck strap as insurance than risk dropping the camera.

the strap never leaves my neck.

[rg-tom]

might just be me but ive NEVER had the strap fall in front of the eye piece? where it has to over my thumb deflects it away enough in portrait mode for me

[FlyingPete]

If you keep the strap around your neck it tends not to be in front of the lens, at least for me. Occasionally it's annoying, but i'd rather have the neck strap as insurance than risk dropping the camera.

Yep I agree, I had quick release clips on a previous camera, but they messed up the body pretty bad (dodgy metal), and got in the way even more.

Most of the time I have strap issues is on the tripod in Portrait orientation, it just gets in the way.

[elbirth]

might just be me but ive NEVER had the strap fall in front of the eye piece? where it has to over my thumb deflects it away enough in portrait mode for me

I'm guessing you don't use a vertical grip? When switching to the other grip, your hand leaves the first one, giving it a chance to get in the way.

I tried the suggestion of putting the right part of the strap on the grip's loop, and it does help a whole lot... it just hangs funny off my shoulder when it has just the 50mm on it... with a longer lens, I imagine it'd feel more natural

[D Boone]

When I have the cameras flash out, and am switching back and forth from Portrait to landscape especially in macro, the strap is always falling in front of the flash and hanging it up.

[prime80]

I dealt with it all last week at Disney. I finally got into the habit of sliding my thumb up and under the strap whenever I rotated to portrait mode, and then lifting it away from the camera. By the end of the trip, it was second nature to me, and was no longer a problem. It actually helped me steady the camera more, because I rested my thumb against my head.

[Rob612]

I dealt with it all last week at Disney. I finally got into the habit of sliding my thumb up and under the strap whenever I rotated to portrait mode, and then lifting it away from the camera. By the end of the trip, it was second nature to me, and was no longer a problem. It actually helped me steady the camera more, because I rested my thumb against my head.

It's called "muscular memory", after a while such gesture come automatically. Its like setting the safety on when holstering a single action handgun. You do not even think about that. I have the same issue with my strap (and yes, I have used the grip loop, but the results are identical:D) but now its not a problem anymore.

[bill_wasp]

i took a different approach. i hooked up a neoprene neckstrap and the handstrap together. for portrait shooting i use the neckstrap like a rifle sling, around my arm - also great way to steady camera, especially using the side shutter release button. i carry the camera on my shoulder with my hand through the handstrap until i need to shoot portrait orientation. a little belt and suspenders, but it works well when shooting the late night music scene in austin, where the orienataion can change very rapidly.
bill

[Harry Settle]

Why can't you use it in portrait position?

I figured that I'd probably dropped my dinner maybe once or twice in 30 years, so the chance of dropping my camera was maybe the same ... give or take some maths. :lol: :lol:



I have a hard time equating dropping my dinner with dropping my camera.

There are two situations that a photographer should be wary: 1) Not using a strap (either hand or neck) 2) Relying on that strap to not break or malfunction.

[RDKirk]

I'm guessing you don't use a vertical grip? When switching to the other grip, your hand leaves the first one, giving it a chance to get in the way.

I tried the suggestion of putting the right part of the strap on the grip's loop, and it does help a whole lot... it just hangs funny off my shoulder when it has just the 50mm on it... with a longer lens, I imagine it'd feel more natural

I have the grip mounted, but discovered that I just didn't like changing my hold on the camera while swinging back and forth between vertical and horizontal. Also, I'd have to switch my grip to see the display. If the LCD displays also swung vertical and horizontal (as they did on the Minolta Maxxum 7), it would be more convenient.

[Brianbar]

I agree 100% with Tim.

Brian

[cmM]

Like already mentioned, what I do is I use my right thumb to hold the strap. It just pretty much comes naturally, and doesn't bother me at all.

[lkorell]

I don't like straps getting in the way either. I got the E-1 hand strap and I'm still getting used to it. Once you are using that, there is no real need to flip your hand over to the battery grip shutter release. It is a solid feel to use the hand strap and just keep your finger on the main release while tilting the camera.

My second 20D won't have the battery grip - just the hand strap. I'll use my other one with the neck strap & battery grip, and have a waist pouch to put the strapless one in when I switch. That way I don't need two around my neck!

Lou

[picnic]

The Op/Tech strap has two quck disconnects that allow you to remove most of the strap easily. It leaves a pigtail a few inches long on both sides of the camera, but it does get the bulk of the strap out of your way. If you know you're not going to need the neck strap, just remove it and use only the hand strap.

At least that's what I do.
And I just sort of wrap my hand 'in' the short strap. Been using the Optech for a good while on several bodies and bought the POTN one for my 20D. I add the strap if I'm going to carry it over my chest/shoulder or in a precarious place where I want to be sure its secured---like around water or cliffs LOL.

Until about 2 weeks ago I used the grip/wrist strap mostly on my 10D (and did on my D60 before). I had ordered the grip for the 20D the day before the Canon announcement so knew I might want to send it back and wait for the 'new' one. As it turned out, mine was defective (low battery immediately) but in the meantime I found I liked shooting sans grip with all but 70-200 and may continue to so the Optech/wrap (I do have an Hakuba grip also but am not using it). I don't like the strap on unless absolutely necessary--it is annoying, but like the short 'strap''. I used it for quite a long time going back to Oly E10 days and have never had a problem with them.

Diane