Spider Pro questions

I see the current parts are V2, but when I looked into it, it seems that the belt and plate changed from V1 to V2 but there was no mention of the holster itself. Is the holster unchanged?

I'm definitely interested in trying this. I see some V1 parts for sale and am tempted by them as long as there are no fatal flaws with the original design.

This would be for an R7 or 7D2 with a 70-200 and hood, shooting sports. Kneeling on the ground it seems that the combo is not so long that it would hit the ground, but if anyone has direct experience with that I'd love to hear it.

AntonLargiader wrote in post #19473474
I see the current parts are V2, but when I looked into it, it seems that the belt and plate changed from V1 to V2 but there was no mention of the holster itself. Is the holster unchanged?

I'm definitely interested in trying this. I see some V1 parts for sale and am tempted by them as long as there are no fatal flaws with the original design.

This would be for an R7 or 7D2 with a 70-200 and hood, shooting sports. Kneeling on the ground it seems that the combo is not so long that it would hit the ground, but if anyone has direct experience with that I'd love to hear it.

I don't have any experience with the V2, just V1, which I stopped using. There were no flaws with the original V1 design, but the reason why I stopped using it is because I found that such heavy lenses like 24-70L and 70-200L became too cumbersome to wear on my trouser belt. For such lenses, I felt the Cotton Carrier Vest was definitely more comfortable and appropriate. I also couldn't use the V1 due to Spider Pro's proprietary plate that I couldn't use in conjunction with my L-plate. I think the V2 design is more with the plate than anything. If you don't need the plate, just getting the old holster should do. I still use the holster itself (for carrying a lighter lens) on my Think Tank Pro Belt.

I just received a belt/holster/plate from eBay. Works well with my 7D2 & 70-200. The rig is slightly lens-heavy even with the plate all the way forward on the body, but it's close to balanced (I don't know if this is necessarily desirable anyway). That same plate on the R7/adapter/70-200 has a slightly more lens-heavy feel to it.

The R7 with adapter really isn't that geometrically different than the 7D2.

I have a 300 coming and am wondering what the best plate would be for that on either the 7D2 or the R7. I have the two-armed plate with one hole in each arm, which is the currently listed DSLR plate. Maybe I need a lens collar plate with those heavier lenses. Shoot, I could make one or two of those pretty easily; just need to find the ball.

Quick update here. I snagged a SP belt/holster/V2 DSLR plate from eBay and separately a V1 lens collar plate. Used them this weekend.

WAY nicer than neck straps. That said, I did sometimes have the 300 on a strap around my neck along with the R7/70-200 on the belt with the lens plate. I would just move the R7 from lens to lens as I needed although I could have put the 7D2 on the 300... but it doesn't have tracking. . Overall, worked great. Yes, it was a lot of pressure on my hip when I wore the camera for a while but it wasn't too bad as long as I was moving (which I wasn't that much, but at football or soccer I would be). It was nice to be able to just let go and still not have weight around my neck and shoulders. When I donned the much lighter EF 55-250 it was REALLY nice.

Up sides:
1) Nice to be hands free. Secure.
2) Easy to remove/replace the camera.
3) Not as tactical looking as some other options (but still a bit).

Down sides:
1) the weight on one hip when I was standing still would give me some hip pain - more of a tingling - after a while. Tightening the belt helped.
2) squeezing through doorways, you just have to get used to the extra width.
3) the V1 lens plate has no hole for a monopod, which I am thinking would be a nice feature, although I suppose an Arca monopod head would be a good solution for this as the V1 plate is Arca compatible.
4) the mounting ball sticks out a bit, making things a bit tighter packing the gear away in the bag if you leave the plates on.

I will keep an eye out for an add-on holster for the other side.