Strap vs. no strap

Another vote for "I use both" The control of the handstrap and the safety of the GREEN POTN neck strap

It is interesting to learn how other forum members manage their equipment.
I always have a strap on my camera........
I have a Lowepro Back Pack which all my lenses, camera, two flash heads, and all the bits and pieces are carefully packed into. But this is far too heavy for me to carry any distance... other than to my car boot(trunk). So have a lighter bag, possibly the Billingham with me, so when I get the my shooting location, I can decide which bits of equipment I may need and put those into the lighter bag.
If I am using the telephoto, this is screwed securely onto my monopod and carried on my shoulder.
Otherwise my EOS 5D and appropriate lens is carried around my neck on a strap ready for instant action.
If however I need only the camera body and one lens, and I am in a crowded area, I carried the camera over my shoulder instead of around my neck.
I have just purchased a Op Tech USA strap ( sorry, lack of loyalty to POTN here) This strap in my opinion does every thing that it is advertised to do. a really good buy.
So there you have it, I find there is no one single answer.

Regards,

Eagle wrote in post #2143223
Mine is carried in my Nova 5 95% of the time. I keep the short ends of the POTN strap hooked together on the camera also. As far as getting the camera out of the bag it takes no longer than grabbing it when hanging in front of you to get ready to shoot. When I'm in the area I want to shoot the bag is open and Ijust lift the flap and go. When walking you can hook a fast release clasp if you don't want to zip it up. When I do have the full strap on and hanging around my neck I always seem to hold the camera with one hand because it is bouncing and swaying all over the place.

thats not his point though, it has to take longer to open a bag up (even if its just a clip) to remove the camera and shoot opposed to having the camera already next to u and just shooting (in critical situations, which do u feel is faster, lifting a camera up and shooting or opening a clasp and pulling a camera out then lifting)

i carry my light equipment in a nova 3 and i definitely dont think its faster keeping it in the bag and pulling it out opposed to just carrying the camera itself around.

if the flap wasn't locked in the first place, then its not that much diff than just carrying a camera alone with a strap

Do quick disconnects ever unexpectedly quick disconnect??
Are the one piece straps more secure because there is no chance of the disconnect unsnapping or disconnecting?

Not that I've noticed. I've seen buckled straps slip through the buckles in the wrong conditions, especially if there isn't enough loose end poking through.

TMR Design wrote in post #2145692
Do quick disconnects ever unexpectedly quick disconnect??
Are the one piece straps more secure because there is no chance of the disconnect unsnapping or disconnecting?

I dont think its that much of a problem. The guy at Samy's that sold me my Domke one says he sells a ton and he'd never had anyone coming in with a problem.

I think most strap issues can be attributed to operator error, honestly. If you are really that concerned with a strap breaking and damagin your camera, i'd reccomend you get insurance (which is probably a good idea anyway!)

never ended up with a clip disconnecting unexpectedly

they're built pretty well and can take a lot of force

Thats great!!! I was tempted to get many straps I have seen but I am going to get the POTN strap for 2 reasons. The first is that I really would like to 'give back' as it were, to these forums. I have run and administered forums myself and know what it takes and that it has its costs. The second reason is because I have not seen any other straps that have the quick disconnects with the reverse genders so that when you unclip the strap you can then clip the 2 hanging thingies together. That sounds like a good idea for tripod mounting and portrait orientation where the strap or those thingines can be very annoying.
So in the next few days I will be ordering that.

Any last minute good or bad things about the POTN strap. From what I have read everyone seems to love it for a host of reasons.

I go strapless...

I do a lot of macro and I find having a strap attached just gets in the way and all too often scares my subjects away. I may however invest in a quick detach type.

I carried my backpack all day and the 30D on the neck strap but with one hand under the camera at all times that I was not using it. I feel safe doing that but I don't think I will just walk around with it hanging.

The LowePro pack is really great and very comfortable. I can't wait until I have more gear to fill it up

I will probably order my POTN strap this week.

Optech POTN strap is the bomb.