R-Strap substitute?

I have read some reviews on the Rstrap by BlackRapid, and find it to be very interesting and something that I would certainly be interested in. Except for the one minor flaw of not being able to use a tripod with it. I always keep my QR plate on the camera and would hate to have the hassle of unhooking the strap and having to attach it each time.

Any ideas for a solution or substitute?

You could get the Y strap which attaches to one of the normal strap loops. You could manufacture a peice that would allow the Rstrap to remain attached and be able to attach a tripod as well. That would add a lot of extra weight due to size but both could be attached to the same place.

Well that's all it is. Some webbing.
Here is Oz, an Army Disposals Store would have everything you need to make your own. Might even find something in a boat chandlers

i wish i could find a clip like that that would go on the strap easily. instead i had to use a ring.

Is the Y Strap solid enough for a 40D and a medium size lens?

Is there a link to the Y Strap review on here? I can't find anything in the search box for it.

ClickClick wrote in post #7162694
I have read some reviews on the Rstrap by BlackRapid, and find it to be very interesting and something that I would certainly be interested in. Except for the one minor flaw of not being able to use a tripod with it. I always keep my QR plate on the camera and would hate to have the hassle of unhooking the strap and having to attach it each time.

Any ideas for a solution or substitute?

If you're using the Bogen quick release stuff it's a complete non-issue. You can leave the Bogen camera plate attached and clip the R-strap to the half ring underneath. Just unclick it and set your camera on your tripod. That's all there is to it. No unthreading anything. 10 seconds of effort, not any more effort than pulling your camera out of your bag to put it on the tripod. This is what I do all the time and it couldn't be simpler. What I haven't noticed is if you're using Arca/Swiss stuff or something like that. If that's the case I don't know what the solution is because I don't use it, but I'm curious because I'd like to use that system for at least some things. If I have to I might just have to plug the Arca/Swiss components into my system when I use long lenses and use the Bogen system for the vast majority of my stuff, which is hand held or monopod and doesn't require the extra rigidity in the tripod mounting hardware. I love the R-strap system! It makes easy work out of managing two cameras at once for hiking or any other thing.

As to the Y strap it would leave your camera particularly unbalanced. That might be something you'd be willing to live with, especially if you're using smaller lenses, but the R strap is really nice with anything that has a tripod ring mount. You attach your strap there and your camera hangs well balanced at your side. It's a dream for the 70-200 2.8L and the 100-400L and things of a similar size.

tkoutdoor wrote in post #7191442
If you're using the Bogen quick release stuff it's a complete non-issue. You can leave the Bogen camera plate attached and clip the R-strap to the half ring underneath. Just unclick it and set your camera on your tripod. That's all there is to it. No unthreading anything. 10 seconds of effort, not any more effort than pulling your camera out of your bag to put it on the tripod. This is what I do all the time and it couldn't be simpler. What I haven't noticed is if you're using Arca/Swiss stuff or something like that. If that's the case I don't know what the solution is because I don't use it, but I'm curious because I'd like to use that system for at least some things. If I have to I might just have to plug the Arca/Swiss components into my system when I use long lenses and use the Bogen system for the vast majority of my stuff, which is hand held or monopod and doesn't require the extra rigidity in the tripod mounting hardware. I love the R-strap system! It makes easy work out of managing two cameras at once for hiking or any other thing.

As to the Y strap it would leave your camera particularly unbalanced. That might be something you'd be willing to live with, especially if you're using smaller lenses, but the R strap is really nice with anything that has a tripod ring mount. You attach your strap there and your camera hangs well balanced at your side. It's a dream for the 70-200 2.8L and the 100-400L and things of a similar size.

Excellent. I will look into this. After all, I would suspect that the Bogen QR wouldn't be too expense.

Are you pretty confident the Rstrap won't ever give out?

ClickClick wrote in post #7191743
Excellent. I will look into this. After all, I would suspect that the Bogen QR wouldn't be too expense.

Are you pretty confident the Rstrap won't ever give out?

"Ever" is more than your lifetime and mine put together! I can guarantee it will fail before then! The R-strap won't fail within it's reasonable life IMO. The weak point here is the half ring on the Bogen plate. As long as you get a sturdy half ring like you can find like on the better camera plates it's all good IMO. I wouldn't be hanging a 400mm 2.8 from it, but I'm thinking that it would handle a 300mm 2.8L IS and a pro body. I don't have one, so that's just a guess. It could very well be that I wouldn't want that much weight on only one shoulder so it may be a moot point.

The R-strap hardware itself is quite sturdy though. OTOH the latest R-straps are coming out with a "very" sturdy piece that can be used instead of the Bogen plate's half ring. It could definitely hold the weight of the 300mm 2.8 and body if it were used. I wouldn't hang that much weight from the camera body, but with the tripod ring it's golden as that's plenty strong. The thing about that though, even though it's a quick disconnect it's being used instead of the quick mount plate so you'd have to remove it and place the quick mount plate back in it's place. That's only on the bigger lenses though if you didn't trust the half ring on the Bogen plate. I've used the system for about a year with the gear in my sig and I've never been afraid about damaging my gear due to a component failure. At least not once I'd used it for a few weeks and repeatedly inspected it. I still keep a close eye on my cheaper third party camera plates though as the half ring looks a little weaker. I still use them, but I've bent the ring in tighter as it seems less apt to fail that way. I've still never had a problem though.

By the way... If you get one of these I'd recommend forgoing the one with the extra pouch for your cell phone or misc. junk. It just gets in the way too much, especially if you're using a backpack as well. It interferes with other straps and things include the second R-strap if you're wearing two cameras. I have one of each and I cut the pouch off of the one that came with a pouch originally.

Thanks again. I will look up Bogen QRs now to make sure they are compatible with the third party tripod I have.

tkoutdoor wrote in post #7191442
If you're using the Bogen quick release stuff it's a complete non-issue. You can leave the Bogen camera plate attached and clip the R-strap to the half ring underneath. Just unclick it and set your camera on your tripod. That's all there is to it. No unthreading anything. 10 seconds of effort, not any more effort than pulling your camera out of your bag to put it on the tripod. This is what I do all the time and it couldn't be simpler. What I haven't noticed is if you're using Arca/Swiss stuff or something like that. If that's the case I don't know what the solution is because I don't use it, but I'm curious because I'd like to use that system for at least some things. If I have to I might just have to plug the Arca/Swiss components into my system when I use long lenses and use the Bogen system for the vast majority of my stuff, which is hand held or monopod and doesn't require the extra rigidity in the tripod mounting hardware. I love the R-strap system! It makes easy work out of managing two cameras at once for hiking or any other thing.

As to the Y strap it would leave your camera particularly unbalanced. That might be something you'd be willing to live with, especially if you're using smaller lenses, but the R strap is really nice with anything that has a tripod ring mount. You attach your strap there and your camera hangs well balanced at your side. It's a dream for the 70-200 2.8L and the 100-400L and things of a similar size.

Personally, I wouldn't hang the camera and lens from the D Ring on the Bogen plate. That ring is designed for one purpose and one purpose alone and that's to screw the plate onto the bottom of the camera. The D ring doesn't extend into the screw further than 1/8th of an inch (if that much). While it seems sturdy, I wouldn't trust it to hold the camera and lens...

I use Arca-Swiss plates on all my bodies and lenses and found the best solution is the R-Strap FastenR® screwed into an A-S compatible knob clamp.

JWright wrote in post #7193341
Personally, I wouldn't hang the camera and lens from the D Ring on the Bogen plate. That ring is designed for one purpose and one purpose alone and that's to screw the plate onto the bottom of the camera. The D ring doesn't extend into the screw further than 1/8th of an inch (if that much). While it seems sturdy, I wouldn't trust it to hold the camera and lens...

I use Arca-Swiss plates on all my bodies and lenses and found the best solution is the R-Strap FastenR® screwed into an A-S compatible knob clamp.

The nice thing about this method of attachment is that the clamp (and strap) is easily removed and the camera can be placed on the tripod, then easily reattached to the strap.

Some of my friends use the same setup and they attach the clamp to the side of the "L" bracket on their camera so they don't have to remove the strap when putting the camera on a tripod.

I hadn't figured out yet how to do this, but I have been wanting to go to the Arca/Swiss setup. Looks like you've given me a reasonable path to get it done. A little extra baggage there, but I think I can live with it. It looks like a good solution. The same thing could be done for the Bogen style, but I haven't had any indication of failure in a year of use. As long as one keeps an eye on it and gets the better brackets from my experience I think the Bogen D-ring connection is still adequate. I wouldn't blame someone for taking your approach with Bogen either. It definitely is stronger, but it would seem to be more than is necessary for Bogen. At least with 3 lb lenses and body. Anything more and I think I'm sold on it for Bogen as well.

JWright wrote in post #7193341
Personally, I wouldn't hang the camera and lens from the D Ring on the Bogen plate. That ring is designed for one purpose and one purpose alone and that's to screw the plate onto the bottom of the camera. The D ring doesn't extend into the screw further than 1/8th of an inch (if that much). While it seems sturdy, I wouldn't trust it to hold the camera and lens...

I use Arca-Swiss plates on all my bodies and lenses and found the best solution is the R-Strap FastenR® screwed into an A-S compatible knob clamp.

The nice thing about this method of attachment is that the clamp (and strap) is easily removed and the camera can be placed on the tripod, then easily reattached to the strap.

Some of my friends use the same setup and they attach the clamp to the side of the "L" bracket on their camera so they don't have to remove the strap when putting the camera on a tripod.

Hi, can you give a detailed explanation of how this system works? I am getting a bit lost on the part where you say "the clamp (and strap) is easily removed and the camera can be placed on the tripod, then easily reattached to the strap. "

What other parts would I need for this other than the Rstrap of course?

ClickClick wrote in post #7193490
Hi, can you give a detailed explanation of how this system works? I am getting a bit lost on the part where you say "the clamp (and strap) is easily removed and the camera can be placed on the tripod, then easily reattached to the strap. "

What other parts would I need for this other than the R-strap of course?

He has an Arca/Swiss clamp for a tripod there that's screwed onto the anchor that comes with the R-strap. You can see a sort of clip there at the end of the strap with a quick disconnect right? That clip separates from an anchor piece that screws into the bottom of your camera or tripod ring's foot. However, in this case he's attached that anchor to the bottom of an Arca/Swiss clamp. This is good because it basically it means that the R-strap is simulating the tripod side of the connection and can adapt readily to the camera plate. That's a pretty streamlined way of doing the Arca/Swiss method and it's very sturdy. You could do the same thing with a Bogen setup if you wanted to and a Bogen clamp. The "anchor" that I'm referring to is that "very" strong connector I was talking about earlier that is the R-Strap's way of adapting to your camera. If you don't use that you could always snap the R-strap onto the half ring (D-ring) on the bottom of the Bogen camera plate though (especially for the 3 lbs. and under lenses).