My RS7 with the BRAD mod

After spending countless hours toting my stock camera strap around my neck, I realized two things: it was uncomfortable and it made me look like a tourist.

I decided to look for a better camera strap and found the Black Rapid RS7. The RS7 is a well-engineered sling-style strap that allows easy access to the camera and creates the appearance of carrying a messenger bag instead of a camera. The strap is well-made and sturdy with strong connectors that securely screw into your camera. The curved, ergonomic profile of the RS7 in addition to the ample padding helps me comfortably and conveniently carry my camera body and a heavy lens like my 70-200. Since the strap keeps such a low profile and is comfortable, I can keep my camera with me more often and capture more moments that I would have otherwise missed.

Admittedly, it took me a little while to learn to adjust the strap properly and get used to the camera hanging near my hips. I like shooting primes and I’ve found that the camera shifts around a more with lighter weight, shorter lenses. To counteract this, I found that the extra weight of a Speedlite on the camera really helped keep the camera stable and flat against my body.

70-200 attached

Prime + speedlite

I opted to add a Brad mod to my outfit. The Brad mod is a optional additional under the arm strap that keeps the strap from sliding around. By preventing that movement, the resting position of the camera is consistently in the same place. I definitely like having the Brad, but it does make it harder to put on/remove the strap because it adds one more black strap to a tangle to work out.

The RS7 includes a connector to screw into my camera, and you can purchase extras as needed at your local camera gear store or online. I purchased an extra Fasten R3 connector for my 70-200 lens so I can just connect the strap to the lens when I need it without unscrewing one from my camera.

RS7 + Crumpler

Another view

When I’m packing light, I like to bring my camera, a prime lens, and a Speedlite in a small Crumper messenger bag. With my old strap, I found it to be a bit tedious to get the camera out and onto my neck if I felt like taking a few photos. I discovered a simple hack for the RS7 that makes this process a lot faster. This hack involved attaching the RS7 to my Crumpler with a small carabiner as shown in the photos. Now I can just open up the bag with one hand and reach for the camera with the second and shoot away! Opening the bag adds a few seconds to the process, but it’s much faster than before. When the bag is closed up, it hangs properly if closed as shown in the photos.

(One downside to this hack is that the metal connector tends to press into the LCD so a polycarbonate LCD protector is a must to avoid cracking the display. Try this hack at your own risk and take all necessary cautions to protect your gear.)

What might improve the RS7? Additional color choices would help make it less obvious. 18% gray anyone? =)

In summary, I’m a big fan of the RS7 as it’s made photography a lot more comfortable and smoother. Thus, I’m recommending it to everyone who would like a nicer looking, more comfortable, and overall more useful camera strap.

Available at: Blackrapid.com and Amazon.com

- Lawrence (and assistant Laura Wright)

Additional Photos:

Me wearing the RS7

With a prime

While shooting

Aug 25, 2010 | Filed under Gear.