Black Rapid RS7
Discussion
Bought the Black Rapid RS-7, which arrived on Tuesday, as a turn of luck I won £50 worth of vouchers at work last week so used them to purchase the RS-7 from Amazon... I was still planning on buying one anyway, but as I said above, £50 for a strap seemed steep.
That aside, my initial feelings is that it is extremely well made, and much more comfortable to use than a standard strap, and saves you from feeling like the stereo-typical Japanese tourist with your camera round your neck. The camera sits on your hip and slides up the front of the strap when you lift it to your eye... (The video on the RS-7 link above will explain that better if my description is not that good).
So far I am extremely pleased with it, but I can see issues if you are someone who uses a Tripod regularly, as obviously the tripod mount on the Camera is being used for the strap, but there appears to be a specific mount that can be purchased from Black Rapid to get round this and use with Manfrotto quick release plates. Fasten R-T1
The only other thing is that there is a clip which is mounted at the rear of the strap, just below the shoulder pad, which it would not be all that difficult for some idiot to undo with the flick of their fingers, sending your camera crashing to the ground, but again Black Rapid have an add on called Buck, which covers the clip and stops it being easily accessed. Having looked at reviews online it would appear that this issue has been mentioned a few times, and several people have simply put a cable-tie through the clip to stop it being unclipped, which seems like the best & cheapest way around this potential issue.
All in all, have to say... It is great! Really pleased with it, and would definitely suggest that if the £50 price tag is justifiable, then well worth getting.
That aside, my initial feelings is that it is extremely well made, and much more comfortable to use than a standard strap, and saves you from feeling like the stereo-typical Japanese tourist with your camera round your neck. The camera sits on your hip and slides up the front of the strap when you lift it to your eye... (The video on the RS-7 link above will explain that better if my description is not that good).
So far I am extremely pleased with it, but I can see issues if you are someone who uses a Tripod regularly, as obviously the tripod mount on the Camera is being used for the strap, but there appears to be a specific mount that can be purchased from Black Rapid to get round this and use with Manfrotto quick release plates. Fasten R-T1
The only other thing is that there is a clip which is mounted at the rear of the strap, just below the shoulder pad, which it would not be all that difficult for some idiot to undo with the flick of their fingers, sending your camera crashing to the ground, but again Black Rapid have an add on called Buck, which covers the clip and stops it being easily accessed. Having looked at reviews online it would appear that this issue has been mentioned a few times, and several people have simply put a cable-tie through the clip to stop it being unclipped, which seems like the best & cheapest way around this potential issue.
All in all, have to say... It is great! Really pleased with it, and would definitely suggest that if the £50 price tag is justifiable, then well worth getting.
I've since got an RS-5 and I think it's brilliant....I've used it quite a bit with my 70-200 and I have to say in normal circumstances I wouldn't take that lens out because it's heavy but I really don't notice it. Only "problem" I have found is that when I am walking along the switches on the side of my lens must get flicked on my hip so sometimes the lens is in manual focus mode when I go to take a pic.
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