Inspired by the Tripod thread - Black Rapid Users

[cosine4]

Since I have been sorta in the market for a new tripod as my nice one has a bent leg from travelling and my Gorillapod SLRZOOM is not good for general purpose, I read through the tripod thread. It got me thinking of an issue I always have when using a tripod and that is what do you do when you are using a black rapid neck strap?

I got the advice for the black rapid here and will never go back to anything else as it was the best $50 I spent on camera gear. Is there some sort of adapter out there that you can still use the black rapid and a tripod?

Thanks!

 

[jfinke]

I just did this very thing.

I purchased "OP/TECH USA 1301322 System Connectors". They are little plastic connectors you can hook into. I slid one into my right connector. I was then able to keep my tripod plate screwed in.

The only thing I didn't like was that it changed the balance of the camera at my waist. So, typically, my lens pointed down when the BR was screwed into the mount. However, on the top right, my lens tended to point out.

Depending on your plate, you may be able to just put a connector on your plate. I was able to do that, but I found that I had to take the strap off of the plate to mount it on the head.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

Both of my DSLR's have battery grips. When using a lens without a tripod collar, I take off the grip, screw on the plate and mount it. I attach the strap to the split ring on the K5 (on the K10D I added a split ring). This does not take very long. When using a lens with a tripod collar, I unscrew the BR attachment and mount the plate. The strap is then attached to the camera BR attachment point. (I purchased extra BR attachment hardware for all my tripod collar lenses). This process sounds like a lot, but does not take long to accomplish.

 

[HPS3]

I use a CarrySpeed strap which is just like the BR but it has a mounting plate. Once you screw the plate to the bottom of the camera you can then screw the tripod mount into the plate.

 

[alloyd1170]

Thank for that advice! I think I am going to try this one: OP/TECH USA 1301222 System Connectors as it looks more secure.

 

[njtree]

custom slr m-plate I preordered my just waiting now.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

My tripod heads all use arca-swiss type connector plates. The plates I have on my cameras and the plates I have on my lens feet all have a threaded hole into which I can attach my BR Strap connector. I leave the plates on the cameras and lens. When I'm using my BR Strap, it is screwed into those plates.

One special warning worth giving is to be very careful about how you attach your BR strap to your camera. Many people have attached it to the little d-ring that comes with some tripod plates. Those d-rings are definitely not designed to hold the weight of your camera and you stand a very, very, very good chance of having it fail.

When I'm using my tripod, what I do varies. If I'm using my 300mm f/2.8 (a big lens), I leave the lens attached to the tripod and also have an Op/tech strap attached to the lens and wrapped over my shoulder.

When I'm using any other lens, I screw in the BR strap when I take the camera off the tripod and unscrew it when I put the camera on the tripod. I know that everyone preaches that you should NEVER carry your camera on your tripod, but I do it all the time. I'm always very careful to check my connections whenever I lift the tripod. I'm sure that someday I'll screw that up, but I'm so often in situations where I shoot, move, shoot, move, shoot move, that I'm just not going to bother with disconnecting and reconnecting.

I suppose that if I was the cautious type, on tripod outings, I'd switch from a BR strap to an Op/Tech strap. Then I could either remove my camera from the tripod more easily or carry it on the tripod while wearing the strap (like I do with the 300mm). I guess the fact that I routinely carry $2,000+ cameras with $2,000+ lenses on them attached to my tripod is another reason why I personally like to have high end tripods. I say that without intending to imply that others should follow my practice of buying expensive tripods or carrying their cameras mounted to their tripods.

 

[BillyBuff]

Blackrapid does sell the FastenR-T1 Tripod for this use

 

[alloyd1170]

Only problem with that is that it only works with Manfotto RC2 quick plates. I'm guessing the plates only work with Manfrotto tripods?

 

[GrillMouster]

I have a Really Right Stuff L-plate on my camera at all times. I have a split ring attached to the bend in the L-plate. I clip the black rapid to the split ring, so both of the arca-style plates of the L-plate are always free and available for mounting to the tripod (RRS ballhead). I also put a split ring through the RSS replacement foot of my 70-200 lens, so I clip the black rapid to that one when I'm using that lens.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Opening up an older thread again because I've just received a new plate and connector I'm going to use with my Black Rapid RS-7.

Before our April trip to WDW, I ordered Black Rapid's FastenR-T1. I removed the original screw from my tripod's plate and replaced it with the FastenR-T1 (after having to drill out the hole in the plate to make it large enough for the FastenR-T1). I then left the tripod plate permanently attached to the camera.

This solution worked well enough, except that I found it annoying to have to attach and detach the ConnectR every time I put the camera on the tripod, or removed it. The strap couldn't be connected to the camera while the tripod was being used.

Design of the plate on my Promaster tripod is a raised hexagon piece that wedges into the top of the ball head.

The Black Rapid FastenR-T-1 worked, but I needed to drill the hole in the plate larger.

Carry Speed has just introduced a new plate they call the C-3. Unlike the Black Rapid FastenR-T1 that replaces the screw in the tripod mount, the C-3 has a separate screw to connect to the camera. I then has multiple connection points at which the tripod mount can be connected. It also has an offset that allows you to still have the strap connected while the tripod is in use. I like the Black Rapid R-7 strap and don't want to give it up. I just changed out the ConnectorR that came with it with the hardware from Carry Speed. (This required cutting off the end-piece of the R-7 to change out the connectors.)

C-3 on my camera

With the tripod mount

Camera can now be on the tripod with the strap still connected

I'd much rather slip the strap over my head and let it hang from the tripod than undo and redo a connector every time. I haven't had it out on a shoot yet, but playing with it around the house, I really like the set up.

I do need to note, though, that Carry Speed's quality control missed the fact that the screw in my C-3 was too large for the groove it was supposed to fit in. The screw wouldn't turn more than a quarter turn, which obviously wasn't enough to fasten the plate to the camera. (The screw head wasn't perfectly round. It would fit in the groove in one direction, but not the other. I'm sure they would have replaced it for me, but it was easy enough to fix with a Dremmel tool and grind the edge of the screw a little to take down the high sides. I'm not sure if mine was a fluke or if it's a flaw that appeared between design and manufacturing. This is a brand new product that just started shipping. If they're all like the one I received, I bet they'll start getting them back in droves. I sent them an email to let them know I was disappointed in their QC and to describe the problem.