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An important part of photography for me is being comfortable with my gear. I find that even with my small light weight camera it still gets heavy on my neck and when I’m out shooting I can have the camera handing from my neck for hours. I take my camera everywhere I go, I take it hiking, car shows, wondering around historic downtown, and off roading. I found that I needed a better camera strap. After some research I decided on the Altura Photo Rapid Fire Professional Quick Release Camera Strap.
Altura Photo Rapid Fire Professional Quick Release Camera Strap – Features
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The Altura Photo Rapid Fire Professional Quick Release Camera Strap is a cross body camera strap that is designed to take the stress of the heavy of the camera off your neck and hang at your side when not in use. To help keep the strap on your shoulder, it has a smaller strap that straps on below the shoulder.
Features taken directly from the Amazon Sales Page
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- COMFORTABLE, ERGONOMICALLY-DESIGNED SHOULDER PAD HAS STORAGE: Zipper pocket stores extra batteries, memory cards or other camera accessories.
- ADJUSTABLE, REMOVABLE STRAP FITS EVERYONE: Diagonal sling camera strap for women and men adjusts from 39″ to 56″ in length and attaches easily using the snap on either side of the shoulder pad.
- FULLY ADAPTABLE HEAVY-DUTY MOUNTING PLATE: Quick release design with adjustable hinge allows you to switch your digital camera to a tripod without needing to remove the neck strap.
- UNIVERSAL COMPATIBILITY: Compatible with any Mirrorless or DSLR Camera with a standard ¼” tripod screw mount. (Includes: CANON EOS R RP 70D 80D 90D 77D 1D 6S 5D Rebel T7 T7i T6i T6s T5i T4i T3i T3 T2i SL1 SL2 SL3 NIKON Z6 Z7 Z50 D7100 D7200 D7500 D5500 D5600 D3500 D3400 D3300 D90 D80 D610 D750 D810 D850 SONY Alpha A7 A7ii A7iii A7Rii A7Riii A7Riv A7S A7Sii A9 A6000 A6100 A6300 A6400 A6500 A6600 A5100)
- SATISFACTION GUARANTEED: Backed with Digital Goja 90-Day 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.
Altura Photo Rapid Fire Professional Quick Release Camera Strap – Review
For the last couple of years I’ve been wanting to make the switch from the OEM strap to a harness or a cross body style strap but I never found one that I wanted to purchase. There are ton of them out there and the cheap no name ones concerned me. Then one day I noticed that Altura came out with a cross body strap with an under arm strap to keep the strap in place! I jump on this one without a thought. Altura products, in my opinion, are made well and I normally do not have issues with their products.
First Impressions
The Altura Photo Rapid Fire Professional Quick Release Camera Strap comes in a nice box with a picture of the strap. All the includes are protected from bouncing around and being scratched up.
After getting everything removed form the packaging I found the strap and all the metal parts are made well. The strapping is properly stitched and designed to last. The plastic parts are well made as well and should last as long you take care of it.
Strap Fitting
The strap can easily be adjusted to fit most body types. The easiest way to adjust it for proper fit is to wear the strap without the camera attached and then tighten the straps using the easy adjust straps and clips. The camera should hang just at the hip. It even has bumpers to keep the camera sliding while on the move and not using the camera. (I generally keep my hand on the grip when I don’t need my hands). I also found that you need to adjust the under stabilizing strap so it fits tight under the arm pit (not to tight that its uncomfortable). You can tighten the strap the same way as the main strap is tightened. Make sure to whatch the video found on the Amazon sales page. Its only takes a few minutes to make adjustments.
Does it Stay On
I found it stays on if the adjustments are set properly. I made some more adjustments so I can take it on and off faster (driving from site to site and I got tire of leaving it on as I drove). When it was looser it fell off my shoulders and down my arm every few minutes or the camera strap would slide forward or back off my shoulder. I highly recommend setting your adjustments before each shoot and you may have to make slight adjustments if you are wearing it all day.
How Comfortable Is It and How Well Does It Work
In my opinion the Altura Photo Rapid Fire Professional Quick Release Camera Strap is comfortable. I’ve worn it for a few hours to all day climbing up mountains and climbing over rocks photographing Jeeps crawling over rocks and I had no issues with the comfort levels. With my old neck strap my neck and back would start hurting about 30 minutes to an hour wearing the strap. I was constantly adjusting the strap or hold the camera whenever the pain was to much.
The quick disconnects works well. I just forget to disconnect the strap when the camera doesn’t need to be on the strap or when its being stored. The mount works as designed. I was able to leave the mounted and connect my camera to my tripod and mono pod. When mounted to the trip screw mount, I found that it needs to be tightened down with a coin or key. If not, it comes loose.
The stabilizing strap is something you need. My brother-in-law has the same strap but without the stabilizing strap and he complains that its always falling off his shoulder. For me it doesn’t do that. The zipper pocket is perfect for putting extra SD cards. I do not use the extra space for anything. Batteries and other small items make it bulky.
Final Thoughts
Overall I like the Altura Photo Rapid Fire Professional Quick Release Camera Strap and plan to get another one once I get my second camera. I have no complaints.
I do not use the strap padding pouch, its not really useful. On longer shoots I might carry a couple of extra SD cards since it has built in holders in the straps.
Some advice…
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- Make sure to adjust the strap before adding the camera.
- Always check the fitting before each use
- It might be easier to unsnap the front stabilizing strap and put the main strap on and then connect the stabilizing strap
- Tighten the mount screw with a coin or key before each use.
- Never over tighten, just tight enough you can’t uscrew without a coin.
- Check the mount tightness several times an hour and more if you are moving around a lot.
- Use a safety tether. Check out my HowTo on how to make one.
If you are in market for a good reliable cross body camera strap the Altura Photo Rapid Fire Professional Quick Release Camera Strap is a great option. I love mine and recommend it for anyone who doesn’t want to pay 100+ on a professional branded strap. To learn more about the strap check out it on Amazon.
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