DIY Camera Strap
Sep 30I love making things instead of buying them. First I made a stealthy camera bag. And here I am making a better strap for my DSLR. I was inspired by looking around the Instructables website at other people’s camera straps. In particular, I was fond of the variants of the highly regarded R-Strap by Black Rapid.
Steps
- Sew nylon strap through swiveling hook with a box stitch
- Attach locking carabiner to swiveling hook
- Thread shoulder strap through both nylon strap and carabiner
- Cut original Canon strap, leaving enough room on the thick portion for a grommet
- Cut hole in thick portion, not too close to the edges
- Insert and attach grommet
- Attach skinny nylon strap of the original Canon strap to the camera
- Attach grommet on thick portion of original Canon strap to the swiveling hook
Parts
- Grommet kit ($7, Michael’s)
- Included Canon strap (free or less than $10, eBay)
- Swiveling hook ($4, Home Depot)
- Locking carabiner ($5, Amazon)
- Nylon strap (free, cut from an old messenger bag)
- Thread (negligible, already had)
- Shoulder strap (free, already had)
Conclusion
I enjoyed making this, especially when compared to the ~$60 R-Strap. It saved me some money. (Then again, that small amount of money saved hardly gets me very far in terms of purchasing new lenses!)
My main issues with the commercial R-Strap is its price and its attachment to the tripod mount. I don’t particularly trust screws to hold my camera, especially since it swings and hangs there. Additionally, it is quite difficult to put a camera on a tripod with something else attached to its tripod mount! This strap attaches to one of the metal tabs that is normally used for holding up the camera. It’s integral to the camera body, and I trust that it won’t break. If it does break, then it would drop just as it would have if I were only using the original Canon strap. In any case it is a pretty secure setup, and I will be using this for the time being.
A lot of my inspiration is from the Safer DIY R-Strap.