The NutStrap
OK, the name is kind of bad but it fits. A few months back I read about the BlackRapid camera strap. Unlike most camera straps which attach to the eyelets on either side of your camera, the BlackRapid connects to your tripod mount and allows the camera to slide along the strap when you wear it over your shoulder (as I always do). The big advantage is that the strap won’t bind on your clothes when you pull it up to your face. In addition the camera hangs comfortably at your side in an upside position that’s perfect for quick grabbing and shooting. I looked into buying a BlackRapid but had two problems. First, I like and don’t wish to leave my current strap, the Crumpler Industry Disgrace. Second, the BlackStrap is kinda pricey and kinda ugly IMHO. Third, I have a friend named Wes up in Seattle who has a machine shop. – wouldn’t it be much cooler to make one? Yes, it would.
Since I was in Seattle in mid January I convinced Wes to give me a few hours in the shop with his mad skills. We drew up a simple plan, over estimated it by probably 50% as we wanted to be sure it was strong enough, then got to work making the strap. The end result was the NutStrap – an aluminum bolt about 1″ x 3/4″ with an eyelet for your camera strap. We machined two of them on a lathe and a mill, neither of which I had ever used before. Total time was about 3 hours but we could do it much faster next time, maybe 90 minutes. We could even use a real shop to do it for us next time. Regardless, it worked perfectly and screwed in snug and tight.
NutStrap
Next up, modifying the industry disgrace. First off, the Crumpler Industry Disgrace is absolutely fantastic. They are sold for about $25 online though Crumpler’s store now has them in stock, again, for $30. Thank you Crumpler! If you don’t know Crumpler you should, they make insanely cool, comfy bags. Anyways, I stopped by Seattle Fabric to pick up some new nylon and some strapy connectors to make things work. You can get all the same parts online at StrapWorks or another retailer. In the end all I needed was about 2′ of 1″ nylon (I bought a yard to be safe), one 1″ metal snap, one 1″ cam and one 1″ strap adjust. The Industry Disgrace strap attaches it’s lower section to the padded neck strap using a D-ring connector so you can easily disconnect the lower section. Then you just loop through the new 1″ through the hook, adjuster and the cam, continue through the d-rings on the neck pad then come back through the adjust and the cam again. Now just put it on over your shoulder, test the length and cut off any extra strap making sure to seal the nylon ends with a flame. Voila!
Industry Disgrace with NutStrap
Note that the cam serves two purposes. First, it lets you adjust the strap length and secondly, depending upon what side you prefer, you can use it to stop the camera from sliding forward when you bend over. Yes, CAUTION, unlike a normal camera strap which will bind on your clothes this one won’t so when you lean forward to pet the cute doggies he’s gonna get smacked in the head with your 3lb DSLR. This took me a bit to get used to and Wes figured out the whole cam being a decent stopper for the camera.
There are lots of optimizations you can make like to use a metal or plastic hook that pivots unlike the one I bought. This stops any spinning of the camera on the strap from building up tension and loosening the nut. Fun, thanks again Wes.
