- I get a lot of emails from you guys asking me all sorts of questions, and it's always really cool to find out what it is you're wondering about. The question I get the most, honestly, out of all of the courses I've done, is, "What's that camera strap you're using?" And I think what people are responding to is this camera strap right here, which is not like a normal camera strap because it just hangs across my body and the camera slides up and down. This is a sling, not a strap. This particular sling is the Luma Loop, and I've been using one for years, and it is my favorite camera strap.
However, the Luma Loop was out of production for a while and it just came back into production, so I'm really excited to get to hype it here for you. It's a very simple mechanism. It's just a loop. But on the bottom of the camera is this screw that you attach to the tripod socket on your camera. And as you can see, the strap can slide freely through the loop. Now, this may not seem like that big a deal, the idea of a camera sling. It's difficult to explain why it's so cool until you've tried it.
It just hangs out at my hip or even in the small of my back, and I walk around doing my thing. When I'm ready to take a picture, there is just the camera here. It's like there's a little table following me around with a camera on it. I really, really like it. There are other camera slings out there. I've looked at all of them. I really prefer the Luma Loop to all of the competition because it's so low profile. A lot of the other slings have a tremendous amount of padding and pockets in them for carrying media cards and things like that. The Luma Loop is very, very low key.
One thing to note, if you normally keep a tripod plate on your camera, this can be a bit of a drag because you're having to take this off to get your plate on. There are tripod plates, especially some made by Really Right Stuff, that have a pass-through socket, so the plate goes into the socket on your camera, and there's another socket on it that you can attach the Luma Loop to. If you prefer a regular camera strap, there are some other options besides the one that came with your camera. This is an UPstrap. It's just a basic strap, but it has some features that I really like, the main one being this shoulder pad here.
I don't know why, I don't know if it's the materials, the particular rubber they're using, or all these little grip-py things, but this thing does not slide off your shoulder. I normally carry my camera over my head so that the camera doesn't slide off. But this thing is so grip-py that I can actually just carry it like this. That's great for times when I need to get my camera completely off my body, when I'm tired of pulling it over my head, or when I've got ... I don't want the weight on this shoulder maybe because my arm is getting tired. So the UPstrap is really great. It doesn't slide. It has another cool feature, which is these quick releases on the strap.
So right here, I've just got these normal buckles. I can quickly take this off, and now the strap is off my camera. If I need to mount it on a tripod or something like that, this is really nice because I can get the strap completely out of the way. One feature I'd like to see on the UPstrap that I have seen on other straps, it's something to look out for, if this was male and this was female, I could just hook these together and then I would have a hand strap. I've always wanted that on the UPstrap but haven't seen that yet. Still, if you want just a regular camera strap to replace the one that came with your camera, I really, really recommend this, UPstrap.com. Finally, Luma Labs, the people that make the Luma Loop, also make this other strange thing called a Cinch.
It looks like a normal camera strap. It attaches again to the tripod socket of my camera as well as to the normal strap lanyard thing there, and it also goes ... This always takes me a minute to figure out. It goes over my head like this and for the most part works just like a normal across-the-body strap. I can pick it up, but wait, the strap's too long. The cool thing about this is I can very easily cinch it up with this little slider thing, so I can very, very quickly change the length of it.
For active shooting, I can keep it right here where it's really easy to get to. And then if I find that I'm just ready to go for a walk and I'm not shooting so much, I can lengthen it and put it back behind my body. So this isn't ... I'm not as crazy about this as I am about the Luma Loop, but it still is a nice alternative to a regular camera strap. The advantage that it has over the Luma Loop is when I put the camera right here, it stays here. The Luma Loop, it's always sliding back down. So this is a nice way I can make the strap as long as I want very easily for times when I'm either shooting or not.
So all of these are available online. They are all nice alternatives to the basic camera strap, and I really can't recommend enough the loop harness idea. It's a really free way to work, and I think that's probably why so many people have taken to it when they see me using it. It's just a really flexible way to deal with your camera.
Author
Updated
12/23/2020Released
5/19/2013Skill Level Beginner
Duration
Views
Q: Why can't I earn a Certificate of Completion for this course?
A: We publish a new tutorial or tutorials for this course on a regular basis. We are unable to offer a Certificate of Completion because it is an ever-evolving course that is not designed to be completed. Check back often for new movies.
Related Courses
-
Photography Foundations: Composition
with Ben Long5h 29m Intermediate -
The DIY Photographer
with Joseph "PhotoJoseph" Linaschke2h 39m Intermediate -
Photo Tools Weekly
with Chris Orwig26h 18m Intermediate
-
The Practicing Photographer - New This Week
-
16-bit in Photoshop6m 23s
-
-
Introduction
-
Previous Episodes
-
Choosing a camera5m 27s
-
Let your lens reshape you7m 26s
-
Working with reflections1m 26s
-
Exploring mirrorless cameras7m 25s
-
Using a tripod3m 33s
-
Wildlife and staying present5m 58s
-
Why Shoot Polaroid11m 12s
-
Seizing an opportunity4m 4s
-
Shooting wildlife7m 24s
-
Using a lens hood4m 48s
-
Working with themes2m 48s
-
Setting up an HDR time lapse7m 55s
-
Processing an HDR time lapse7m 55s
-
Scanning Photos5m 37s
-
Jpeg iPad import process3m 17s
-
Warming up3m 26s
-
Taking a panning action shot10m 17s
-
Shooting a silhouette3m 9s
-
Using Lightroom on the road6m 28s
-
Shooting level2m 42s
-
Photoshop and Automator8m 54s
-
Softboxes vs. umbrellas2m 55s
-
Working with hair in post3m 28s
-
Exploring how to use Bokeh5m 38s
-
Shooting stills from a drone6m 57s
-
Working with models2m 40s
-
Tips for shooting panoramas7m 16s
-
Dry sensor cleaning6m 23s
-
Composing in the center2m 48s
-
Vignetting9m 56s
-
Inspire3m 29s
-
Minimizing camera baggage4m 24s
-
Working without a tripod4m 11s
-
Printer options6m 51s
-
Exploring lo-fi printing options11m 58s
-
IOS macro photography gear12m 25s
-
IR Conversion Part 27m 27s
-
Raw editing in Lightroom mobile10m 35s
-
Shooting a macro insect shot13m 5s
-
A brief history of photography12m 19s
-
Shooting with a Petzval lens9m 49s
-
What is a low-pass filter?4m 35s
-
Teleconverters and lenses5m 12s
-
Media card care7m 19s
-
Dual slot4m 2s
-
Exploring smart previews9m 12s
-
Flying and photo batteries5m 41s
-
Partial vignettes on photos8m 38s
-
360 image editing plugins6m 59s
-
Using a gimbal with an SLR8m 13s
-
Choosing a lens6m 27s
-
Switching camera systems7m 42s
-
Using 360 drones5m 41s
-
VR gimbals4m 16s
-
Working with a photo subject14m 26s
-
Posing a photo subject12m 53s
-
Framing and safety7m 7s
-
RAW converter options3m 59s
-
Drone flight7m 19s
-
Basic abstract photography8m 51s
-
Aspect ratio3m 40s
-
Focus lock on your camera2m 11s
-
Using the Astropad app6m 33s
-
Working with dim sunlight6m 33s
-
Configuring dual cards2m 52s
-
Long lens options4m 45s
-
Moving images from catalogs7m 47s
-
Photography education11m 7s
-
In-camera focus stacking9m 52s
-
Exposure isn't everything4m 17s
-
Why shoot film?8m 55s
-
Culling4m
-
Choosing a film camera8m 38s
-
Analog workflow9m 9s
-
Easily produce giant prints10m 15s
-
Luna Display4m 19s
-
Choosing film7m 50s
-
Photo fads4m 46s
-
Portrait lighting techniques8m 32s
-
Diopter control2m 56s
-
Loupedeck for Lightroom6m 48s
-
Printing small3m 37s
-
Lens flare removal6m 28s
-
Paper choice for prints7m 39s
-
Aspect ratio for portraits2m 33s
-
When in doubt2m 24s
-
Looking vs. seeing2m 44s
-
Do you need a carnet?5m 23s
-
Scan large items6m 17s
-
Create an honest portrait5m 34s
-
A portrait assignment3m 23s
-
Am I good?5m 59s
-
Boredom4m 13s
-
Clichés4m 29s
-
Finding inspiration5m 42s
-
An everyday project5m 47s
-
Learning from students4m 56s
-
Life as a project5m 27s
-
Why take a workshop?4m 33s
-
Photographic honesty2m 52s
-
Up to interpretation3m 27s
-
Photographic style3m 40s
-
Photography drills6m 31s
-
Digital chores4m 23s
-
Photos and words4m 11s
-
Stay-at-home exercises3m 45s
-
Understanding your medium2m 28s
-
Darkroom for iOS5m 15s
-
iOS image editing extensions2m 58s
-
On set: Simplicity4m 5s
-
On set: Corners2m 19s
-
On set: The build4m 30s
-
On set: Same pieces, new set3m 18s
-
Choose a price first3m 20s
-
Rewind: Choosing a camera5m 41s
-
On time and in tune3m 3s
-
Avalanche for aperture4m 8s
-
Evaluating a wide-angle lens6m 14s
-
Auction catalogs4m 56s
-
Get out and shoot (safely)3m 45s
-
Do ruts exist?2m 24s
-
- Mark as unwatched
- Mark all as unwatched
Are you sure you want to mark all the videos in this course as unwatched?
This will not affect your course history, your reports, or your certificates of completion for this course.
CancelTake notes with your new membership!
Type in the entry box, then click Enter to save your note.
1:30Press on any video thumbnail to jump immediately to the timecode shown.
Notes are saved with you account but can also be exported as plain text, MS Word, PDF, Google Doc, or Evernote.
Share this video
Embed this video
Video: Evaluating camera-strap options