The Dilemma of the Camera Strap

Let's talk camera straps today! There are endless styles and fabrics, from silk through leather to the straight out of the camera box strap. Colours are plentiful, and print choices infinite. Girly and glittery, not so girly with more demure, the options in a camera strap are definitely as personal a choice as your favourite sweater. 

But what's the point of a strap exactly? What are the pros and cons of the landscape photographer and the camera strap? Today we're diving into the dilemma of the camera strap in the world of landscape photography. 

The good, the bad and the ugly of the camera strap! It's all there in real-life experiences. Perhaps you can relate?! 

Not long ago, I stood at the edge of Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park. I had a vision for an image and set up my tripod low, almost level with the lapping waves. I positioned my tripod and precariously angled my camera towards the water. Thankful for my camera strap; I grasped it tightly as a fail-safe, just in case my tripod slipped. I wasn't having my camera fall to a watery death!  

During a different outing, I was in the Kananaskis region of the Canadian Rockies for a day of landscape photography. Strong and cold winds blew, engulfing me in whirling snow, but the moody atmosphere was terrific. So I stepped out onto the frozen lake in search of icy details. Finding my composition, I set my camera securely to the tripod. Flap, slap, whip went my camera strap. Slightly annoyed by the movement, I knew the strap could be creating; I clutched it with my heavily gloved hands. As I battled the wind and pelting snow, I accidentally caught the strap on my coat. My tripod jerked from its resting spot, which ruined my focus bracket process, and I had to begin my image again while continuing to battle the weather.

^{ISO 31, 14mm, f10, 1/30 sec}

When it comes to the benefits of a camera strap for the landscape photographer, the undeniable advantage of a strap is that it can save your camera's life. I've stood with my camera and tripod in rapids lapping at my thighs, and waded into knee-deep water. My tripod has been bent into precarious positions along a river's edge and tucked inside a rocky gorge. It's these occasions in which I hold on tightly to my camera strap, thankful that it's there to prevent the unthinkable. 

Now, as much as the relationship between the landscape photographer and the camera strap can be beneficial, trouble can brew. Some straps attach to the base of the camera. However, this setup poses a significant problem when using a tripod plate, and the photographer will have to choose between attaching a tripod plate or a camera strap. Call it laziness if you'd like, but my tripod plate wins that battle every time.

Wind and camera straps don't often play nice together when the camera is tripod mounted. If it's windy, the movement of a camera strap can inadvertently cause motion blur in a photo, and if it's blustery, the strap can blow up and in front of the lens during an exposure, ruining the image.

Straps can also become a hazard and get caught on clothing or other camera equipment. I've also seen straps get caught up on trees and landscape elements. 

So with this conflict between the good and bad in a landscape photographer's camera strap, what's a landscape photographer to do? 

I like the best of both worlds, so here's my solution. Splurge on yourself a little and purchase a quick-release camera strap. That way, you can easily use a strap when safety is in question and quickly and easily remove it from your camera when there's no advantage or use of a strap impedes good photography. 

I like win-win solutions, don't you?! If only everything-photography were that easy!