My totally classless "instant" slider camera strap

Jock Elliott

Hall of Famer
Location
Troy, NY
Not long after I joined this forum, somebody (I forget who, sorry) declared their photographic motto was: "carry a camera everywhere and see what happens." That seemed like decent advice to me, so I began tucking my Canon G12 (on a neckstrap) under my overshirt whenever I was out and about. It worked pretty well.

When I got my LX100, I tried the same thing, but it worked less well because the LX100 has a thicker profile.

When I saw that Leica had that cool leather shoulder holster for the Q model, I lusted after one, but when I saw the price tag, my Scottish thrift genes kicked in pretty hard.

Still, it seemed like a neat idea to sling the LX100 at my hip and have it instantly available. The standard strap on the LX100 wasn't long enough to comfortably sling cross body.

Recently, however, I ran into this on the internet: DIY: The $10 gliding camera strap (pictures)

So I decided to build one for myself.

Here's the finished project:

camera slider strap (1).JPG

A carabiner-type link is used to connect the two ends of the camera strap, like so . . .

camera slider strap (2).JPG

An eye bolt goes into the tripod socket; a swivel clips to that, which is in turn attached to the camera strap with a key ring.

camera slider strap (3).JPG


I found I had to cut a half inch off the threaded end of the eye bolt and I had to add a metal washer and a rubber washer to keep the eye bolt from loosening while wearing the rig.

The upshot: it hides nicely under my overshirt; the camera parks neatly at my hip, and I can pull the camera to my eye in an instant with no fuss, no friction.

Cheers, Jock
 

Excellent! Plus it solves the problem of having to shorten the bolt (well, actually, you don't have to shorten it, but it looks goofy if you don't) and adding a rubber washer to prevent loosening.

Great suggestion!

Cheers, Jock
 
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