A certain magazine has put together a list of the hundred greatest cameras ever made. Interestingly, the Sony NEX-7 is sitting pretty at number 78, which I find interesting since it’s not available yet. What’s that all about?
Now I may have missed them, but there were some notable cameras missing. Most notable absentees were the EOS film range. Not a 3, 5, 50E, 30 or 1 in sight. I find that truly odd as the EOS 3 was widely considered to be about the finest film auto-focus SLR ever. I would have had that in my top 100, even my top 10.
My personal favourite though will always be the Pentax MZ-5n. I loved this camera and without doubt is the best Pentax I ever owned. Pentax made some lousy auto-focus cameras, but the MZ-5n wasn’t one of them. Reliable metering, reliable (if noisy) auto-focus and a shutter speed dial all wrapped up in a lightweight and compact body. It was a joy to use and never failed to produce the goods. For me, that makes it a great camera.
Everyone has their preference and everyone will have their favourite, but the fact that so many digital cameras were in the list is quite telling. Could it be that we already have a generation of photographers who have never used film? Who have never manually focused a prime lens? Never used a thumb wind?
The Q Strap, Quick Strap, or whatever they’re calling it today, is a direct knock off of the Black rapid straps. They’ve even copied the logo, replacing the R with a Q!! Chinese made, the main difference is the camera mount. The Q strap uses a flat plate with a hole at the side which allows the camera to hang at a more natural position, allegedly.
First impressions
The Q Strap
It arrived in a plain poly bag with the Q logo. No extra fuss or packaging. The strap looked good, but the plate stank and it took a couple of months to get rid of the smell. No amount of cleaning could get rid of it. It did go eventually though, but I’d be cautious about leaving it your camera bag until the smell goes away. That said, it is a genius mount and has two major benefits over the connector that comes with the Black Rapid, which I’ll cover later.
Build quality seems okay. The carabiner is a gun metal colour and the gate has a locking screw so it doesn’t unhook accidentally. The strap is made from a seat-belt type material which I like and includes a single bumper, which acts as a ‘stop’ for the camera, making sure it hangs where you want it too.
It can be bought on eBay for about £15 and is the cheapest of the 3 I’m looking at.
Comfort
The pad is pretty comfy with plenty of padding. It sits nicely on the shoulder thanks to it’s slight ergonomic design. This brings me to the first advantage of the connecting plate – the camera really does hang at your waist in a more natural and comfortable position. The lens hangs back against your waist and the camera doesn’t feel heavy at all.
In use
The Q Strap being ably modelled by my son.
The pad has a small zip pocket that holds two memory cards. Not really necessary but useful to have. The carabiner glides smoothly up and down the strap allowing you to grab and shoot quickly. The only irritation is that the pad does slide back over your shoulder with use. There are two ways around this. First push the camera back against the bumper when returning it to your waist. That pushes the pad back into position. Second – buy an arm strap. Sadly, The Q strap doesn’t have that option, so you’ll have to fashion your own, or buy one from a competitor.
The connecting plate also allows for a tripod quick release plate to be attached, making it quick to unhook, attach your camera to the tripod, shoot and hook it back onto the strap. That’s another benefit not offered by the Black Rapid connector.
Overall
It doesn’t include a second bumper, and there’s no arm strap, but other than that, the Q Strap gets a thumbs up. Considering it is less than half the price of the Black Rapid strap, it is excellent value for money.
WeavingLight 