When photographers love photography…they have images that are just fun like this one. Of course, there’s also a cool factor about the work by RJ Shaughnessy.

Wearing our camera’s around our necks quickly becomes tiresome. But now, thanks to LaRae @ Photo Sister and the generous folks at Black Rapid, my camera is now sporting an RS-W1 camera strap, designed by and made for us ladies.

After using the RS-W1 for a few weeks, I figured it was time for me to share my review:

It’s black and MATCHES my camera!

Unlike traditional camera straps worn around my neck with the camera weight placed towards the front of my body, the RS-W1 is worn cross body-style leaving the camera to hang at my side. The second noticeable difference is the locking carabiner-style fastener that attached to my camera at the bottom in the tripod mount. After attaching the carabiner-style locking clip and making a quick adjustment to the length (watched LaRae‘s video), I was off and shooting. Both of these design features allow the camera to quickly slide along the strap and up into shooting position. When I’m not shooting, the camera is down at my side or lower back where it meets-up with the back stopper. TIP: keep the front stopper all the way up. This ensures a quick and smooth motion as I glide the camera along the strap. Nice. The comfort factor and ease of use quickly overrides any concerns I had about carrying it at my side. When I’m not shooting, I do stay mindful to avoid knocking into furniture, doorways or people. TIP 2: lower the front stopper when not shooting, as this does help keep the camera from shifting forward if you are leaning over or climbing around stuff. Especially with those longer and heavier lenses.

More details/features:

Comfy shoulder pad

Contoured to stay in place

Adjustable for custom fit

Two stoppers , also adjustable

Locking carabiner-style fastener

Very well made

Nice fabric details

Black

Super for those heavy zooms

Perfect for street shooting , events, wedding & portraits

Some users may find it annoying having to share the tripod mount. I don’t often shoot macros or landscapes, so it’s probably not a biggie for users like me.

My one & only suggestion (and it’s minor) would be to incorporate a small slot to hold an extra SD card, hot shoe or viewfinder cover.