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.
