Stroppa Camera Strap Review - Rope and Leather Straps
For photographers with a solid library of gear, you know that having dependable and comfortable camera straps are a lifesaver, or more accurately, a back saver! Like most professional photographers, I have tried various straps, harnesses, and holsters; including standard and neoprene neck straps, Holdfast harnesses, SpiderPro holsters and an array of Gordy leather straps (the latter being for more casual shooting or events when using only one camera).
To meet my requirements, quality camera support must first be comfortable to wear – especially when I am shooting 16 hours in one day! Secondly, it must allow me to switch quickly between two camera bodies and allow versatility with any shooting position (e.g. down by the ground, high up, etc.). For a while there, I thought that Holdfast harness was the best purchase I ever made. However, I was easily annoyed that the versatility of the camera was limited by the length of the leather strap. This, in turn, caused me to constantly unclip and clip the cameras. And when you are shooting a fast-paced event where every moment counts, you don’t have time to do this!
After using Holdfast for a season or so, I switched to SpiderPro clips. I initially attached it to a ThinkTank belt, and later, just to my normal belt. I loved the flexibility of the SpiderPro system. I would grab the camera and shoot from whichever position I wanted and if I don’t need it, I conveniently clipped it to my belt – perfect! One thing I didn’t appreciate about the SpiderPro, however, was the fact that even moderate camera weight (e.g. D750 with Nikon 85mm 1.4 lens) kept pulling my trousers down! And that was not very convenient, to say the least 😉
Yes, I could still use ThinkTank or SpiderPro belt. But for seasoned photographers, you tend to reduce the amount of gear and accessories you carry around (other than the big wheeled bag with lighting gear). You tend to just know the exact gear you need for each moment which has allowed me to minimize the weight of equipment I tug around. Also, I like to blend in as much as possible at events and wearing all sort of ‘tactical’ gear strapped around me doesn’t really help me go incognito 😉 And to top it off, I also heard from a couple of physiotherapists that these holsters are not particularly healthy for the human body since human hips are not really designed to carry this much weight.
The latest change started with the decision to use Leica Q as my main wedding camera. Spider Pro clip was just too big for such a small camera and I didn’t want to use just the pin on its own. The sensible solution was to put the camera on a strap but I needed a strap that would be comfortable to use, look professional and provide me with that versatility that I need.
Enter Stroppa straps…
After seeing these straps at a workshop I attended, I thought I would give them a go. My continued search for the right strap made me curious if Stroppa strap was what I was looking for. I went for 90cm Stroppa Flat Duo in black and white.
