Is it just me?

[texkam]

It always amazes me to see shooters wielding around a piece of equipment worth thousands of dollars nonchalantly in just one hand with their neck strap dangling. My Dad was a newspaper shooter for over 30 years and always shot with the strap around his neck. Am I the only one who uses a neck strap? How many of you folks use yours?

[Cajungaltx]

I am a bit anal about the neck strap... I was at a friends house who was holding their Canon something or other and their toddler took a swing at them and the camera hit the floor.... busted the lens up...

[Todd Lambert]

I have a Domke gripper on mine, but I only use it when I am walking somewhere and I don't want it in-hand. I probably should, but eh... just doesn't happen most of the time.

Anyways, that's what insurance is for. 8-)

[jeffkohn]

I haven't used a neck-strap in years; hate em. If you mostly shoot on a tripod they just get in the way. Even for hand-held shooting, I would never want a big DSLR actually hanging form my neck. I have a hand-strap on mine that provides a little extra security without being a nuisance.

But if you really must use a neck-strap, at least get an after-market one that doesn't have a big dorky camera logo on it.

[brad]

I have a neck strap, but usually its wrapped around my wrist a couple times in such a way that if I did lose my grip on the camera, it wouldn't go far... still could hit the ground, of course... but Todd beat me to it:

Originally Posted by Todd Lambert

Anyways, that's what insurance is for. 8-)

I've carried a camera that way for literally 30 years.. it works for me and I have dropped it, but the way I wrap the strap around my arm, the odds of it actually falling is pretty slim.

[wclavey]

Originally Posted by jeffkohn

But if you really must use a neck-strap, at least get an after-market one that doesn't have a big dorky camera logo on it.

Hey! I resemble that!

[Atfulldraw]

I'm more partial to the wrist-wrap technique.....

and paying my insurance premiums!

[texkam]

So there is a degree of vanity connected with this? .....The coolness factor? So Westley and I are dorky logo camera strap nerds?

[Brains]

I'm one of the bad ones, I rarely neck the strap. More often than not I have it wrapped around my hand a couple times to avoid dropping it into the field of view.

Knock on wood, no drops yet!

[Dobick]

I mostly wear mine -- at ball games, I almost always have two cameras on me, and there are times I will notice that the shooting camera is not around the neck. I don't want to get the camera knocked from my hands on the sideline and have it go flying, so I try to remember to put it around my neck.

[StevenGWebb]

Never use one, hate em! First, they are "handles" begging to pull a camera off a table or shelf. Second, if worn for a while the wearer gets a phantom feeling of it being there and should he not be aware its not really around the neck could let go of it sending it crashing onto the ground. I use a flash bracket extensively and I don't need something extra dangling around nor do I want it swaying in the breeze when the camera is on a tripod. I also shoot in the great oudoors moving through trees and brush sometime I'd hate to get the strap snagged by a low limb, especially when on a 4-Wheeler moving to a new location.

If you use one and you like doing so, you have my respect. Straps are not permanently attached with good reason, some of us like to take them off and toss them in the garbage.

Steven

[J Eddington]

The neck strap is very dangerous if it is not around your neck.I have seen at least two cameras damaged because of the neck strap. I can't wear a neck strap for more than 15 min or it causes serious backpain. The black rapid straps are better if I carry more than one camera.

[wclavey]

All my usual poor attempts at humor aside, the only cameras I use regularly with the neck strap are my Mamiya TLRs and that is simply an issue of weight and stability, and the fact that I most often shoot them with a waist level finder. I bought a neck strap for the Bronica MF SLR, for similar reasons (waist level finder & weight) but found that I rarely carried it around like the TLRs and removed the actual neck strap portion and just clip the two attaching ends together to make a short hand strap, which is much more useful.

I do use a neck strap on my Fuji MF RF but that is my tourist camera and it is mostly for show, so it has to hang around my neck!

[Howard Barlow]

When I shot Hassy at weddings, I never used a neck strap. I held my camera. I no longer shoot weddings, but I usually carry my Mk2n in my hand, with Canon's handstrap. However, I do hold it securely. I have a neck strap on it, but it is too heavy to wear for long. It feels like carrying a sack of potatoes on my neck.

[bondarnes]

All of my neck straps are still in the boxes. Anyone want a Nikon D200 neck strap? Or Mamiya? Or Hasselblad? Or...?