The ‘mysterious’ camera strap I wrote briefly about a month ago here arrived not too long after that post, and I’ve been putting it through the paces since. The strap is from Joby, the California-based company that is perhaps better known for its series of Gorillapods (owned a couple of them). The company has diversified quite a bit over the recent years, and apart from action video gear for (extreme) sports enthusiasts, the company also now has a varied series of camera straps of the sling, neck-hung, and handgrip types.
I’ve tried all three types of straps extensively now. I’ve never got used to the neck-hung ones – even those those claimed to be super-comfy neophrene ones from OP/TECH – and the handgrip straps don’t work well with battery/vertical grips. The sling-type straps remain my preferred choice especially when I’m totting multiple cameras around for the odd event-shoot at work. The Joby Pro comes in several flavors, including one that’s catered for women even, and the ‘Pro’ series I picked up – comes in two sizes (Sm-L, and L-XXL) which as I understand it, is factored based on T-Shirt size. I picked up the L-XXL if nothing else because I can only grow wider now and not slimmer LOL, and ordered it from a South Korean reseller off eBay which offered it at quite a bit lower than direct from the manufacturer itself.
My notes after the first period of use, and especially in comparison against my other two straps: the BlackRapid RS4, and the BosStrap.
The Joby strap is cheaper than the other two straps by quite a bit!
The RS4 remains by far the easiest to set-up. You fasten it to the tripod socket, and you’re done. While the number of parts to the Joby seem about similar to other two, whether it takes less time for it to secure your camera depends pretty much on whether you want to use the secondary system; the camera tether. If you don’t, then – like the RS4 – the Joby strap is secured in about the time it takes you to screw the thumbscrew into the tripod socket, and also way shorter than it takes for you to poke the BosStrap’s tail through the eyelet + do a few more rounds of looping. The Joby’s camera tether though is a different story. It’s easy enough though to unscrew the carabiner and loop the reinforced string through it – just takes a bit of time.
The strap material on the Joby is, apparently, of the same nylon webbing as the the BosStrap, but not quite as velvety smooth or luxurious-feeling. Still far better feeling than the stiff padding on the RS4 though. The camera doesn’t glide (slide?) as naturally too as compared to the BosStrap, but the strap lock helps a lot in limiting the amount of movement the fastened camera has on the strap. Quite a nifty feature, that is sorely absent on the RS4 which makes it all too easy for the shoulder pad to slide off my shoulder when the camera is swinging about.
In all; the Joby’s a good purchase. I don’t find it as comfortable as the BosStrap, but it’s way more usable and the secondary camera tether is a great assurance in case the strap”s thuimbscrew ever gives way!
Pictures of the Joby Pro Strap:
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