The Black Rapid Strap v. Tripod Conundrum

Plant #2. Boulder County, Colorado, 2014

First, the Black Rapid Strap. If you do any walking around with your DSLR, whether it be among the fig leaves of Nature or among the the steel and concrete of human uncivilization, you ought to check it out. It is a super duper, very slick, way to carry your camera without feeling like your neck is slowly being bludgeoned off of your torso–and your machine is secure and always at the ready for that quick-draw shot that will win you the Pulitzer.

Here’s the hitch. The BR strap screws into the same hole into which you normally screw your tripod plate. So, if you switch back and forth from strap to tripod, you are doing a whole lot of screwing and unscrewing. This is quite unsightly in public and, frankly, a pain in the ass.

So, how to easily and quickly use both the Black Rapid strap and my tripod on the same outing became my quest.

Thanks to Lee, at Enthusiast Photographer, there is indeed a solution that works like charmin’ Charmin (at least it did for me). The qualifier is that his solution is specific to an Arca Swiss tripod plate (my case). However, with a little ingenuity and internet searching, the same idea could likely be applied to your particular tripod plate.

Here is Lee’s video (5 minutes)…