Belt, Strap, or Harness - How to Carry Your Camera Gear
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If you’ve ever wondered how to carry your camera gear, you’re not the only one. With so many options on the market, it can get a little overwhelming. It doesn’t help that pretty much every option for photographers is pricey (at least for good gear). How are you supposed to figure out how to carry your camera gear without wasting hundreds of dollars in the process?
Come to PhotographyTalk, of course. Whether you are looking into getting a camera belt, a camera strap, or a camera harness, there are pros and cons to each of these options. In order to make the best decision for your or your business, you need to educate yourself about these.
Eventually, you may own each of these options, but you don’t need all three of them to learn how to carry your camera gear properly. So, figure out which one sounds the most appealing to you right now to start your journey.
Belts Are Ideal for Weekend Getaways
If you’ve already done any research into this topic, then you’ve probably (wrongly) learned that the worst way to learn how to carry your camera gear is to do so with a camera belt.
Belts get a really bad reputation because there are plenty of really poorly built camera belts out there. But, if you understand what to look for, then a photography belt can actually help you carry an awful lot of gear at a time. So much gear, in fact, that I recommend them to my photographer friends for weekend shoots.
Belts also enable you to keep unnecessary weight off of your shoulders. If you’re doing three back-to-back 12-hour days, this is going to save you so much pain later on in the week.
I personally recommend the Tanker Belt to my friends. I like the Tanker Belt because it is made of really durable materials. It features two pieces of water buffalo leather that are intertwined to create a base belt and a top belt. It also features steel d-rings. This means that the belt can handle an awful lot of weight without breaking or looking worn down. It also means that it can handle the weather, since steel doesn’t rust.
The Tanker Belt is also one of my top recommended belts because it won’t pull your pants down, like other camera belts.
The Tanker Belt comes in a variety of colors, like tan, black and burgundy, and costs $175.
Straps Are Better for Day Trips
While figuring out how to carry your camera gear, you’ll likely stumble across more camera straps than anything else. The problem is that, since camera straps are so easy to make, there are plenty of poorly made camera straps available.
I highly recommend that you buy a leather camera strap if you’re going to buy a camera strap at all. I further recommend that you buy a Holdfast camera strap, more specifically the MoneyMaker Solo.
This camera strap comes with a lot of features that other camera straps don’t, like a stabilizer strap that keeps your shoulder pad in place. This way you don’t have to fight with your equipment all day.
It also comes with a belt anchor, which can be attached to your belt so that your camera doesn’t swing around while you’re out shooting or adventuring.
The MoneyMaker Solo is only designed for one camera, though, so I only recommend it for day excursions.
You can get a MoneyMaker Solo for the same price as the Tanker Belt: $175.
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Harnesses Allow You to Carry Multiple Cameras
If you’re having problems figuring out how to carry your camera gear because you have a ton of it, then a harness is probably your best option.
A camera harness, and more specifically a dual camera strap, allows you to carry two cameras at once. For event photographers, and more specifically wedding photographers, this is an absolute necessity and it is a benefit that you won’t get with a solo camera strap.
Once again, not all camera harnesses are made the same way and I don’t want you to make the mistake of trying to figure out how to carry your camera gear with a crappy harness. So, I will recommend a Holdfast product: the MoneyMaker harness.
This camera harness allows you to hold two cameras at once by itself, and if you purchase a camera leash it will allow you to carry three.
It is made out of the same U.S. leather that all of their other products are and comes with the same lifetime guarantee. This means you have to purchase it once and then you’ll never have to purchase another camera harness ever again.
The MoneyMaker also comes in a few color options, like tan, chestnut and black, and is $230.