Cotton Carrier First Impressions.

Visit the website here: www.cottoncarrier.com/

I recently received my Cotton Carrier Kit (this is the kit I got):
buy.cottoncarrier.com/cotton-carrier-camera-system-p/122cpf.htm

It arrived a lot quicker than I thought (Canada to Hong Kong) and came in a pretty small box (which is good, it means it's not super bulky).

So I opened the box and here's what I found inside:


Nice tight package there, very good. You can see the nylon (I assume) mesh bag on the left and the Cotton Carrier Handstrap ( LINK ) on the right, that is a free gift with the kit. Now I guess you want to see what's in that mesh bag.

Well here it is:


Nice plastic bags to keep the goodies safe. Let's get those off and...



My next post will be about the mounts mainly. Stay tuned.

I was super impressed with the mounting system. It uses what looks like high grade alloy and some sort of awesomely strong hex bolts (with rubber washers) to mount the mounts really securely to the camera.

ALSO it comes with two tethers to keep the cam(s) extra safe. I'd trust this mounting system more than a neck strap to be honest.

Here is a close up of the 15º mount (used for pro cameras or cameras with a grip on them).



This mount is angled so that the lens will point more towards your chest (and therefore be more secure). This is actually an adaption of the original mount (which is also included). Can see them together here:


The two mounts show great design and thinking. No doubt the result of the company actually knowing what photographers need/want and adapting their design to suit. In this way they remind me of Think Tank. The build quality of the Cotton Carrier also reminds me of Think Tank. It's really top notch stuff. You can tell they put a lot of care into the design and the quality control. Very, very good.

This is how they look mounted to a camera (D3s):




You can see the rubber washer at the bottom keeps it gripped on nice and tight without slipping. The hex bolts are super strong too and... well let's put it this way, your camera won't escape by accident.

Now here's how it mounts onto the vest:




You have to turn the camera sideways in order to get it to come out, so again it's a deliberate action that will have you removing the camera. It's fairly easy to remove though, you just have to deliberately move it out yourself (what I mean is, you can't do it by accident).

In addition, at the front of the vest is a velcro strap that can hold your lens to your body tighter. This would be particularly useful if you were hiking with the vest.

Conclusion (for now).

First impressions of this product are really high. The quality of workman ship is really good and the design seems really well thought out (I know the design has evolved over time and now is pretty mature).

The size is really flexible too. I suspect it's pretty much a one size fits all product. The strap sizes etc. are pretty darned adjustable, making it suitable for a variety of body types.

The mounts are really secure and you can't remove the cameras by accident (because of how it's designed). ALSO you have included 2 tethers for your cameras, so you're super safe.

I will be using this on photo walks/hiking and for event photography. No more messing about with neck straps on either shoulder for me.

I will give a proper review after I try it for a while or for a few events. That review will probably be in video form.

Stay tuned folks.

Cool. man. My next pieces will be the adapters fro tripod quick release.
You'll look like Rambo.

Baydream wrote: Cool. man. My next pieces will be the adapters fro tripod quick release.
You'll look like Rambo.

Yeh that seems like a good choice. Might have to order some myself.

But will it blend?

Scotty wrote: But will it blend?

Peanut butter and AWESOME smoothy?

I have to take the mount off today so I can use my tripod.

Lucky for me I don't use my tripod all that much and removing it isn't a huge problem for me.

I might grab an adapter plate thingy later though.

Just ordered a couple of these:
buy.cottoncarrier.com/Cotton-Carrier-UNI...R-PLATE-p/766nhp.htm

Should let me mount a tripod mount on whatever camera I'm using and it looks like it won't add too much bulk to the mount too.

Lets see how it goes when it arrives (didn't go UPS this time, I wonder how long it will take).

My hubby wants one of these

Excellent review, Adrian! Thanks for sharing.

My order (of the tripod mount thingy) has already been processed and is on it's way.



So fast.

What is the longest lens you would have on your camera wearing something like this?