Neck straps have gotten a little bit more interesting over the past 5 years. The regular straps that bundled free with our cameras are clunky and quite cumbersome . Some of the early modifications were about reducing weight and tangling problems.
Now we have an abundance of camera straps with different styles and types. One of the famous now is the sling type (bottom mounted) famed by Black Rapid R- Strap. Since then we now have a lot of options from different brands.
Carry Speed is one of the new names in this arena of sling camera strap system. The US based company made an interesting design modifications. Read on the full review to know how it differs.
Physical Attributes
The Carry Speed we had for was the CS-Pro, the biggest from their product catalog that can confidently carry a pro body and heavy telephoto lenses.
CS-Pro’s shoulder pad width varies from 3 inches to 3 ½ inches to its widest part. It is made out of elastic rubber similar to Optech straps Neoprene material. It has a non-slip texturized rubber at the back of the shoulder padding. Carry Speed cleverly thought of putting holes to further enhance its weight reducing material. They also closed the side of the shoulder padding by stitching a lining on its edge where it normally starts to tear.
It has a 3-button plastic buckles that answers possible accidental disengagements from the strap.
What’s really cool about Carry Speed is their unique and functional stainless steel ball head connection. The female connection to the ball head is made out of aircraft metal.
The strap from the mount going to the buckles are made out of interwoven nylon the coarse pattern appeared not as elegant as the competition. It also has an adjustable stopper that can also be locked in any place you want it to be.
Using the CS-Pro
I’m a tripod kind of photographer; whenever I have the luxury I always use a tripod. I have an RRS L-bracket (plate) attached perpetually to my primary camera. Fortunately it has a screw for tripods QR plate that is the same size of CS-Pro’s ball head.
The ball head should be tightly screwed with the supplied hex key (allen wrench), it comes with a rubber washer so that it will even out the pressure when tightened. The rubber washer could have been better, from the looks of it, it looks like it won’t last long.
After you attached the protruding ball head on the camera, the ball head connector can easily be attached by inserting the hole and tightly rotating it. The design makes the strap connector far away from the camera and can be rotated 360º without tangling the strap. It is unique and innovative solving most sling strap users dilemma.
The elastic shoulder pad is clearly a better material cosmetically than others. I’m not sure if its Neoprene but it looks like it is very similar. The finish of the fabric is more of like Lowepro’s straps. The back is all textured rubber that makes it stay in place on your shoulder. While the elastic rubber can provide good suspension in reducing weight the absence of a lining on the all textured rubber will be quite problematic with sweat.
Quick and easy to use, these are the advantages of sling straps over the traditional straps and the CS-Pro won’t disappoint any sling shooting photographer. It even enhances the performance because of its ball head connection because the strap has more freedom moving in a natural way.
Another problem partly solved by Carry Speed is how quickly you can mount your camera to the tripod. The CS-Pro comes with a 4 holed mounting plate. You can attach your tripods QR plate on the mounting plate with minimal inconvenience to the hands. One of its wing is designed to make the camera hung in a position you prefer.
This model comes with the unified strap and mounting plate for free. The unified strap is for balancing the position and weight if you are using heavy lenses like the 70-200 f2.8. While yes, it made the camera and lens hung horizontally, honestly for me its quite annoying because there are too many straps lying in front of my face while shooting. The main strap is really just enough for me.
Conclusion
Carry Speed CS-Pro is another sling type camera strap. It enhances the overall performance because of its unique ball head connection. The Neoprene shoulder padding also makes this stand out from the rest. The tripod mounting plate and the 3 button buckles are also some of its strengths among its competitors.
While I quibble on the build of the rubber washer and the quality of the nylon strap the important thing is that the ball head can be securely fasten by tightening it with a hex key. I actually would prefer a lock washer something we use in bikes and cars.
The CS-Pro is perfect for non-tripod shoots like event and street photo shoots. But for me, who perpetually mount a tripod L-bracket the use of these sling type straps will only be occasional. The mounting plate is a nice option but maybe if Carry Speed reads this review, they can probably partner with RRS (Really Right Stuff) and make a model specifically designed with non-obtrusive mounting screw.
The Carry Speed CS-Pro is distributed by Visiontec Marketing you can have it directly from the distributor or from affiliated resellers. It is now being sold for Php3,700 with the mounting plate and uni-strap.
PS. I’m finishing the Carry Speed CS-Slim Review watch out for it!
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Complete Carry Speed CS-Pro review photos below:
