There are certain problems we face daily which we just assume are mild annoyances and grace past without giving it another thought. These issues are things we learn to cope with, although sometimes we may mutter less than holy things under our breaths as we deal.
Most people just accept this truth about life, but there are those who do not. The special few who innovate, invent, tweak, hack, engineer and develop. Those folks think that the things that annoy us don’t have to exist, that there must be a better way to do things than to just walk around anxious like some emo kid at the mall.
A Strapping Problem
If you’re a photographer, one such annoyance is your camera strap. Think about it, how many times has your camera dangled from your shoulder or neck, only to twist into some virtually unusable knot reminiscent of a noose?
With so many photography products on the market, surely there had to be a solution… but until very recently there was none. Luckily, a few ambitious sports photographers decided to take the problem into their own hands, where they developed the “C-Loop”.
A Simple Solution
The genius of the C-Loop is its simplicity. Machined from a piece of aluminum with a standard ¼”–20 thread attachment (which is what most devices in the U.S. with a tripod mount use), and a swiveling base, the C-Loop ignores the regular camera strap attachments altogether. Instead of attaching on the sides of the top of your camera, you can attach most standard sized camera straps to the bottom. To keep from scratching up your gear, the base seals nicely with a neoprene washer.
Another important feature of the C-Loop is how flat it is. The low profile design of the C-Loop keeps it from getting in your way (which is why you’d buy one, right?) The idea isn’t to trade old problems for new problems. The result is a free dangling, free spinning camera that is firmly attached as though it were using the standard attachment hardware. This makes your camera easier to grab, point and shoot without untangling a mess.
Application
This is fantastic for sports photographers, but what about the rest of us? I saw several advantages to the C-Loop even for slower shoots. The swiveling of the C-Loop design allows the lens to rest safely to your side without putting pressure on your neck or shoulder. This means when you’re in a crowded place; your camera isn’t getting knocked around by inconsiderate passerby-ers, something that has historically been known to cause fistfights.
You get the added advantage of not looking like a tourist when you carry your camera around. Not that aesthetics should be important… but coming from a guy who drinks Starbucks coffee and types reviews on a MacBook Pro… stop judging me.
Various Options
The original design has a loop that you can use to screw the C-Loop on to your camera gear. However, there is a second model (known as the C-Loop HD) that uses a hex wrench (included) for attachment. The C-Loop HD costs less, is available in four different colors, and it sort of looks like the bottom of a brass bullet casing, which makes it very cool looking.
Probably the one and only drawback is that this nifty little accessory takes up my tripod mount. If you often switch from a strap to a tripod (shooting a wedding for example) then I’d definitely suggest getting the original C-Loop instead of the less expensive HD version. (Of course there is an “M-Plate” attachment in the works that should provide C-Loop and tripod synergy for those of you as lazy as me.) This could be seen as an annoyance… but I think not. One of the hidden advantages of this design is that when you attach your camera to a tripod, you can quickly detach your camera strap so it doesn’t get in the way!
The Final Verdict
So what’s the final verdict? Let’s just say that you’ll find a C-Loop in my camera gear bag. Small, handy, cool looking… the C-Loop is a great accessory no matter what you shoot. I’m really looking forward to seeing what C-SLR comes out with next!