stogieboy Loc: Marlboro, NY

I use the Peak Design Slide strap, it has quick connects that I use on the left side mount of the camera and on a screw-in connect on the bottom of the camera. Now, the fun part: when I'm using a tripod, it is almost always outdoors (I rarely shoot anything indoors that requires a tripod). When I'm outside, I re-connect the strap to each of the side mounts of my camera when attaching and removing my camera from the tripod. Do I need to? Probably not, I have a very good tripod, so the chances of my camera just falling off is slim. However, the first photograpy class I took, a very experienced photographer wasnt paying attention when she went to remove her camera from her tripod, and I watched her camera and lens topple to the ground, shattering the front element on the lens. I don't recall exactly which lens it was, but it was rather large, and the expression on her face told me it was expensive.

is it overkill to keep my strap on the camera while mounted to the tripod? Most likely. But I can put the strap around my neck each time I attach or remove the camera without much worry. And, if its windy, I remove the strap via quick connects, and then re-attach it when I need to move the camera.

Boy, I put a long tail on that kite, didn't I? :-)

Rongnongno Loc: FL

I used to use a shoe string for lighter cameras. Now I do not bother with 'gizmos' and all the crap sold as 'ergonomic'.

On a tripod? Unless one is a real klutz it does not matter if there is a strap or not. On a monopod? The issue is not the strap but the weight of the camera when carrying it attached to a camera. I am always puzzled when I see folks walk a few hundred of yards with the monopod on their shoulders and the camera flopping around in the back with a strap hanging on to anything it can catch...

Better separate the two for any distance over a few feet.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I can see the strap swinging and catching a branch on a trail.

johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

Most of the time I forget to use the strap even when I'm not using a tripod. But, in those rare times that I do connect the neck strap, I remove it when I put the camera on the tripod.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

My old film cameras weren't set up to use straps. They had a leather case that had a strap. You could easily remove the camera from the case when you wanted to put it on a tripod.

The straps on my digital cameras were not something I could just pop on or off. I would worry about the strength of a clip if that's what I used to attach the strap to the camera. My cameras had a built-in loop to hold the strap.

I used to use the camera strap all the time when I first got a DSLR. But it was occasionally inconvenient when the camera was hanging down and bumping against things. One solution to that was to put the strap over your shoulder so that the lens was facing inward instead of outward. It kept the lens from sticking out so it didn't bump into things. But the camera still bumped into things.

I tried just holding the camera in my hand, but the strap hanging down would catch on things. I tried wrapping the strap around my wrist but it kept sliding off. Giving it a twist would help mitigate that but then the camera was held to my wrist too tightly to be able to easily shift orientation of my camera between landscape and panorama. (My cameras had a grip with release buttons for both vertical and horizontal orientation but I had to choose one of them with the wrist wrap). I tried a couple of wrist straps but had the same problem -- I couldn't reach all the buttons.

I finally took the strap off. And left it off. I never use it at all now. I hold the camera in my right hand all day. When I need to use my right hand I either put down the camera or bend my left arm at the elbow and stick the lens into the crook of my arm and press it against my body. When using a long lens with a foot, I generally hold the camera by the lens foot with my left hand.

I have not used the strap for about a decade now. I have never dropped the camera in that time. My camera hit the ground once, but it was on a tripod and the wind blew it over. I now take the wind into consideration when placing the feet of my tripod. Many tripods have a hook that enables you to hang weight on the tripod making it more stable and resistant to wind. Since I use the tripod only rarely, I don't carry a weight around with me so I have never tried that, but if you use a tripod all the time you might want to consider keeping some sort of weight in the car. A bag of stones would work just fine. In fact the last tripod I purchased came with a nylon bag you could fill with something to provide weight.

One of the straps I tried

(Download)

Leitz Loc: Solms

Those of us who think for ourselves don't have a need to copy what others do - we leave the strap on if we don't want to take it off, or we'll take it off if we don't want to leave it on.

Gitchigumi Loc: Wake Forest, NC

I am doing a "sanity-check" on my personal practices. As, I said, I normally take off the strap and rely on the mounting system to keep everything safe. And, that applies to both tripod and monopod usage. However, I am concerned that I may be doing that at some risk. So, I am looking for some opinions and practical experience and you provided yours, thank you.

jwreed50 Loc: Manassas, VA

No neck strap for me. I use a wrist strap on my Nikon D850.

pendennis

Did you mean Tamrac. I've used them since they came out. I buy them whenever I can find them, as they're no longer made. Best strap I've ever used.

Like others I leave on when using a monopod, but remove when camera is on a tripod.

Bill_de Loc: US

My Z6 has a wrist strap. The Z50 currently has the OEM strap, but it might get a wrist strap. Anything heavier I carry held in my hand or on a tripod over my shoulder.

A few years ago while waiting for eagles at Conowingo a group of us got into a discussion on straps. There were three of us who never used straps. One member of the group who hadn't said anything up to this point looked at one of the guys who didn't use a strap and said,"you never had a sling on you M16". Turned out he was right, and applied to those of us who played in the same jungle years ago. After that the conversation about straps turned to a different topic. Go figure.

--

Gitchigumi Loc: Wake Forest, NC

LOL!! Good one!

Anhanga Brasil Loc: Cabo Frio - Brazil

My camera always has the strap and the strap is always
around my neck. Even on my tripod.

juan_uy Loc: Uruguay

Usually I have a hand strap on the camera, and I carry it on my hand, either using or not using the strap. It never gets in the way.
It has quick release system and I switch to a sling-type strap when will be either walking for some time or on another situation where I may need my right hand free.

When using a tripod or monopod it usually is in a situation when I am using the hand strap, so no need to remove it.

(I like Peak Design products and use their clutch and slide strap)

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I used to use Op Tech straps, and still have one, but do not currently use it. I let the others I had go with a couple of cameras that I traded away. While the "pin and slot" attachment system is well-engineered, I do not trust it completely for use with a heavy camera/lens combination such as a D850 + battery grip + 70-200mm f2.8 lens. There are also some materials of construction in those straps that tend to decay or degrade over time. I have always liked the option of removing the padded portion and having a shorter "hand strap" as a choice. Right now, my cameras are all relatively new (<3 years), so I am using the straps that came with them and not caring one whit about what any other person thinks about that choice. The advertising is not going to make any difference to any thief who targets my cameras. They can see and identify whether they want to target my camera by looking at it, regardless of what is on the strap. I prefer the way that those straps connect to the camera when installed according to the method and drawings provided in the manuals. When they accumulate some age, I'll replace them with something a little better. My main complaint is that they do not provide as much friction as I'd really like with my shirt or jacket when on my shoulder.

To me, the much bigger issue around the OP's question is using a tripod correctly for maximum security. When I attended my first night sky workshop, part of the curriculum covered by the instructor was proper tripod setup and use. Without going into the whole nine yards, I'll share that observation will reveal that the vast majority of photographers use their tripods exactly wrong. Invariably, I see most folks setting up their tripods with one leg oriented straight back and two legs to the front. This is wrong for two reasons. The first has to do with equilibrium and location of center of gravity relative to the legs of the tripod. The "stable area" provided by a tripod is not a circle. It is a triangle with the vertices (angles) located at the places where each leg contacts the ground. Next time you set up your tripod like this, draw a line (real or imaginary) between those two front legs. There is a surprisingly short distance from that line and the center column of the tripod, meaning that you don't have to tilt everything very far forward before it all becomes unstable and falls forward. If the legs are not fully extended, the triangle can be very small and the point of instability can be very close to the point of use. The other big problem is that the rear leg ends up being right where you need to be to operate your camera, further increasing the risk of an upset.

Correct tripod setup calls for keeping one of the legs directly under the camera lens (or very nearly so). Doing this will provide maximum stability and security for your camera and lens. It will also open a wide space behind the tripod allowing you to approach your camera to make adjustments or trigger your shutter release or remote. And it renders everything much less sensitive to an upset resulting from a sudden gust of wind (although you should certainly take all other reasonable precautions if the day is windy).

I've personally witnessed two accidental upsets of cameras on tripods. Fortunately, neither one resulted in serious permanent damage, but one resulted in the camera and lens falling into a pile of loose sand, and the other resulted in the camera and lens falling into a cactus. In the first case, both camera and lens had to go in for cleaning. In the second case, the photographer had to very carefully clean the camera of cactus thorns (and the other, tiny burrs) before she was able to continue working. That turned out to be a long, laborious process, made more difficult because it all happened at night.

As far as using the strap while the camera is on the tripod, my habit is to hold or wear the strap while I am orienting the camera on the subject. I also wear the strap while attaching the camera to the tripod and I put it on before removing the camera from the tripod. While making my exposure(s), I figure out a way to tuck it away so that it doesn't blow in the wind.

The bottom line here is that you will have to figure out the best approach to reasonably protect your equipment based on the way you work and the environment in which you work. For instance, I always strive to orient the tripod as described above. Beyond that, there are a number of steps that I take when doing night photography that I might not follow during daylight hours.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Well said.

I set my tripod the same way for the same reasons.

I use a neck strap when carrying any camera, except 4x5, for which I use a shoulder version due to the weight.

I once had an unfortunate experience catching a projection on my winter parka on the strap of a tripod mounted camera, and coming close to knocking it over. Since then, I usually remove the strap, at least if it’s a quick release.

Andy