Why do people drop their cameras?
Jul 29, 2022 14:12:35 #
Urnst
Loc: Brownsville, Texas
From time to time people report that they dropped their cameras, causing damage to the camera or lens. Don't they use neck or wrist straps? Failing to use neck or wrist straps seems to me to be like riding in a car without wearing a seatbelt. What am I missing here?
Jul 29, 2022 14:17:36 #
Jul 29, 2022 14:18:22 #
I'd sooner catch covid than put a neck strap over my head.
The few times I've dropped a camera have been around tripods, the tripod was poorly set-up once and a great gust of wind blew it over on a granite plaza. I've taken the camera out of a clamp without the strap wrapped on my wrist and off it went to the concrete floor. Both learning experiences.
Not wrapping the strap and setting the body on top of the strap is another great way to lead to an accidental drop. That strap is prone to catch on anything, ripping the camera our of your hand / off the resting place in an unplanned way.
The few times I've dropped a camera have been around tripods, the tripod was poorly set-up once and a great gust of wind blew it over on a granite plaza. I've taken the camera out of a clamp without the strap wrapped on my wrist and off it went to the concrete floor. Both learning experiences.
Not wrapping the strap and setting the body on top of the strap is another great way to lead to an accidental drop. That strap is prone to catch on anything, ripping the camera our of your hand / off the resting place in an unplanned way.
Jul 29, 2022 14:30:19 #
Jul 29, 2022 14:33:26 #
GoldwingerTX wrote:
I agree with CHG no straps for me.
I didn't say no straps. I prefer my straps, the bright red with the Canon logo and camera model, wrapped around my right wrist, not my neck. After a long day and just walking, off the right shoulder is a reasonable rest, taking the weight of camera and lens off my wrist. Again, never around the neck.
Jul 29, 2022 14:45:07 #
Urnst wrote:
From time to time people report that they dropped their cameras, causing damage to the camera or lens. Don't they use neck or wrist straps? Failing to use neck or wrist straps seems to me to be like riding in a car without wearing a seatbelt. What am I missing here?
Why do people drop their cameras?
Do some do it as a sly way to justify to the spouse the need for more GAS?
Jul 29, 2022 14:46:53 #
Urnst wrote:
From time to time people report that they dropped their cameras, causing damage to the camera or lens. Don't they use neck or wrist straps? Failing to use neck or wrist straps seems to me to be like riding in a car without wearing a seatbelt. What am I missing here?
I never use a strap except as a tether - WAY too dangerous otherwise !
I have installed ergonomic GRIPS on most of my cameras now .....these are from the film era and modified for A/S mounting ....
.
Jul 29, 2022 14:47:55 #
Jul 29, 2022 14:48:50 #
Jul 29, 2022 14:53:03 #
les spencer wrote:
lots of people don't wear their seat belts too
And never have and never will .....
Jul 29, 2022 14:56:09 #
And the next question should be, why do so many photographers change lenses while standing? Especially while standing on a concrete floor? A recipe for disaster!
Jul 29, 2022 14:58:16 #
Amielee
Loc: Eastern Washington State
To each his own. More years ago than I care to remember I was leaning over the rail with my 8mm movie camera coming into the Port of San Francisco. No camera strap and another GI walking backward bumped into me. I thought I was going over the side. My camera may still be at the bottom of the bay. I always have some type of strap on all my cameras and use them now.
Jul 29, 2022 15:17:26 #
Urnst wrote:
From time to time people report that they dropped their cameras, causing damage to the camera or lens. Don't they use neck or wrist straps? Failing to use neck or wrist straps seems to me to be like riding in a car without wearing a seatbelt. What am I missing here?
Gravity sucks ?
Jul 29, 2022 15:27:20 #
When I first got a DSLR it came with a neck strap. I used it.
The camera would bump into things when I walked around unless I held it. Also, with long lenses, they would bump things. Someone suggested putting the neck strap on so that the lens faced inward. That forced the lens to hang down so it was less likely to bump into things. So I did that for a while.
Eventually, the bumping into things got to me and in addition the strap was always catching on things. So I took the neck strap and wound it around my wrist. That was sort of OK, but either the wrist strap was loose or it was too tight and I couldn't reach the controls. Taking a twist of the neck strap just before the last wrap helped that a bit. But still, the wrist strap would unwind if I held the camera by my side. That meant I couldn't let go of the camera or it could drop off my wrist.
I tried a wrist strap that attached to the tripod threads. That didn't work because I couldn't reach the controls in portrait orientation.
I finally took off all the straps and just held the camera in my hand. Worked fine. If I needed my right hand for something I would bend my left arm and stick the lens into the crook of my elbow and press the camera into my body. That would hold it in place.
I've been doing that for probably 15 years now and have never dropped the camera. I do this at events lasting 12 hours or more. The only time it hit the ground was (like paul) a gust of wind blew the tripod over.
The camera would bump into things when I walked around unless I held it. Also, with long lenses, they would bump things. Someone suggested putting the neck strap on so that the lens faced inward. That forced the lens to hang down so it was less likely to bump into things. So I did that for a while.
Eventually, the bumping into things got to me and in addition the strap was always catching on things. So I took the neck strap and wound it around my wrist. That was sort of OK, but either the wrist strap was loose or it was too tight and I couldn't reach the controls. Taking a twist of the neck strap just before the last wrap helped that a bit. But still, the wrist strap would unwind if I held the camera by my side. That meant I couldn't let go of the camera or it could drop off my wrist.
I tried a wrist strap that attached to the tripod threads. That didn't work because I couldn't reach the controls in portrait orientation.
I finally took off all the straps and just held the camera in my hand. Worked fine. If I needed my right hand for something I would bend my left arm and stick the lens into the crook of my elbow and press the camera into my body. That would hold it in place.
I've been doing that for probably 15 years now and have never dropped the camera. I do this at events lasting 12 hours or more. The only time it hit the ground was (like paul) a gust of wind blew the tripod over.
Jul 29, 2022 16:16:57 #
JD750 wrote:
Gravity sucks ?
The whole world sucks. That's why space is a vacuum. 😂😆😂
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