Review: Sun Sniper Camera Strap

I’ve been using the Sun Sniper Reinforced Camera Strapfor quite a while now throughout my Nikon D3sand Canon 7Dfield reviews. Of all the different straps I’ve used, the Sun Sniper is perhaps the most comfortable I’ve ever worn while allowing maximum freedom for your camera’s accessibility. Since using it, the official brand straps have never went back onto the cameras.

The Sun Sniper strap is very strong and very well built. It works by screwing it into the bottom of your camera or even the tripod collar of your lens. While you may think that someone might be crazy for doing this, one can be assured that it is very durable and that your camera will not fall off.

Tests have been done where I ran from street to street with the camera dangling at times and it hasn’t fallen. Additionally, at the NYC Pillow Fight I climbed up on of the polls with the camera dangling behind me and people smacking me with pillows: it withheld all abuse.

The strap was also tested on the D3s with the very heavy Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S NIKKOR Lenstogether. To do this, the strap was attached to the tripod collar as attaching it to the bottom of the camera would affect the vertical grip usage. The strap still held up well.

A disadvantage that this strap has over something like the Black Rapid R-Strap is the fact that it doesn’t have as many methods of security. The R-Strap attaches to the camera body and the lens. The Sun Sniper only attaches to the body or the lens. Depending on what type of photography you do, it can be a plus or minus.

What is also nice is the fact that the strap isn’t pretentious at all and doesn’t tout a camera brand name all over it.

The best part by far has to be the padding around the shoulder. My shoulders have never felt better after a long day of shooting. The padding is just so comfortable and it makes shooting an absolute pleasure. Before, I used to take the strap and wrap it around my hand. Now that I have quick access with the Sun Sniper, I don’t mind carrying the camera on my shoulder at all. My preferred way of wearing it is across my chest with the camera dangling on my right hip.

The quick access allowed is also very nice as you can simply just grab your camera and quickly bring it up to your eye to shoot. This is because of the loosening of the strap and allowing it to dangle.

While walking, I would recommend perhaps holding it in place though as it can move about quite a bit. This can get a bit uncomfortable though if you’re holding onto the camera grip as your hand tends to be in an unnatural position. For best results, hold onto the lens or the tripod collar. Also be careful as the lens hood can hurt those around you because the camera may be moving around (if you’re more liberal with the camera movement allowed that is.)

Until something better comes around, this thing is going to live on my Canon EOS 5D Mark IIand 7D. Perhaps it is also a call to camera manufacturers to make more comfortable straps that don’t eat away at the shoulder.

Tagged as: camera, canon, nikon, review, strap, sun sniper