Last Updated on 08/12/2013 by Julius Motal
Peak Design is a company who has created loads of awesome products for the outdoor photographer–just ask all their Kickstarter backers. The Capture Clip was one of their biggest products and gained loads of popularity–even being carried at major retailers in the camera world. The clip is a belt accessory that lets you place your camera on your hip or around a camera bag strap with ease. The company made improvements to the product by taking advice from their KickStarter backers and came out with a new version.
Though our sample took some breaking in, in the end we’ve got nothing but praise for a company who commits so much to their customers. And if you’re the outdoor photographer type, this is the clip for you.
Pros and Cons
Pros
– Superb build quality
– Pretty straight forward usage
– Lets you put your camera into nearly position you want
Cons
– Can be tough to get your camera out and requires patience
– Can be tough to unhinge the unit to place it around a belt. You need just the right angle.
Gear Used
We used the Peak Design Capture Clip Pro with the Nikon D5200 and Canon 5D Mk II.
Tech Specs
What’s new in V2:
- There’s a Standard and Pro version now: Hobbyists and beginners have different needs than serious pros and adventurers, hence 2 versions of our clip.
- Beautiful new ergonomic shape: The new Capture looks sleek and stunning – but the new shape is more than just eye-candy. We’ve redesigned it to give you total comfort no matter where on your body you wear it. We also redesigned the clamping bolts to make them easier to screw down, even if you’re wearing gloves.
- Lighter and slimmer: We’ve trimmed the fat, making our (already compact) product lighter, slimmer and more unobtrusive.
- Better security features: We created 2 new secondary locking systems to give you more security options. A safety lock has been added to the quick-release button, giving you a quick and easy way to prevent accidental release. For maximum security, the all-new twist lock tightly clamps your camera in. The new twist lock also stabilizes your camera if you’re using Capture as a tripod clamp.
- Works as a tripod clamp too (PRO): CapturePRO has a 3/8″ to ¼” tripod mounting hole in it’s back plate. This means you can put it atop your tripod or monopod and have a fully functioning quick-release clamp for your camera.
- Works with more tripod heads (PRO): CapturePRO comes with one of our three PROplates. These plates offer compatibility with more tripod heads (ARCA and Manfrotto RC2) and camera types (SLR and Compact Mirrorless).
- Works with sling straps (PRO): Capture, equipped with the standard plate, is designed to work with Leash and Cuff using our micro-anchor attachment system. CapturePRO, equipped with one of our PROplates, works with Peak Design straps as well as classic sling-style straps made by companies like BlackRapid®. PROplates feature a special load-bearing D-ring that lets you attach your sling strap directly to your camera when you’re not using Capture.
Size difference between v1 and v2:
The CapturePRO body weighs 110g. Standard Capture weighs 100g. Capture v1’s body weighed 120g.
In addition to the body of the clip, there is the quick release plate that sits on your camera. Here are the weights for those:
PROplates (CapturePRO comes with one of these):
ARCAplate: 30g
DUALplate: 30g
MICROplate: 22g
Standard Plate: 22g (Capture comes with this)
Weight capacity of v2: Can hold over 200lbs of force.
Ergonomics
Version two of the Capture Clip incorporates a lot of design changes. Not only is the item sexier, but it is also more practical. For starters, the back of the Pro version has a tripod socket for easier mounting to a tripod.
The clip itself mounts to your camera by using an Arca Swiss plate. Said plate slides right into the middle of the clip and there are lots of controls on it.
By unscrewing the two giant knobs on the front sides, you can make the clip come apart for easier mounting onto your belt or bag strap. You’ll need to ensure that you really unscrew these to make it come swivel out smoothly. Otherwise, it will jam–and that’s a safety protection. It took me quite a few tries to get it right but once you do, you’ll appreciate the build behind it much more.
On the left of the clip is this red button. Pressing it in will release the plate to be slid out of the clip. Twisting the button to the side will lock it and prevent the plate from coming out at all.
And just for extra safety, there is another mechanism that really protects your camera.
Adjacent from the red button is another knob. This knob will move a small sliver of metal into the female part holding the plate in place. When dialed in all the way, the camera won’t even be able to get out of the clip. For the most maneuverability, we recommend keeping this sheathed.
To connect to the clip, you’ll use this Arca Swiss plate that comes with the Clip. The plate attaches to your DSLR and is easily screwed into the tripod socket. Sometimes, it can be tough to get the handle up and out of the area, but that is yet another security measure.
Build Quality
This thing is super solid. It is made from aluminum–so it really should be. That means that it won’t crumble or break due to excessive yanking if the system ever jams.
Ease of Use
For the absolute best results when wearing a belt, this unit needs to be positioned so that the red button is facing down towards your knee and that the clip is positioned vertically. This way, you can have total one handed access of your camera and still have great protection. In this manner, the camera will slide out to the right.
It is around a strap on your camera bag, position the clip so that the red button faces towards the right hand side. In this manner, the camera will slide up.
I personally found putting it around my belt to be much easier than mounting it on my camera bag. In order to slide the plate out, you need to hit the absolute right angle–and this is much easier to do when the camera is on your belt. Putting the camera back into the slot requires a bit more practice and accuracy as once again, you need to hit the exact area just perfectly right.
We recommend that this item not be used with a big, heavy lens. Besides some low hanging jeans, you may have a tougher time getting it out of the clip.
The manual that comes with the clip doesn’t specifically state this, but it should.
For what it’s worth though, we wouldn’t use it if we needed to be really quick with shooting subjects. In a case like that, the moment will be gone when you first try to get the camera out. Instead, we recommend a good wrist strap.
Conclusions
Peak Design has really done it again. Their designers are brilliant and the Capture Clip Pro is the best that we’ve seen so far. It far exceeds any other belt clip that we’ve seen such as the Spyder or anything else. The build quality is stellar and after you break it in, the Capture Clip Pro will work flawlessly and will keep your camera totally protected.
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