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Photography Accessories

Review: Peak Design Capture Clip v3

Chris Gampat
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12/21/2017
5 Mins read
Chris Gampat the Phoblographer Peak Design Capture Clip V3 review product images 2

Last Updated on 12/22/2017 by Chris Gampat

The Peak Design Capture Clip v3 review: Starring Chris Niccolls of the Camera Store 

The Peak Design Capture Clip V3 is Peak Design’s latest evolution of the original Capture Clip that helped them get famous off of Kickstarter. This latest version is a massive jump forward in many ways. Designed by a former Apple engineer, the Peak Design Capture Clip V3 is made mostly of a single piece of aluminum. When you look at it and feel it, it feels super slick. Plus it’s smaller than previous versions. And like the other Capture Clips, it’s designed primarily to house your camera in a reliable place with little to no movement. During my testing, I found this to be the best Capture Clip yet in many ways. But in other ways, I found it to be a pain for the landscape and adventure style photographer.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Solid build quality
  • Smaller
  • Significantly faster to attach to a backpack strap or your belt
  • Sleeker and much more low profile than the previous versions
  • Feels more secure than the last version

Cons

  • Sometimes the plate can jam.
  • Plate is too small to use on a number of tripods like those from Manfrotto and Vanguard

Gear Used

We tested the Peak Design Capture Clip V3 with the Sony a7r III, Sony 24-105mm f4 G, Sony 70-200mm f2.8 G Master OSS, and the Sony 16-35mm f2.8 G Master lens.

Tech Specs

Tech specs for the Capture Clip V3 taken from our news post

  • All aluminum build, including the quick-release button and locking pin
  • All machined/anodized finish for increased durability and smoothness
  • Smaller and lighter for better comfort
  • 30% lighter
  • 20% narrower
  • 20% lower profile
  • Embedded grip in backplate for maximum slip resistance
  • Two sets of clamping bolts for quick adjustment or permanent attachment
  • Available in black & silver

Ergonomics

The new Peak Design Capture Clip V3 is a pretty big deviation from the original two. Where the previous versions incorporated a fair amount of color, this new one is all about simplicity and uniformity. It looks and functions like a mature product. So when you look at the Peak Design Capture Clip V3, you’ll notice changes with the knobs for attaching and tightening the clip. Plus, the plate is much smaller.

Photographers who have used the previous version of the Capture Clip will also notice its smaller size than the previous versions. For some, that may mean it won’t work on your backpack strap. In that case, there’s always your belt.

The button for the Peak Design Capture Clip V3 is still on the side. And this time around there isn’t a way to adjust the tightness of the knobs. Instead, they just lock into place reliability. To release the plate, you press the button. You can also still twist said button to completely lock the plate and the button. This comes in use when hiking.

Build Quality

Despite a smaller, more stylish design than the previous versions, the Peak Design Capture Clip V3 puts a very big emphasis on build quality. It’s more or less built from a single piece of aluminum and there aren’t many moving parts. It’s solid in so many ways and Peak Design should be given great commendation for the build here. When you hold it in your hand, it’s very solid. In addition to that, if you’re curious about the lack of other knobs which adjusted tension and gripping power, you shouldn’t be alarmed. Part of this is because of the design of the new plate.

My only major qualm with the new Peak Design Capture Clip V3 is that sometimes the new plate can jam if the screw is in just the right place–or maybe I should say the wrong place. That will require some fidgeting around to get it free. I’ll be the first to admit that at one point, if I didn’t have patience, I would’ve thrown it out the window.

In addition to that, the plate attaches to your camera’s tripod socket by use of an allen key. So that means, in the field, you’re best off bringing it with you. This is honestly a bit of a disappointment. I’d much rather there be a small D ring I could raise up and twist accordingly. And if you’re a Black Rapid strap user, good luck. Peak Design is trying to push you to use their Slide strap system instead–which I’ll have to admit isn’t bad. But of course, it means you’d need to change your gear up.

Ease of UseUsing the Peak Design Capture Clip V3 in the field was more or less a piece of cake once I got it set up and positioned to just the right spot. All one needs to do is push the button in order to release the plate/camera and then pull. Sometimes putting it back in can be a bit of a tussle due to it needing to be in the exact right spot; but I’d rather that be the case than the camera and lens falling out. Again though, if you’re ready to go from Capture Clip to tripod, you’ll need to take the plate off completely. There isn’t even a tripod socket on the new Peak Design Capture Clip V3. That, perhaps, more than anything, could be a major pain.

I hope that Peak Design starts working on a tripod or with manufacturers for support in some way or another.

Conclusions

I genuinely think the new Peak Design Capture Clip V3 is a solid product. It’s indeed their most solid to date. It gives us all the reliability we’ve come to expect in a better built product. My qualms, however, come in the form of issues pertaining to use with other products. You may need to change things like your camera bag, tripod, straps, etc. It’s pretty clear Peak Design really wants you to use their system; which for many isn’t really a problem at all in the same way that some pledge allegiance to Patagonia clothing. But for those of us who prefer choice, you may want to stick with your previous Capture Clip.

Will I use the Peak Design Capture Clip V3 again? Surely. But I’m bound to have issues with tripods and certain camera bags.

The Peak Design Capture Clip V3 receives four out of five stars.

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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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