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Photography Accessories

Simply Beautiful. Field Work Slim Fixed Leather Camera Strap Review

Chris Gampat
No Comments
04/21/2022
5 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Field Work Slim Fixed Leather camera strap review product images 41-50s400 7

In February, I bought myself a gift: a refurbished Canon Canonnet QL17 with tan leather. It’s gorgeous: even my reps from other companies and Canon’s own have said so. But it needed the right camera strap. Luckily, we’ve reviewed the most of any photo publication, but this choice perplexed me. Which do I get? So I took to Etsy and bought one, and that’s how the Field Work Slim Fixed Leather Camera Strap ended up on my Canonnet. 

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There are different types of photographers: there are folks who like photography, and there are folks who like cameras. If you like cameras, you then fall into different groups as well. Brandishing a beautiful vintage camera like the Canonnet QL17 is akin to wearing flashy jewelry. Except instead of making people think you’re rich, you’ll be the flame that attracts camera fanboys like the moths they are. And even though the Field Work Slim Fixed Leather Camera Strap doesn’t match it perfectly, no one can deny how nice this strap looks.

Too Long; Didn’t Read

The Field Work Slim Fixed Leather Camera Strap will make you feel like an old-time photographer. It’s got the swag of confidence without the creepy photography vest that’s also old-school. It doesn’t feel as refined as other camera straps out there, but it’s beautiful when paired with the right camera. It’s also incredibly affordable, and comes with a lifetime warranty.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Pretty to look at on the outside
  • You can personalize it.
  • Pretty affordable
  • Lightweight
  • Comfortable if you have a small camera
  • Wraps around the wrist nicely

Cons

  • Very rough interior area
  • Field Work’s product photos did not prepare me for how small this strap is.
  • If you’re used to really nice camera straps, you don’t want something like this.
  • Can only really wear it around the neck or shoulder
  • When I put it on my shoulder, I really wish there were some sort of shoulder pad.

Gear Used

We tested the Field Work Slim Fixed Leather Camera Strap with the Canon Canonnet QL17.

Innovations

The Field Work Slim Fixed Leather Camera Strap isn’t doing anything special. It’s a leather strap at a very affordable price point.

Tech Specs

Tech specs taken from the Etsy store listing:

Get free shipping on all orders over $100CAD

A simple leather camera strap, elevated to its full potential: This camera strap is designed for the minimalist. No buckles or extras to get tangled

Handmade in Canada, from 6oz full-grain leather, and solid brass components. This piece will soften, develop a beautiful patina that will be unique to how you use it. Use, and exposure to natural elements, as well as oil from your hands will speed up this process. Our Natural colourway will darken, and after about a year, take on a rich tan/caramel tone. The brown colour has been hand-dyed, and will only get better looking with time.
Each piece has been oiled, conditioned, and lightly buffed. To ensure the grain is healthy and will live a long life.

• Handmade in Canada
• Life Time Warranty
• Genuine Leather
• Solid Brass Components

-DIMENSIONS-
38” long (96.5cm)
.5” wide (1.25cm)

* you can wear this strap over the shoulder, cross body, or let it sit in front of you for easy access

* Initials are available to be stamped on the strap if you choose this option at checkout please write the initials in the “notes to seller” section

Ergonomics

The Field Work Slim Fixed Leather Camera Strap is a really nice-looking strap. The exterior of the strap is a sort of smooth surface. It feels almost like it was coated in beeswax, similar to Tap and Dye’s approach, but isn’t the same level of refinement. To that end, it’s also nowhere nearly as pricey.

Here’s a look at the exterior. This will age well and maybe develop a few cracks. You can also see the underside in this photo. It’s a lot rougher. Like, a lot rougher.

To attach the Field Work Slim Fixed Leather Camera Strap to your camera, you’ll use these split rings. I appreciate that they’re brass, but I wish there could be a chrome-plated option.

Build Quality

The Field Work Slim Fixed Leather Camera Strap is built surprisingly sturdy. I have to admit that I pulled and tugged on this strap quite a bit before fitting it to my Canonnet. It feels so thin that if I really pulled, I thought I could snap the strap in two. Truly, I think anyone’s nightmare would be watching a camera strap snap and their investment falling to the floor. But that didn’t happen. Instead, this strap is both the thinnest I’ve used and the most surprising at the same time. Is it the strongest? Hardly not. But I’m thoroughly shocked at how durable it is.

However, Field Work isn’t being completely transparent about their claims and description.

Ease of Use

Take a look at this photo above. This is a standard magazine for scale along with my Canonnet and the Field Work Slim Fixed Leather Camera Strap. When attached, the strap is only a tad longer than a full-spread magazine. No one surely has a neck that thin. So if you wear the strap, it will come around your neck like a necklace. To that end, you can’t wear it cross-body without greatly restricting your mobility.

However, it can be worn as a shoulder strap. This would’ve been much better if there were a shoulder pad of some sort to help with grip. But if you’re wearing a jacket that has a strap on the shoulder area, consider slipping this into it.

One of the great ways to wear the Field Work Slim Fixed Leather Camera Strap is by wrapping it around your wrist. So essentially, it can be a neck strap, a shoulder strap, and a wrist strap. Around the wrist, it feels like Tap and Dye’s older straps, which were rough and needed refining. However, with time, they became super nice. I feel the same will happen with this strap.

Conclusions

Likes

  • Stylish
  • Very affordable
  • Lifetime warranty

Dislikes

  • I wish there were options for sizes larger than this.

I like the Field Work Slim Fixed Leather Camera Strap for sure. It’s beautiful and very stylish with the right camera. Further, it comes with a lifetime warranty and is very affordably priced. For a company that’s not as well known, I think they’re doing a good job. But they can’t yet hold a candle to some higher-end options.

We’re giving the Field Work Slim Fixed Leather Camera Strap four out of five stars.

camera strap canon canon canonnet ql 17 field work field work slim fixed leather leather strap review
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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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