Camera Strap Quick-release

I assume that I'm not the only hobby photographer who's missed a shot either swapping lenses or cameras... I've either slowed down in my dotage, or I wasn't that adept to begin with. So when I saw the Instructable from Mr. Beaver for a dual camera setup I thought that was a great idea. That meant I could have one camera with a long lens, and a second with a short lens... No more swapping cameras or lenses!

I set up the rig, and ran into a problem: I typically keep my camera straps on the camera body, which meant that in the dual-camera configuration I had multiple straps. On Canon cameras (at least) the strap is attached via a friction-fit on the nylon strap, which is a hassle to put on and take off. Thus, this Instructable: A quick and easy (dare I say, lazy man's?) way to swap straps on and off the camera body.

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Since this setup modifies straps from two camera bodies, you'll need the following materials:

Four (4) 5/8" split rings (around $US 50 cents each)

Four (4) 1/4" swivel spring clips (around $US 2.00 each)- Make sure you get swivel clips, so your straps don't get twisted.

Remove the camera straps from the two camera bodies. Leave the ends of the straps unsecured so you can attach the spring clips later.

On each camera body, and on each strap attachment lug (a lug is "...a projection on an object by which it may be carried or fixed in place"), open a split ring and rotate it onto the lug until the ring is attached to the lug.

With two camera bodies, you'll end up attaching all four of your split rings.

On each end of each camera strap, attach one swivel-head spring clip. Reattach the friction-fit on the camera strap as necessary.

Now, clip the spring clip onto the split ring on the camera body. You're ready to rock and roll!

TIPS

In the dual-camera setup, I found that clipping the strap onto one lug on each camera lets you effortlessly rotate between cameras. This quick fix, added to Mr. Beaver's dual "FrankenCamera" (as he calls it) gives me a rig that I'll use repeatedly.

And one last tip: Although you can make a fastener to join your cameras (tripod mounts are sized for standard 1/4-20 bolts), they actually manufacture a piece of hardware called (for reasons unknown to mortal men) an adapter spigot. This is a two-headed 1/4-20 adapter with a hex head in between. This is a great piece of hardware to throw into your camera bag!