*REVIEW* Blackrapid RS4, RS7, Sun-Sniper "The One", "Steel"

[Zman]

Introduction - Problems with conventional straps

Strap photos © 2010 Tan Zexun
Portrait photos © 2010 Ryang Ho Sung (amendment to image watermarks)

Imagine this. You start off on a long day of shooting with the manufacturer strap on your camera. It's not padded so you feel the weight of the camera instantly. It screams out what camera model you're using, allowing potential thieves to judge your gear's worth.

As you walk around, you see a nice opportunity for a frame or two in portrait orientation. You lift the camera up to your eyes, and your strap on the shoulder blocks you. You take the strap off your shoulder, and then the strap connected to the right of the camera just decides to go along with gravity and blocks your viewfinder. You cuss, and try to move the strap away, but by that time the moment has already passed.

Disappointed, you shoulder the camera. The lens is pointed outwards as always, and you don't think twice about it until someone in a hurry runs and collides into you and your camera, shattering the filter or worse, the front element.

So assuming only the filter was damaged, you decide that shouldering your camera with the manufacturer straps is just asking for trouble. You decide to use it as a neck strap so you can protect the now-exposed front element. By the end of the day, your neck's aching so badly you need a massage. Fatigue sets in, and your pictures get worse and worse. You start thinking about the bed, the warm cup of coffee you have at home, the hot shower you'd take. A disaster of the mind.





Shown with Domke Gripper Strap with a Canon EOS 5D and 16-35mm f/2.8L II and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS

All of the above can be prevented if you are using any of the four straps reviewed here, as well as the many other products by Black Rapid and Sun-Sniper.

[Zman]

Concept of Black Rapid and Sun Sniper straps

So here's how they generally work (across all models):

Putting it together and on

1. You attach a fastener to your camera (or lens tripod collar)
2. You hook the strap to your camera and lock it by rotating the mechanism
3. The strap goes onto your shoulder diagonally, with the brand logo pointed forward
4. You let go of your camera and let it slide to rest at your waist

This is how it looks like when the strap is attached to the camera, and when the strap is attached to a tripod collar of a long lens:


Black Rapid RS-4 with Canon EOS 5D + 16-35mm f/2.8L II and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS

In use

As the camera is upside down, you grab the camera with your hand pointed downwards, and you swing up the camera to your eye. When you're done, simply bring the camera back down to your waist and let go.


Sun Sniper with Canon EOS 5D + 16-35mm f/2.8L II

Sun Sniper with Canon EOS 5D + 70-200mm f/2.8L IS

These types of straps are truly hands-free systems and work really well. I use them a lot for social shooting such as during gatherings and outings with friends and family, as well as when shooting street. With the strap diagonally across my body, I don't need to care much about it as the lens is generally pointed down or away from people. I can then concentrate on doing what I want to do at the moment, such as using my mobile phone for example:



Sun Sniper with Canon EOS 5D + 16-35mm f/2.8L II


One other use for it is to be a tele lens carrier. When I use it as such, I have a spare pouch on my belt (such as those from Think Tank Photo and Lowepro) for my wider lens. When I want to change lenses, I pop the wide off my camera and into my waist pouch, and attach the camera to the tele lens on the Black Rapid or Sun Sniper strap as such:



Sun Sniper with Canon EOS 5D + 16-35mm f/2.8L II and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS
* I didn't have a waist / belt pouch with me when I went out to get shots of myself for the review

[Zman]

The Straps


L to R: Black Rapid RS-4, Black Rapid RS-7, Sun Sniper "The One", Sun Sniper "Steel"

When you purchase the straps, they come in packages shown like the above.

Black Rapid RS-4



The Black Rapid RS-4 is the oldest among all the straps reviewed here, and has quite a following all around the world. I personally have owned and used my RS-4 for about a year and a half already.



It's built quality is pretty good, with little loose threads on the strap. It's very lightweight yet has enough soft foam padding to take the weight off heavy gear. It comes with the FastenR-2 and ConnectR-2 as a standard package.



Here you can see a close up on the FastenR, ConnectR and stopper.

The stopper design is brilliant indeed. As the strap is pretty lightweight, the strap might move about sometimes while the camera is up in use. The stopper is designed such that when you bring your camera down to rest position, the hook mechanism will push the stopper and ultimately the entire strap back to its intended position.



Back when I bought my own RS-4 strap, it came with the FastenR-1 and ConnectR-1. Those weren't stainless steel like the current R-2's are, so after a lot of use, the black paint / anodizing just peeled off.



One thing I really like about the RS-4 is that it has a built-in zippered pocket. This allows me to put my memory cards and lens cloths and take it out with me. It can accommodate two CF cards in their plastic cases.


Overall, this strap has not disappointed me throughout all the many shoots I've used it in. I've never felt that I was fumbling or fighting with the strap. Mine looks a little worn now, but I have no intention of replacing it any time soon because I'm sure it can take many more months of service!


Pros:
Padding is just right for me
Stopper system
Pocket for memory cards and misc items

Cons:
Excess strap needs some thinking and winding around the padding
Padding not readily replaceable - not sure if it's a good idea to wash with the metal parts connected

[Zman]

Black Rapid RS-7



In many ways, the Black Rapid RS-7 looks like the RS-4. However on closer inspection, there are many differences worth noting, some of which are great, others not so.



One nice update is the curved strap. This definitely molds to the shape of your body a lot better, but with this design change, they took away the zippered pocket. Instead, they allow you to strap pouches and other mods to the tab shown above the logo, but these are bulky and expensive. Bummer, really.



Another change is the usage of hard and dense foam. To me, this doesn't feel comfortable at all. It just feels like hard rubber, and doesn't take off any perceived weight from the gear.



The RS-7 comes with the same standard ConnectR-2 (CR-2) and FastenR-2 (FR-2) connections.



One really, really bad (to me) design change was the addition of this quick release behind the padding. Whoever thought about this should be shot really. Who will ever use such a quick release? It's difficult to reach with your left hand, almost impossible with your right, and it digs into your shoulder since it's hard plastic. Not only is this a new point of failure for the strap, it now allows thieves to easily take your camera. All the thief needs to do is grab your camera with his/her right hand, engage the quick release buckle with his/her left, and then run away from you.

Of course, many people would've complained to Black Rapid about it. Being the enterprising company that they are, they introduced the mod called the "BUCK" for 10 USD, which essentially is a wrap around cover to prevent theft or accidental pranks being played on you... and disallows the use of the buckle.

Seriously? 10 USD for a wrap around velcro when I can take some leftover cement glue and glue the buckle together?


All in all, this isn't as nice a product as the RS-4 is, which is a shame because Black Rapid is asking for more for this newer product.

Pros:
Curved padding
Heavier (due to denser padding) so the padding doesn't move as easily as the RS-4's
Stopper system

Cons:
Denser padding (not as comfortable or weight-relieving as RS-4's or Sun Sniper's)
Unintelligent quick release system design that's dangerous

[Zman]

Sun Sniper 'The One' and Sun Sniper 'Steel'



Here we can see the Sun Sniper "Steel" strap. The built quality is quite good, with fabrics slightly rougher (and perhaps tougher) than Black Rapid straps.



The shoulder pad is curved to contour to the body shape. Very nice and comfortable. It is easily removable with two tabs of velcro with the length adjustment buckle in the middle. This allows it to be easily washed and dried or replaced by buying a new one.

The padding of the shoulder pad is similar to the RS-4's material but it twice as thick. This makes it the most comfortable of all three designs reviewed here, but also the bulkiest. Surprisingly, it is not as heavy as the RS-7 is.



I love how they designed the padding such that it can accommodate the excess strap securely. The above photos should be self explanatory enough to show how it works.



Sun Sniper straps also come with this brilliant design - a shock absorber. Basically an elastic / springy part of the strap that damps the bumping up and down of your gear as your walk, or as you bring your gear down to resting position, much like a car suspension system. Very neat, and it works great. I was very appreciative of this after a long day with my Canon EOS 1D Mark II N and 70-200 2.8L IS lens.



The connection systems are suspiciously similar to Black Rapid's design. Without going into asking if one cloned the other, the end user should be appreciative of this as the connection is very firm and has never broken on me.

Steel

The Sun Sniper "The One" and "Steel" are practically the same, except for the Steel version having, well, a thick steel cable running through the entire length of the strap, even the excess part. The company is so confident about their strap's ability to deter slash-thieves that they were (or perhaps still are) telling their customers that if they had proof that a slash-thief made off with their gear, Sun Sniper would compensate them some USD500. I'm not sure if they were ever compensated or if this is a marketing stint, but it sure makes me feel a lot more confident when I use the strap in high-risk countries. Do note that the steel cable adds a little bit of weight to the strap.


Pros:
Curved padding design
Thick and compressible padding
Shock absorber system
Good connection system
Great "excess strap packing" concept

Cons:
Bulkiest of all the straps - not very easy to stow in normal camera bag
No stopper system
Padding design makes an upside down "V" at your shoulder. Alright for thin shoulders, mildly uncomfortable for those with thick ones (after asking for many people's perspectives).

[Zman]

That wraps up the review of the Black Rapid RS-4, RS-7 and Sun Sniper "The One" and "Steel" straps (:

Hope the review is useful to you!

This section is for any notable questions and my answers to them.

Cheers,
Zexun

[The Miracle]

wow..what a comprehensive review!!

Is that you in the pictures? So you're a Saint...?

[Zman]

wow..what a comprehensive review!!

Is that you in the pictures? So you're a Saint...?

Hoped it was helpful or interesting! Yeah that's me and yeah I'm a Saint (: