Photoclubalpha

this was a question I poted over at DPR a few years ago and it got a few replies tthat were intersting. A thread here reminded me of it and I thought it would be fun to post it again here and see the response.

I recently had an interesting conversation with a co-worker who recently bought a camera and he's excited about it. He mentioned that the camera he bought came with a shoulder strap and no wrist strap (like mine has) he said he might prefer the shoulder strap anyway because he felt the camera might get damaged in his hand. I used shoulder straps for years with my SLRs and said he should be careful cause the cameras swing into things and can get damaged that way and that was why I prefer the wrist strap for when my camera is out of the case. but I also told him about having a keyring through the strap loop where I could put my finger (on the SLR's) so I could shoot 1 handed if needed and the camera would still be secure from being dropped. He was worried that if he hit his camera he could break his finger that way and of course I said well at least the camera wouldn't be damaged and he was absolutely horrified that I thought it was worth breaking a finger to save my camera.

My question is for all you out there. how bout it? broken finger or broken camera ?

I should note that I have already broken all my fingers at least once and I've learned already to put up with the inconvenience of a broken finger or 2 for a few weeks. But at the time this conversation happened the thought of allowing any expensive tool I own to be destroyed for the sake of a few weeks discomfort never crossed my mind for a second.

Well, I have never broken a bone - ever. I am pretty good at falling, I've done some interesting 'trips' in my time and somehow managed to break my fall or recover my balance. My Fujica GS645 was in one hand when I slid on a wet rock on Berwick Law, a mini-mountain in Scotland (like a copy of the Bass Rock on land, facing it). It needed a new viewfinder glass and a check over. I slid on the foyer of the Ritz Hotel in London once, polished marble, and sent my 9000AF to the ground with 24mm - the lens hood took the impact and broke off, nothing else was damaged.

The worst damage I've ever done to a valued possession was when leaving a nightclub once with a small Tacoma Papoose guitar on my back. This is a fairly expensive (then $500) and rarely seen alto guitar made in the USA, and great for travel. Some new tiles had been put on a flight on steps and they were of the wrong type, in the rain they might as well have been ice. I came down so hard on my back across the steps I would probably have killed myself but for the guitar, which was between me and the sharp edges. I was very deeply bruised (as well as unable to speak for a few minutes - strange effect of having the air knocked out of you from behind) and I didn't recover for over a year. The guitar was repaired and bears the scars, I don't.

I guess I would prefer to have a bag full of expensive camera gear hit a hard surface at speed before I did, like the guitar. I can replace that, I can't replace 'me'. The time I spent recovering from no more than very deep bruising, no bones broken, but aching for months and slowed down like I had aged twenty years - that taught me a lot about being careful in future.

David

Scrapes, bruises, and torn clothing have all been suffered at the cost of saving my camera. I could probably suffer a lot more, but I'm spry and young, and I'm not sure I can make the same decission now that I'd make in the moment.

Shoulder strap? Yes. Wrist strap? Maybe, but it spoils the ergonomics of the vertical grip. Keyring? No way. I could suffer a lot more injury than I have to save my camera, but to chain a vulnerable part of my anatomy to a 3.5kg mass that might, in a fall, shift its mass unpredictably, is to invite disaster. It may even create situations in which both camera and finger are in danger when one or both might not have been otherwise.

well that was on my manual film SLR's. like the X700. without the winder theres not a lot to hold on to and all the surfaces are slipery, not like what Sony puts out now, where even the small entry cameras have a bulge and rubber to hold. I never actually broke anything to save a camera .. football is hard on fingers and I used to play a lot of pickup games with friends. I have tripped and lost grip on the cameras before. but since the strap is wrapped I was always able to stop it before it hit anything. with the keyring even the strap could come completely unwound from my hand and i'd still have control of the camera.

I don't think I'm quite visualizing exactly that setup of yours there Javelin...can you post a photo that shows how you have it arranged?
Greg

Sure!. I just pulled out my X700 it's box was opened so it's a little dusty. i'll take a few shots once it's cleaned up.