Customer Reviews

OP/TECH USA 5301422 Bino/Cam Harness (Elastic)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased this harness for use with my Nikon D80 and a Nikkor 18-200 lens. The camera and lens are quite bulky and heavy and I needed a solution for hiking. This elegantly simple harness works beautifully. I can carry the camera all day hiking through the Rockies without neck or back fatigue, without the camera swinging side to side or front to back and yet with it quickly and easily available for use. When I bend down to examine something or simply tie my shoe, the camera doesn't fall into the middle of whatever I'm doing. A friend bought the harness for his Nikon Stabilized binoculars and has reported back that it works beautifully with the binoculars as well. I've been delighted with my purchase.

I recently returned from a trip to the Amazon, and Lake Titticaca where I used the OP/Tech Bino/Cam Harness. It provided great support for a faily heavy DSLR with a 18-200mmlens. Use while walking was a joy, and in boats I did not have to worry about the camera swinging wildly about when boarding a boat, or when getting off. Several people on the trip wanted to know where to get a harness for themselves, for Cameras, or Binocculars.

This was the only elastic camera harness I could find, and it is a good one. Plenty of room to go over a winter parka, yet adjustable enough for just a T-shirt. Simple to use and adjust.

I'd purchased a similar binoculars harness from Cabela's and wasn't happy with it. The Cabela's product had fixed connections between the harness and the binoculars. On this unit, the connection point slides. A much better solution, on my other unit it's difficult to adjust the strap lengths so that it doesn't feel like you have to tug the unit up to your eyes. On this unit, the binoculars slide right into place.
The other nice thing about this unit is the price. If you look, you can buy the same product with a brand name, Ziess, Nikon, Audoban, Steiner, etc...but you pay more! Without the brand name you get the same product and a very low price. I'm totally satisfied and plan on buying another one for my camera!

I did quite a bit of research on this type of product. Various binocular harnesses from different brands such as Nikon, Field and Stream, Leupold, REI and others. I came to the conclusion that they are all essentially the same product, barring the name on the little leather patch that ends up on your back. My advice is to find the least expensive one and get it. Unless it is important to have the "Leupold" name on your back, you are wasting your money.

The harness does what it claims. I use it when hunting and I bust through quite a bit of brush. The binocs stay put until you need them, and then they are easily accessed. Definitely worth getting, provided you don't spend more than 20 bucks on them.

This harness is great for reducing fatigue in the neck and shoulders caused by a traditional camera strap. I use it with my Pentax DSLR with a 70:300 zoom macro most of the time. It does not stabilize the camera with the zoom lens as well as some reviews here would have you believe. It's head and shoulders above a regular strap in keeping the camera still, but on long hikes, it gets uncomfortable to have the camera riding in the same spot the whole time, since the weight of the lens pulls the bottom edge of the camera into your torso. I would have liked to see something that would cause the lens to point down, not out. Perhaps that's a complaint about the strap attachments on the camera and not about the harness itself, but as long as a product is setting out to correct a design defect in a traditional product...

One more drawback might be that you look like kind of a dork wearing this around. It's not subtle, nor does it look cool. It looks like suspenders or perhaps the underpinnings of a prosthetic device. If you're vain enough to care, you might think about a wrist strap or something less obtrusive. If you're the company that makes these, you might think about offering a color other than black. Make it look like hiking equipment instead of like a strange and elaborate garter.

To the good, I have never taken so many pictures on a hike as I have since I got this harness. Shooting a picture is quick enough that, even in low light or with a quick trailside setup, photo-related delays in the hike are nearly nonexistant. If you have ever missed a wildlife shot getting the camera up to your face, you will appreciate having your setup right there in front of you waiting to be used.

If only I knew about this great product two years ago. Carrying a Nikon D200 and now D300 with an 80-400mm lens and just using the neckstrap. This great shoulder harness takes all the stress off of carrying my gear. I can stay out in the field doing my nature photography all day and not feel the strain I used to feel.

This harness is designed to be a more comfortable alternative to a standard back-of-the-neck camera strap. With a "normal" strap, carrying your gear for a long time leaves you with three options: 1) Strain your neck, 2) Put your gear in a pack and miss the opportunity for quick shots, or 3) Sling it over your shoulder where it bangs into everything. This harness gives you a fourth option by comfortably securing your camera directly in front of you where you can reach it easily and keep it from banging around.

I shoot a Nikon D90 and this harness supports the weight well with mid-range lenses. I'd have no qualms about mounting an 18-200mm and carrying it all day on this harness. If you're going to carry "big glass" lenses you're probably not going to keep them on the camera while you're moving anyway, so buy a pack for the heavy stuff. If you're really concerned about the elastic build material, there's a version of this product made out of webbing. If you shoot with a really heavy body with a vertical grip, that may be the way to go.

Functionally, the harness is exactly what you'd expect. You just put it your arms through the arm holes (kind of like putting on backpack with no back part). I find it easiest to remove the camera from the harness when putting it on ... then clip the camera back into place once I've got the harness on the way I want it. Having said that, this is not the kind of thing you're going to want to put on and take off 20 times a day. It's easy enough to remove the camera if you want someone to take your picture, or if you need to go through a security screening. It connects to your camera with quick-release clips that are very sturdy.

The straps are adjustable so you can get your gear to hang exactly where you want it. This is great because if you have it too tight you can't raise the camera to your eye and if it's too loose it bangs on your belt buckle and makes it hard to walk. The adjustabilty is perfect and the straps that connect to the camera just glide along the shoulder straps as smooth as can be.

The only quibble I have about this harness is that shooting with the camera in a vertical orientation is difficult. It's really no problem, though. Simply unclip one side of your camera from the harness and you're all set. You've still got the other side secure and you can clip it right back on when you're done.

Considering that this product costs about the same as your lens cap, it's a great buy.

Pros:
1) More comfortable than neck strap
2) Easy on/easy off
3) Compatible clip with the Op/Tech wrist strap (also highly recommended)
4) Camera doesn't sway as much as when on a neck strap
5) Easily adjustable

Cons:
1) Straps are a bit bulky in the bag and don't fold up as nicely as a neck strap
2) Straps could be wider for even greater comfort
3) Straps get in the way a bit when shooting portrait orientation - unclipping the right clip will help a bit
4) Wish they had a quick clip directly to the camera rings instead of using the Uni-loops
5) Looks a little funny (non-conventional)

Some people might have trouble figuring out which way is up. It's pretty simple though... words go on the back and should be right side up!

Product & concept is fine. Could be a little more sturdy to support SLR's or DSLR's. especially with anything but a standard lens. Elastic is a little light for such uses. Instructions on use and adjustments are limited.Would have liked a little more detail. It does what it is supposed to do and represents a good value for the money though.