Do it yourself strap for big lenses (70-200 VR)

[JZA70-mel]

Being the proud owner of a 70-200, I was a little concerned with carrying it with the weight hanging off the lens mount. I was aware of several commercial "lens straps" that mount on the tripod mount of these lenses.
I felt a bit cheap though after shelling out for the lens.

The 70-200 VR has a quick release foot mount, but also has a mounting directly on the collar. The foot can be brought to the shop to test fit.

Total cost <$10 (easily cheaper if you get only single items). I now got plenty of bits if I ever got a 400mm 2.8 and wanted to hand hold it.
All easily available at hardware shops (like Bunnings)

Parts: 1/4" nut and bolt (not too long - I chose 1/2")
A piece of plumbing hardware called a "pipe clip head" which is used I think for holding hot water pipes to the outside walls

Just use pliers/hammer/vise to change the shape of the clip head to a "P" shape and fix bolt through the hole. Tighten up the nut. By trial and error you can line up the alignment of the bolt so that when the whole thing is screwed onto the tripod mount it is pointing "straight". Tighten up the bolt up tight, and you can now screw the whole thing on to the lens. You now have an eyelet that you can attach a spare camera strap. It feels like it will easily support a heavy weight (much more than this lens).

A picture is worth a 1000 words, so here are two.

[Glen]

A great idea and that price you cant go wrong

[Matt. K]

Only $10.00 ??? And the strap is included? I'll take 3 lenses please.

[birddog114]

You hold the lens or the body?
If you're holding the lens, why do you think, it's wrong with the mount?
I have the 70-200VR few years now, never thought about it and I see no need to do it, same as my 200-400VR.

[JZA70-mel]

I use a strap on the camera and the lens each round the neck. It hangs roughly at waist level (hands free).
Its just preference, because I don't like the feeling of the lens slapping round my thigh or groin area.

Dunno about the strength of the mount on the D70, it's probably engineered OK for the lens (Nikon would warn us if it wasn't strong enough). You see lots of pro photographers admittedly with pro bodies, at sporting events dangle the lens from the camera body with no problems.

[Glen]

JZ, just for your own reference, the D70 is built as a consumer camera without the expectations that large pro lenses will be hanging off it all the time. On that basis and more realistically cost reasons, the lens mount is not built to the same standard as a pro body such as the D2H, D2HS or D2X. I would not leave a large pro lens hanging off the front of it, I would always support it as per your strap or in my case hold it, there is a chance otherwise the mount could be damaged. When using bigger lenses such as the 70-200 or 300/4, I carry the lens and hang the camera from it as the lens is about 2.5 times camera weight.

I have seen photos of 70-200 and D70 used with a bar underneath screwed into both tripod mounts to provide additional support to this consumer body. I have also seen photos of damaged lens mounts on the D70.

[kipper]

JZA70, you won't need to do this if you ever can afford a 300F2.8, 200-400VR 400F2.8, 500F4 or 600F4 as all of these pro (heavy) lenses come with half loops attached to the body of the lens and are provided with a strap.

Secondly I'd never trust a nylon p-clip as the only means of supporting a $2k lens or even an $8-14k lens for a matter of fact.

Also you run the possibility of if the p-clip does ever deteriorate and snaps off and you're wearing the camera strap around your neck you're going to end up putting a massive jarring effect on the mount of the camera. Say goodbye to the D70. Your best bet is to just use the LCF-10 as a handle to carry the lens around with as I did for 6months.

[JZA70-mel]

The clip is nylon coated, but made out of copper or steel I think. It feels more than strong enough to lift any lens that you can carry!

[Heath Bennett]

Thanks for the input JZA70, and welcome. I have often thought about the weight of the 70-200 VR causing damage. I never put my camera away with any long lens on it (thanks Smac for the advice ), because it is a larger lever of destruction. I am in the habit now of holding the 70-200VR by the barrel when on the camera - I never let any support carry my camera except for my arms. My neck strap is simply my safety buffer!

[kipper]

If it's nylon coated copper I'd be very very concerned. How did it feel when you were reshaping it into a P? Was it plyable? If so then it's most likely copper.

Why these clips might work great for pipe work as they're strapped to a pipe and stay in place with little movement. What you're doing is putting it onto a lens that is 2.5kg with an added what 0.5-1kg of weight with a camera + tc + flash maybe more, and swinging it from your neck. Copper is a plyable metal and is fairly weak. When it's in a fairly thin construction with repetative movement it will break.

I'm with Heath on this one. While I don't have the 70-200VR anymore, I recently upgraded and gone larger. What I currently do and it might change later on is. Lens strap around neck, camera strap around neck, and hold the lens by the lens foot.

[JZA70-mel]

I just used the fridge magnet trick on it - it's steel.

I made this rig up because I got tired of holding on to the lens when walking around. Not because it was too heavy, but I didn't like keeping my arm bent all the time.

Kipper, that's how I wear it-with both lens strap and camera strap each round the neck.

Melvyn

[kipper]

If it's steel you shouldn't have any problems with it breaking. My concern that it was of a material (eg. nylon or copper or both) that might deteriorate.

While you have the double strap if it was made of a material that deteriorated then at some stage the second strap would become free of the lens and would drop until the camera strap took the weight of the lens. This would provide shock/jarring on the lens mount and probably rip it off the D70. Remember the D70 isn't a pro lens and isn't constructed as such.