“R” is for R-Strap

Do you ever carry two cameras on a shoot? If you do then you know the trouble that comes with this territory. Two cameras on their original camera straps are prone to clank into each other and weigh your neck down. It is uncomfortable to say the least, is not good for your camera bodies or lenses, and just is not an efficient way to work.

I shoot a lot of baseball games and like to have two camera bodies on me. My main camera, the Nikon D300, sports the 70-200mm f/2.8 lens and is mounted on a monopod. The second camera is my older Nikon D-70 with the 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. I really like this combination but carrying the second camera on its regular strap was becoming nothing short of a pain in the neck!

I heard about the R-Strap and decided to give it a try since I also had a wedding coming up. I tried it and I love it!

You can read my review of the R-Strap that I posted on my website. If  you ever carry two camera bodies you really should consider using the R-Strap.

Using a Monopod

Most photographers know the importance of using a tripod to steady their camera on a photo shoot. And many photographers have also heard about or have even seen monopods, but I wonder how many photographers actually use them?

I find a monopod to be especially useful for sporting events like baseball or football. The monopod steadies the camera and with two feet you can create a tripod of sorts. I like to kneel when shooting sports to get lower angles, so using my knees and the monopod creates my self-made tripod. It works well.

I like the monopod beacasue I can easily swing my camera into several positions just by turning it over the monopod–it’s like a swivel. I can easily focus on the batter at the plate but then swing the camera to catch the base runner trying to steal second base.

If you haven’t tried a monpod yet, I encourage you to do so. It is lighter than a tripod but works very well in some specific situations.