Better Family Photos: blackrapid

Kuala Lumpur at sunset, photo taken from KL Tower (through glass) during one of the moody storms

This post is dedicated to Robin Wong, a Malaysian photographer whom I first knew about from Kirk Tuck's post about the BERISH 3.0 Malaysian Protests.

You see, I have traveled to Kuala Lumpur once and enjoyed my trip there immensely, and I really wish to go back there. I am also quite interested in Olympus M4/3 system, so when I saw Robin's blog, I enjoyed looking at his photos (especially the sharpness and the B&W treatment) and started back reading lots of his older posts that I missed, I have since been subscribed to his blog, and I enjoy reading everyone of his posts. More after the break.

Several of Robin's posts featured the Westin hotel (where I stayed), the KL Bird Park and Bukit Bintang, it all felt very nostalgic, especially that Malaysia is the only East Asian country that I ever visited, so I decided to post about my trip to Malaysia.

Downtown KL, shot from the KL Tower

I traveled to Kuala Lumpur (I'll call it KL for the rest of the post) on a business trip for 4 days, I arrived at noon one day before my conference started, and stayed for one more day afterwards, this gave me two opportunities to see KL in daylight.

Malaysia has tropical weather, during my stay there it was hot and very humid. The sky can be clear and shiny one second, and then suddenly there's a heavy rain shower which suddenly stops again, one of the essential things that I brought with me was an umbrella (we never use those in Egypt, but I had bought one during my trip to Sweden).

GEAR TALK:

One day before leaving for Malaysia, I sold my Canon 550D and kit lens, I had called a camera store in Malaysia and had them book a Canon 60D for me to pick it up upon my arrival, and I only took my lenses with me. This was a bit risky because if I didn't get/find the camera I would miss shooting everything during my trip. Little did I know, KL turned out to be a camera/DSLR heaven, and I bought way more things than I originally planned from there. I picked up my 60D on my first day of arrival just after I unpacked my bags at the hotel, you can read my initial impressions here.

Before I start talking about my trip, I would like to talk about the lenses I chose to take with me, I wanted to travel light, so initially I planned to take the Canon EF-S 15-85mm zoom for all-round shooting, and the Canon EF 35mm f/2 for night shooting, but I knew I'd be visiting the famous KL Bird Park, so I took the Canon EF-S 55-250mm along just for that reason, and actually I didn't use it anywhere else. I had my Lowepro Top Loader Zoom 55AW with me (it has a rain cover that I actually used).

I bought the following things during my trip: Canon 60D, Canon 580EX II speedlite, BlackRapid RS-5 strap, Lowepro Top Loader Zoom 45AW and a few small accessories.

THE TRIP:

I didn't get to shoot a lot on my first day, I arrived at noon, unpacked my bags and went to buy the 60D, the weather was great when I arrived, and a few minutes before I left the hotel, a rainy storm suddenly started, oh well, an umbrella and a Taxi it is. I was staying at the Westin hotel, where we also had our 2-day conference, below are some photos taken at the hotel, and the parking lot outside.

Candles at the hotel entrance

Desk lamp in my room, I like the pattern it makes on the wall

A very cozy dining area

Strange ceiling decor

Lamborghini Murceilago, lots of nice cars in KL

After we finished our first conference day, we were invited to a Thai restaurant for dinner, outside of KL. We took a couple of buses and went there, I took my 60D and 35mm f/2, light inside the restaurant was too dim, I had to shoot wide-open at f/2, ISO 3200 and even then shutter speed was around 1/10th and 1/15th risking motion-blur, it was the first time for me to use ISO 3200 and like the results, I limited myself to ISO 1600 with the 550D.

Rain and heavy traffic, KL traffic is incredibly jammed almost all time

Rain bokeh blobs

Restaurant entrance, dim, red lights everywhere

I don't know half of the things I ate there

Guava juice, in Egypt the juice is usually white and thick, not greenish and translucent

Japanese friend, see the phone light on his face?

The bus driver that took us back to the hotel

My Swedish friend Mats, took this photo when we returned to the hotel

Next day after the conference I went shooting & shopping until night around Bukit Bintang and the Pavilion mall, I usually don't do any street shooting in Egypt, culturally this is not a normal practice, even carrying a camera in the street will get you lots of hard stares, however, in KL I was very relieved to see 90% of the people carrying cameras and shooting every thing.

Pavilion Mall from inside

Saw this sign on one of Robin's picture, that's why it's here

McDonald's

On my way to one of the camera malls

Next day was my final day in KL, conference was over and I decided to go to the KL Bird Park, I was up and ready from 7 am, I finished my breakfast quickly and asked the hotel on the best way to go to the park, only to discover that the park didn't open until 10 am, drat, I had to wait for tw hours in my room since nothing else opened earlier.

I took the 60D with the 55-250 and my black rapid strap, I also took my Lowepro bag (in case it rained) and the 35mm f/2. I am very fond of the quality the 55-250 exhibited for such a budget lens, sharpness was great, bokeh was round and nice, and actually I dig the look a telephoto lens has, the background compression just looks creamy to me.

This bird usually stayed at high places, it looked like a park guardian

Colorful beak and eye ring, look how smooth the color transitions are

Luxurious duck, if it were a person, it would be a rich man wearing expensive suits

Colorful duck, although more humble than the one above

Eagles, they look scary, especially that close, all eagle shots were taken through the cage

Same eagle, the telephoto lens makes the cage magically disappear

Intimidating, here you can see traces of the cage on the right part of the picture

Solemn

This bird was everywhere in the park

It was their mating season and I was fortunate to see this view

Artificial frogs, I like how the moulds look

Slippery stairs

Green everywhere, see that net on the left side? The whole park is covered with it!

Red parrot

Colorful parrot

School trip to the park

Despite enjoying the park, I had to leave to catch a view of KL from the top

I went back to the hotel around 3 pm, and only had a couple of hours before sunset, and it hasn't rained once since morning, so I decided to ditch my camera bag, and only left with the 60D and the 15-85 hanging at my side with the black rapid strap, no weather protection at all.

I wanted to see KL from above, and there were two options, either the famous skywalk on the KLCC twin towers, or the KL TV tower, I wanted to go to the former, but I learned there are long queues and lots of waiting. One of the Malaysian participants in the conference advised me to go to the TV tower instead as it has a better view, so that's where I went, and he was correct, the skywalk on the KLCC was a path connecting between two buildings with a limited view to the sides only, the KL tower has a 360 degrees view and much higher (~280 meters).

This is the view from my hotel room, and it shows the KL Tower in the middle

I assumed that I'd find an open air observation deck or something, but it was all covered with glass that is not clean and has lots of reflections and glare that reduced the contrast, however I was able to get some good photos.

High in the sky

One of the benefits of the 360 view, I can see everywhere

Pool on the roof

Zoom was quite decent with the 15-85

I decided to leave and do a bit of shopping before my plane was set to leave, but a funny thing happened, a sudden thunder storm, and a strong one at that, I saw lightning strike buildings around us, and I was worried at the beginning, but the attitude of the others around me told me that there is nothing to worrying about, however, there was another problem, rain and cameras are not friends, I didn't have my umbrella or my Lowepro camera bag, so I was stuck at the tower until rain stopped, but I'm glad I waited because of this picture you see below taken after sunset, one of my favorites.

KL from the top

Rain didn't stop and I had to leave, so I asked about a way to get a taxi and ride it without having to walk in the rain, turned out there was a covered place below the tower where taxis took passengers, now I was back to the hotel with my camera safe and sound.

I finished the remaining of my shopping, exchanged the remaining Malaysian money to USD and went back to the hotel to pack my bags. My plane was set to leave at dawn, and I was quite surprised at how empty the airport was from inside at that time, it was as if I will be the only passenger.

Ghost airport

I hope you've enjoyed this post, and if you're interested in traveling to Malaysia, I urge you to go, it's a great tourist destination with lots of things to see, and I wish I had enough time to visit all the different places outside of KL.

See that plane? There was another one at the right side as well, is this normal?

Posted with Blogsy

This is a review of two camera straps:
- The first is a double camera strap that's -- let's be blunt -- a knockoff of the BlackRapid RS DR-1 Double Camera Strap. This clone is by RainbowImaging and I bought it from Amazon.
- The second is the BlackRapid RS-5.

More after the jump.

THE PROBLEM
I like to shoot with two cameras for maximum versatility. It's great because I can cover two focal length ranges (e.g. a standard zoom and a telephoto zoom) without having to switch lenses. However, when I shoot with one camera on each shoulder, I find that my second camera tends to slip off my shoulder as I'm shooting with my first camera. Sometimes I just use the Lowepro Slingshot 302 which allows me to switch between cameras but it's nowhere near as fast as having a camera on each shoulder.

THE SOLUTION
My co-author MShafik loves his BlackRapid RS-5 camera strap (reviewed below), which got me curious about it. I had heard of the BlackRapid but didn't understand how it was functionally different from a regular camera strap. It also seemed expensive too for what it is, so I never got one but kept it in mind.

When I was selecting a dual camera support system, I remembered the BlackRapid and saw that they had a dual-camera version, but I was still nervous about spending so much money on something that I wasn't sure would work well for me. I found a fairly inexpensive version by RainbowImaging on Amazon and got that one instead.

When I tried the double strap, I learned first of all how the BlackRapid-style straps differed from regular camera straps: a camera strap usually has a non-slip padding which prevents it from slipping but also makes it a little harder to swing the camera immediately to shooting position. I have used one strap that was non-slip and was easier to shoot quickly with, but it also had a tendency to slip off my shoulder. BlackRapid's innovation was to use a strap that allows the camera to slide easily along the strap using a carabiner-like attachment, with the camera suspended upside down from its tripod mount. The idea worked very well, hence the many other similar products now in the market.

The double strap version is a logical extension of the original strap, simply connecting two single straps. It's worn like a backpack, and can be adjusted for length.

Along the straps are two swiveling carabiners that slide easily along the ballistic nylon strap. The camera is attached to a plate that is secured to the camera's tripod mount with a thumbscrew. Once the camera is attached to the plate, the plate is hooked into the carabiner.

There is also a small sliding clamp (not shown here) to limit the sliding range of the carabiner. In the original BlackRapid, there are two clamps for each strap - one in front and one behind. In this RainbowImaging strap, there is only one clamp per strap, in front of the carabiner.

Here's how the strap looks with a standard zoom and telephoto zoom. I like that the setup looks inconspicuous, at least from the front.

HOW WELL DOES IT WORK?

I've found that the product works pretty much as advertised. I have to take the time to attach the attachment plates to the camera every time because it's hard to store the cameras in my bag with the plates left attached. However, once the plates are attached, it's quick to hook the cameras up to the straps with the carabiner.

The strap works well when carrying the cameras around. Unlike having a camera strap on each shoulder, I don't have to be conscious about my cameras slipping off the shoulder, and I don't need to keep adjusting the camera strap.

When I shoot, I can reach for either camera very easily and quickly bring them up to my eye. It's definitely faster than a regular camera strap. For cameras with a portrait/battery grip, the attachment plate and thumbscrew do make it a little harder to hold the grip. I'm ok with it, but I can see how someone with smaller hands may find it a problem.

One feature I like is that the camera straps can be separated into two single straps.

The dual strap can be separated into two single straps. In this shot, you can also see the small clamp that controls the sliding range of the carabiner.

Single strap mode (excuse the bad image quality - I was too tired to re-do the shot)

EVALUATION
Although this is a knockoff, the quality of the strap itself is not too bad. The padding thickness feels similar to those of the padded straps on my ~~Lowepro Nova~~ Case Logic camera bag. The carabiners look ok and they swivel easily but they don't look heavy duty. The locking mechanism for the carabiners also doesn't screw in smoothly.

About the attachment plate, it appears to be the only thing that is significantly different between that of this product and the BlackRapid. On the BlackRapid, the connectors (called FastenR-3) are small nubs. On the other hand, this strap uses attachment plates that are each about twice as wide as small quick release plates for tripods. The attachment plates have a rubber pad on them and are secured to the tripod with thumbscrews.

One advantage of the BlackRapid is that when the camera is used with a portrait grip, the small FastenR-3 nubs appear to be less intrusive. The BlackRapid FastenR-3 is also made of stainless steel whereas the attachment plates here seem to be made of a lighter metal or alloy (possibly aluminum).

You can buy the FastenR-3 separately (actually there are knockoffs of it on Amazon) and use it with the RainbowImaging strap but I'm not sure if it's really better because the attachment plate has a wider surface, so it would seem that it can grip the camera better (thus making it less likely to be accidentally loosened). When using this product, I haven't found the plates to have loosened.

Another advantage of the attachment plates is that the thumbscrew for the plate has a tripod mount itself, therefore it's possible to mount your camera on a tripod without having to remove the plate. In practice, I've found that it works ok from landscape orientation but not portrait orientation (the camera tends to droop).

Summary of the most significant differences from BlackRapid:
- One stopper per strap vs. two for BlackRapid.
- Camera attachment is different.
- BlackRapid has several accessories.

CONCLUSION

A double camera strap is the best solution I've found for carrying and shooting quickly with two cameras. Usually, copies of the original don't work nearly as well but in this particular case, without a direct side-by-side comparison against the BlackRapid, I don't see any functional problems with the RainbowImaging. It might even have a better attachment system in my opinion. If you don't mind using a knockoff instead of the original product, the RainbowImaging dual strap works.

You may also want to consider these alternatives:
1. BlackRapid RS DR-1 Double Camera Strap - from the company that started it all. If I get paid for photography and I'm very conscious of my client's perceptions, this is probably what I would get.
2. Dual Camera Harness by Op/Tech - uses slightly different design where the camera is suspended from one point and slides from another.

3. SunSniper by California Sunbounce - Their strap has steel reinforcement to prevent theft and they have several accessories such as a backpack for their strap.

4. CS-Double 2 Camera Strap by Carry Speed - the design seems similar to BlackRapid. Uses attachment plates like the RainbowImaging. One difference is that they have an optional attachment to the camera that looks very robust. They have some accessories.
5. CF-FS Double Camera Strap by Cameraslingers - again similar to BlackRapid but without a chest strap. Video review by Cameratown here.
6. Double Shoulder Belt Strap by Neewer - a BlackRapid knockoff. Looks completely identical to the RainbowImaging except for the logo. Slightly lower price at the time of this writing. Cheapest dual strap that I'm aware of.

DISCLOSURE
This is an independent review and I wasn't compensated by any company for doing this review. I bought the product for myself at full retail price with my money and this is my honest opinion. If you would like to support this blog (and am very grateful for those who have), please consider buying from the links in this post and elsewhere in the blog. Sometimes I receive a small commission but in any case, it won't change your price at all. It's a way for you to help us without any cost out of your pocket.

UPDATE (mshafik here):

Mic has made a great review of the double-strap, but since he has mentioned the BlackRapid, I thought I'd chime in here instead of doing a separate review.

The BlackRapid RS-5 has one main difference than the one mentioned here (and that's also the difference between it and the RS-7 version), it has pockets, three useful pockets for carrying small stuff like extra batteries, memory cards, flash gels, white balance cards, etc... Below is a quick pictorial of the RS-5, followed by a video showing exactly the main idea behind the strap.

My only personal comments are:

It is well padded and very comfortable for long periods
Having the camera turned on and ready at your side all the time is great when you're walking around shooting randomly, compared to putting the camera away in a bag after each shot, or having it hanging to your neck with the default crap strap (never ever used a single one on any of the four Canons I owned).
The pockets are great for carrying some cash, credit cards, a spare battery and some memory cards.
The fastener is very strong, it has this rubber at the bottom that when compressed makes the connection very strong. An official tip from BlackRapid is that you should moist this piece of rubber (few water drops) to make sure it won't ever get loose.
My only issue is that you can't set the camera down on a table with the fastener at the bottom, you have to remove it first, or do like me, just put the camera on a soft couch or a bed.
Of course you can't mount the camera to a tripod unless you remove the fastener first, some people work around this by attaching the strap to the tripod's quick release plate. DON'T EVER DO THAT, it is not designed to carry that load, you are risking a few thousand dollars worth of equipment to fall crashing to the ground by doing that. That's why BlackRapid stopped using the two-piece FastenR-2 and replaced it with the one-piece FastenR-3.
However if you have a Manfrotto quic release plate and $18 to spare, BlackRapid has a solution for you, the FastenR-T1, actually it's the first time I see it now and I will get one for myself.