Let’s face it: there’s nothing sexy about a camera strap. But in practice this tether is integral to your entire workflow. The humble camera strap has evolved immensely over the years, and now there are straps to suit just about every photographic need. From traditional straps to dual-camera straps to wrist tethers, in this guide we round up the best camera straps you can buy today.
Camera strap vs harness: which is best?
A camera strap serves many useful purposes. It keeps your hands free to do other things when you’re not setting up the camera. A camera strap keeps your gear secure. Even when you’ve set your tripod up, on uneven ground, keeping the strap around your neck while you shoot can give you an extra bit of security.
A camera strap also allows you to change lenses faster and shoot with multiple bodies.
So why use a camera harness instead of camera strap?
If you’ve ever run with your camera around your neck, you’ll know why you might want to use a harness over a camera strap.
A harness keeps your camera firmly against your body for those times when you are truly ‘on the go.’ Maybe you’re hiking, cycling, skiing or climbing a bumpy hill. Or maybe you’re a photojournalist or street photographer running after the action. Or perhaps your a music photographer heading into the pit (one day we’ll do that again).
A harness keeps your camera stationary and prevents it from swinging from side to side in these situations. It’s just that bit more secure and comfortable to carry.
The best camera straps you can buy today.
Wandrd Sling Strap
Specification
- Construction: Recycled soft-touch nylon webbing, metal clips, Hypalon loops
- Strength: Up to 45Kg / 100lb force
- Length: 73.6 - 118.7cm / 29 - 46.75inches
- Width: 3.2cm / 1.25inches
Like the Wandrd Wrist Strap, the Wandrd Sling Strap has a thin but strong Hypalon loop that passes through the camera’s strap lug and then secures in a metal slip. It’s very quick and easy to attach to lots of cameras, and when you want to mount the camera on a tripod, you can remove it in seconds so it won’t flap in the breeze.
This adjustable strap is long enough to be worn across your body or it can be shortened for wearing around your neck or over a shoulder.
The adjustment mechanism is very easy to use but the strap doesn’t extend in length as you carry the camera. It’s part of what makes this my current favourite strap.
Wandrd has hit the sweet spot for the width of a camera strap with its Sling Strap. It’s wide enough to be comfortable when carrying all but the biggest, heaviest cameras but not so wide that it gets in the way or makes you feel hot.
Also, one side has a series of silicone bands to give some extra grip when you’re carrying the camera on your shoulder.
£50
$65.66For
- Easily adjustable length
- Quick and easy to fit
- Strong
Against
- Rather thin for heavy cameras
- The flat-head tool is too wide for attaching many tripod quick release plates
Peak Design Slide Lite
Specification
- Product Type: Camera strap
- Length: Adjustable 99-145cm
- Material: Nylon webbing
Until the Wandrd Sling Strap arrived, the Peak Design Slide Lite was my go-to strap from the moment it first came out in 2017. I love its smart appearance, its soft but strong webbing, and the ease with which it can be extended or shortened so I can wear it across my body or over my shoulder.
My favourite feature, however, is its attachment method. Peak Design supplies it with two pairs of Anchor Links for attaching it to a couple of cameras. These Links loop through and over themselves in the camera strap lugs and then snap securely into the strap.
This means that when you want to take the strap off, you just need to press on the pad of the Anchor Loop to release it and then slide it out of the strap clip. It takes a second at most – it’s even faster to attached and detach than the Wandrd straps.
The downside is that you want Anchor Loops on every camera. You can transfer the Links between cameras, but it’s a bit like trying to undo a tight shoelace. It’s doesn’t take long, but you need decent nails.
£39
$49.95For
- High-quality look and feel
- Adjustable length
- Anchor mounts make it fast and easy to detach and reattatch
Against
- Heavy cameras can make the strap extend
- We'd prefer the grippy coating to be on the other side of the strap
- If you have several cameras, you'll need more Anchor Links
Gitzo Century Neck Strap
Specification
- Product type: Strap
- Material: Leather
- Dimension: 132 x 1 x 6cm
- Weight: 80g
Made from Italian leather, Gitzo’s premium Century range of neck, sling and wrist straps are designed to look like carbon fibre, an homage to the company’s high-end tripods.
The straps are designed to accommodate all cameras and hang comfortably across your body or wrist.
Though not cheap, the Century straps are built to last. And if you’ve paid a small fortune for your camera and lens, wouldn’t you want the finest straps to go with it?
£84
$199.88For
- Comfortable padded strap
- Stylish
Against
- High price
- Traditional camera attachment isn't quick to fit or remove
Manfrotto Pro Light FastTrack
Specification
- Product type: Sling bag and camera strap combined
- External dimension: 24.5 x 14 x 42cm
- Camera insert dimensions: 20 x 10 x 20cm
- Laptop compartment: Yes
- Weight: 0.73Kg
The Pro Light FastTrack is a bit of an oddity on our list of best camera straps, but something so unique we felt compelled to include it.
The Manfrotto Pro Light FastTrack sling bag is, first and foremost, a camera sling bag but it’s the first on the market to feature an integrated camera strap. How it works is, photographers remove their camera from the sling’s main compartment, then pull the sling strap and the camera rises to their hands.
The Pro Light FastTrack sling’s strap features lockable buckles that attach to the strap rings on the sides of your camera. These buckles then clip to the integrated strap on the Pro Light FastTrack sling to prevent the camera from slipping, as well as tangling up with the shoulder strap.
Where the Pro Light FastTrack shines is for travel and city breaks, allowing you to always have your camera at the ready without having to compromise on quality or safety.
Read our Manfrotto Pro Light FastTrack sling camera bag review
£99
$120For
- Lightweight but well-made
- Cabin-luggage size (check airline limits)
- A bag that gives very quick access to your camera
Against
- Only holds a camera and a couple of lenses
BlackRapid Sport Breathe
Specification
- Product type: Camera harness
- Length: Adjustable to 167cm / 66inches
- Material: Nylon
- Fit: Available for left or right-hand fit
- Weight: 189g / 6.7oz
The BlackRapid Sport Breathe is a sling-style camera strap that attaches to a camera via a screw fastener in the tripod bush. This screw has a loop that allows a lockable carabiner that’s on the strap to be attached.
It’s designed to be worn across your body, and there are left and right versions available so you need to decide which side to carry your camera.
We’ve always been a bit sceptical about using straps that don’t attach via the camera’s strap lugs, but the BlackRapid Sport Breathe is very secure and it keeps your camera within easy reach. It’s also comfortable to wear even when you’re carrying a heavy camera like a Canon 5D Mark III with a telephoto lens mounted.
If you regularly carry your camera on a regular strap or in your hand for long periods of time and you don’t want to mount it on a tripod, the BlackRapid Sport Breathe makes an excellent choice of strap.
It’s particularly well-suited for use by walkers and travel or street photographers although it may attract unwanted attention.
The BlackRapid Sport Breathe is also available from Wex Photo Video and Amazon.co.uk in the UK and B&H Photo Video, Adorama and Amazon.com in the USA.
£79
$73.95For
- Lets you carry a heavy camera in comfort
- Adjustable for height and build
- Secure fixing on the cameras
Against
- Attaches to the cameras' tripod mount
- Slow to attach and remove
BlackRapid Double Breathe
Specification
- Product type: Camera harness
- Length: Adjustable to 160cm
- Material: Nylon
The BlackRapid Double Breathe is a harness-like dual strap that enables you to carry two cameras, one on either side of your body. Like the BlackRapid Sport Breathe, the Double Breathe is attached via a screw thread in the cameras’ tripod mounts.
The Double Breathe has two shoulder pads with 2.5cm wide, long webbing straps that hang down at your sides with the cameras at the lowest point of the loops. Chest and back straps keep the two halves of the Double Breathe together. The lower back strap is elasticated for comfort and the front has a snap fastening to makes the whole thing easy to put on and take off.
Once the screw mounts have been fastened to the cameras’ tripod mounts they can be attached to the Double Breathe via the lockable carabineers. The carabineers have a threaded section that is turned to prevent them from opening, as well as a clip that stops the thread from unwinding.
Music, event and wedding photographers, or anyone who needs to carry and swap between two cameras throughout a shoot, will find the BlackRapid Double Breathe a useful addition to their kit. It makes carrying two heavy cameras comfortable and they feel secure on your shoulders.
£135
$134.95For
- Lets you carry two cameras in comfort
- Adjustable for height and build
- Secure fixing on the cameras
Against
- Care needed when putting it on and taking it off
- Attaches to the cameras' tripod mount
Best wrist straps for your camera
Some photographers – typically street and travel photographers – like to use a wrist strap with their camera. A wrist strap is less obvious than a traditional camera strap.
If you’re shooting in a crowded market, for instance, where there might be pickpockets, your camera will be safer and more secure.
In our view, the best wrist strap for your camera are the…
Wandrd Wrist Strap
Specification
- Construction: Recycled soft-touch nylon webbing, metal clip, Hypalon loop
- Strength: Up to 34Kg / 75lb force
- Maximum length: 33cm / 13.25inches
The Wandrd Wrist Strap attaches to a camera’s strap lug by a super-strong Hypalon loop that passes through the lug and then into the strap’s metal clip. It means that it’s very easy to attach and detach – which is important when you’re shooting with the camera on a tripod.
Wandrd has used webbing that’s stiff enough to prevent the strap from rolling up and becoming very thing around your wrist or snapping in the cinch loop, but not so stiff that it’s uncomfortable.
£28
$29For
- Quick and easy to fit
- Discrete
- Strong
Against
- Stiff webbing
Peak Design Cuff
Specification
- Product type: Wrist strap
- Fabric: Seatbelt-style nylon webbing
- Wrist loop size: 9.7cm / 3.82inches when open
- Width: 1.9cm / 0.75inches
- Strength: Up to 90Kg / 200lb
Peak Design’s Cuff comes in two colours – Ash and Black and is designed to use as a wrist-carrying camera strap. The wrist loop magnetically locks in the open position or cinches down on your wrist for added security.
The loop also locks down on your wrist if you accidentally drop your camera. As with the Leash, the Cuff uses an Anchor cord that can hold 200lbs (90kg).
The Cuff is 3.8” (9.7cm) when open and cinches down to 1.75” (4.5cm) when closed at its smallest setting. Cuff is made of nylon webbing, aluminium adjuster hardware and leather accents. It also a magnetic clasp set into it so that you can fold it over and wear as a bracelet when it’s not in use.
The Cuff is a really cool camera strap. We know so many photographers who’ve had accidental drops of their cameras and this simple piece of equipment can save you from a very expensive error!
It’s a well thought out piece of kit and comfortable to wear around the wrist. The design of the Anchor cord also means that you don’t feel the weight of your camera dragging on your wrist.
£27
$29.95For
- Easy to attach and remove
- Stays out of your way
- Secure
BlackRapid Wrist Strap Breathe
Specification
- Material: 100% nylon webbing
- Length: 20.5cm / 8.1inches
- Width: 2.5cm / 1inch
- Weight: 2.12oz
When you don’t want a shoulder or neck strap and need something a little more discreet, the BlackRapid Breathe is an excellent choice. Lightweight, but solid, the BlackRapid Breathe is 100% Nylon like a car seat belt and secures to your wrist, yet offering a 20.5cm adjustable length.
Like the other BlackRapid straps in this list, the BlackRapid Wrist Strap attaches via a camera’s tripod bush. It screws in securely and the swivelling carabiner prevents it from unscrewing or getting tangled around your hand or wrist.
A wrist strap has a simple job, and the Breathe does it well. Street photographers will love it, but so will wildlife and sports photographers who want minimal clutter and simply want to quickly bring their camera up to their eye.